Fully agree

Sorry to disagree, but he was so unnatural in the role. No chemistry either. To me Michael Jayston is the one and only Mr. Rochester, he not just plays this character, he has become the character, as if he had just walked out of the book, as a real person, not a Byronic hero.

Definitely!!! My all time fave!

Absolutely ❣️❣️❣️

I don’t understand how anyone could question this truth.

🥰😍👍👍👍

100% accurate. The perfect Byronic hero.

I was wondering when his birthday was?

​@@helenskehr2401its March 21st

Ciran Hines for me is the most believable.

My feelings exactly. Timothy the best - superb!!!

Agreed! Any Jane Eyre purist of the story would vote that his Rochester is the most accurate.

His only flaw was that he's too good looking of a guy (and he wasn't supposed to be). Otherwise, he had the role downpat.

Aglaya, back then Dalton would have been considered rough and Vulcan. When he was cast as James Bond, even then a lot of people thought he was too "rough" looking. He fits Rochester.

100% agree

Lovely to see someone else who thinks Dalton was a great Bond. I think he was the best & closest to the books

Spot on.

Fully agree

I actually don't care if he is too handsome for the role because what is important is not the face and height for me but his acting chops, the delivery of those long lines taken from the novel that other actors who played Rochester would have hard time doing (given that TD is a classically trained Shakespearean actor), his voice, his overall persona as Rochester that others could not nail. For the first time, I pitied Rochester when he pleaded with Jane to stay with him. I did not in the book and only understood how that scene in the book was meant to be played out after watching TD's interpretation. It was meant to show why Jane would struggle to leave him despite having a strong Christian faith.

@@whatevergoesforme5129 I first read Jane Eyre when I was 14 and I have enjoyed all the other movies, but Timothy Dalton is the Rochester I envisioned when I first read the book. When he was crying because she wouldn't stay with him I felt so bad I couldn't even look at him.

@@cherylwilkinson3228 I also read Jane Eyre as a teen, forgot the exact age LOL. But at the time, I said to myself GOOD RIDDANCE! Maybe because I was young and did not like the idea of a married man who was not that handsome and also older than Jane ending up with her. I wanted her to leave him and was glad she was not duped by his pleadings then. Plus it was not my favorite classic book at that time. My favorite was Wuthering Heights (TD also played Heathcliff). I revisited Jane Eyre after watching Timothy Dalton's version of Rochester and saw the character in a new light. I did not pity him the first time I read the book. I pitied more Jane's missionary cousin hehehee. Now, it is the opposite.

@@whatevergoesforme5129 I think a lot of people forget when they are reading the story that Rochester was betrayed by everyone he cared about. His father and brother arranged a marriage for him with a woman they knew was insane just for her dowry, his friend let him marry his sister without telling him the truth, and the woman he thought he loved betrayed him with another man. He couldn't divorce his wife yet he didn't send her off to one of those awful asylums. I always found him a sympathetic character, but it's funny how your view of what's old changes the older you get.

@@cherylwilkinson3228 Well, you must be a very deep 14 yr old to see that when you read Jane Eyre which was written in a language that is so different from the way I was used to when I was a teen, even though the language is still English. I think I was younger than 14 when I read that book and my experience of the world was of course limited. I saw it from the eyes of Jane and your explanation about Rochester's betrayal was not revealed for the most part of the story but through his own words so for me, that revelation in the book did not make me pity him in the book when I was young. And even when he was pleading, he was doing it also for his own selfish reason so that Jane would not leave him. Timothy Dalton's interpretation showed me why Jane was struggling despite knowing being a mistress went against her Christian faith because Rochester's anguish in that scene made him so pitiful. I have never sympathized with Rochester because of his past, even when I became older. I pitied him (in this tv series) because he found someone he wanted to be happy with and he almost had her but he knew that her moral compass would not allow her to stay with him and that was why he had to hide his past from her. That anguish of losing someone you love as portrayed by TD made me see what that scene in the book was showing to the reader. Rochester said in the book that there were other women and he got tired of them. Makes me wonder if Jane as a mistress like his old flames would tire him in the end since it was her strong Christian faith, which influenced her moral stance on issues, that attracted him as well as other qualities she also had. Heathcliff was more sympathetic to me despite how cold his character was to others because I saw in the book how he was treated. Heathcliff need not explain himself like Rochester did to Jane (to make Jane understand why he would not let her go). I only pitied Rochester in the end when he became blind because he lost Jane, his sight, his mansion, his hope of being happy again. So Timothy's acting made me pity him when he was pleading for Jane to stay which I never did when I read the book for the first time. However, I still agree with Jane's decision to leave him when she finally realized being a mistress would not only make her go against her Christian faith but would also make Rochester see her as a mistress eventually, something she actually reflected on in the book when Rochester was explaining away his other women.

Yes, he's GREAT, but too handsome for Mr. Rochester

@@cynthianolder8587 Well he is handsome but not in Jane Eyre, they made him look more like novel's Rochester, notice his skin complexion, dark circles under his eyes and even his hairstyle which keep changing in all episodes. Watch him in Mistral's daughter which was made in 1984, a year after Jane Eyre, he looks way more young and handsome there. Also he has fair complexion not dark brown as shown in Jane Eyre.💁

Exactly!

Тимотидалтон❤🌹

He ist a great actor! Always!

I LOVE Toby Stephens in the part!

I LOVE HIS DIALOGUE THROWING. A GREAT ACTOR. AND PLAYING WITH DIALOGUES BOTH OF THEM IN 1983 I LIKE IT SO MUCH.

absolutely agree!!!

I don't know what "dialogue throwing" is, but he is the best.

@@curly208 He means dialogue delivery

Fully agree

Fully agreed too- only TD and ZC❤

@curly208: I also agree with you on your comment of most actors being blond.

Toby Stephens is white hot; but they are all smokin

Just watching 1983 version I fell in love with the story. Maybe in Rochester too.

Да !!! Тимоти -- best of best !!!

Exactly, precisely!! The novel's Rochester is even more dramatic and 1983 adaptation was totally based on the novel, so Timothy Dalton portrayed the character exactly like the novel and moreover he is a bit too theatrical only in that leaving scene and that scene is exactly taken from novel, people just like to hate him and unnecessarily nitpick on him.

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

@@ditsashihurkar4913 They nitpick him because they can't find anything truly wrong with his characterization. HE is Rochester, period!

@@whatevergoesforme5129 but I really don't like that, they nitpick on him in all his roles unnecessarily 🤷🤷, even as James bond, well tbh I am not much into bond movies but after watching him in Jane Eyre I was so much touched and impressed by his performance that I decided to watch his bond movies as well, I was bit skeptical at first because of all the negativity surrounding him, but still I did watch his first bond movie " the living daylights" and I liked the movie very much, it reminded me of some bollywood movies of 80's because of the romance and action, he looked lovely with Maryam d'abo ( kara milovy). He really isn't that bad as people make him out to be. I don't have problem with criticism, yes people have the right to criticise and make their opinions but it should be done in positive manner. But all I see here is pure hatred as if people love to hate him in everything he does, this is wrong 🤷.

@@cellowali2865I have never watched his Bond movies. His James Bond was said to be more faithful to Ian Fleming's books compared to the other James Bonds because he brought realism to it the way Ian Fleming portrayed his James Bond. I felt he kinda demeaned himself at that time when he accepted that role because I already knew of him beforehand (but I have changed my mind about this role because he has accepted other roles that I have seen as beneath him, since I am kinda snobbish in a way LOL). I have always seen him as a true thespian and not a commercial actor but maybe he just wanted to widen his range. I first watched him in Lion in the Winter so my first impression of him was more of a serious actor. But when I watched Rocketeer, I found out that he could act out caricatures and has a penchant for comedy as well. I have seen him in other older films but I really don't follow him. However, he reminds me of Sir Laurence Olivier. I wish he would receive a knighthood but I believe he is kinda underrated despite his acting chops and body of work on stage because maybe the issue is people think he is too handsome to be taken seriously, but it is just my opinion.

Bravo! :)))

Truly said. He was Rochester!

¿You read the book? 1. Orson Welles 2. Ciaran Hines

For me too!

YES!!!!!

I agree!!

He does match her description perfectly! Definitely the BEST.

But that's an oxymoron. Charlotte described him as being sort of ugly.

And he's not old enough to be Mr. Rochester!

In character portrayal I agree. But in looks, he's too smouldering handsome to play him though.

He does not match CB's description at all.

I really love that version, too. And that version is an excellent example of just why you cannot make that story into a 2 hour movie. It is a way too complex story to tell in 2 hours. Dalton and Clarke did an incredible job as Edward and Jane.

I didn't like Zelah Clarke at all.

@@Pippie5555 oitty!

@@Pippie5555 pitty

Pitty i mean

Isis Z. Yep. And Fassbender is very cool too. Too bad they cut a lot of scenes from the 2011's version.

dang... have you watched them all?

Jane sure 1993 version

1997’s adult Jane is Samantha Morton opposite Ciarán Hinds as Mr . Rochester. Laura Harling played the child Jane.

All was fine in this one - the script, the filming directors and all actors.

That's how I would have ranked them. But this ranking is unfair to Ciaran Hinds since he performed in a feature-length film as opposed to a series. It was a handicap because you cannot compare a movie to a series. I believe if everything had been equal, I'd have ranked them: 1/Dalton, 2/Hinds, 3/Stephens. They were all so, so good in the part - it is hard to choose.

I totally agree!

Yesss! Completly Agree with you! I Exceptionnel Timothy Dalton! J'aime et j'adore !

@@aysun9354 Creo que vi casi todas las versiones y Dalton es el mejor Rochester!!

I agree. He was also lucky to have these exceptional fine scripts and is filmed perfect. Time is all in this one.

Absuolutely right!

Not only that, it's true to why he fell in love with her in the first place. Their physical attraction to one another paled in the in comparrison to "meeting of the minds" so to speak.. He was attracted to her intellect, her quiet and introspective demeanor. The adaptation with Toby Stephens, although a passionate and wonderful love story was not the story of Jane Eyre. Especially the bedroom scene. Bronte would never have approved of that.

Далтон лучший Рочестер!!!❤❤❤❤❤

согласна.

You are so right

Yes, the cleft chin is described when Jane draws his portrait when she is at Gateshead.

Only one problem He was too handsome!

I didn't feel or see any chemistry between Toby and Ruth. They behaved like long-ago married couple. I got bored after 10 min. watching. I started watching that adaptation several times but couldn't see it to the end. It doesn't arouse any feelings but irritation. Maybe its the script?

Naaah, Timothy Dalton played it right. Rochester was a passionate character since he is a Byronic hero like Heathcliff. In fact, you can see the difference of Heathcliff's passion and Rochester's passion because the latter though passionate has more refinement since Rochester is supposed to be gentleman.

@Gaya K You summarized my sentiments about his version of Rochester EXACTLY 💯 👏🏽

Yep,yep yep

Totally agree with U. Timothy is my all-time favourite...C.Y., Hong Kong

ever

Although in the book Rochester wasn't supposed to be good looking. That's my only minor complaint.

According to the times (1847) he wasnt good looking. He was broad shouldered and dark like a common working man. The preferred man of the day was blond, pale and a little effeminate, more like St. John Rivers. So Timothy Dalton would not have been considered handsome by those standards.

@@amydegan The painting of Rochester with Jane, Pilot and Adelle shows me Rochester will be seen as handsome today :)

But not the woman they chose for Jane...

@@Pippie5555 She was good, much better than her previous contemporaries.

What I like about the 2006 Jane Eyre is all the passion from Stephens and Wilson, as Rochester and Eyre. So much feels :D haven't read the book, so I can't comment on any adaptation's accuracy.

Agree.

Looks like most people disagree...gorgeious? LOL...he's very homely...Dalton beats him out in temperament and looks....and Jane had the horrible upper lip that was so distracting.

+ifonlyclanax33 "There are a few parts I dislike about the modern version (most namely, the horizontal kissing session, post-failed wedding)". I used to feel the same way as you. However, this scene is shown as a flashback - a memory. I now regard it as a fusion of Jane's selective and subjective memories at a time of trauma AND her rather erotic dreams that she has of Rochester at Morton (see chapter 32 of the book). Viewed this way, the scene as written in the 2006 mini-series is positively inspired!

I like the horizontal kissing scenes and @supergran1000 is correct that as flashbacks, they could have occurred in this fashion as part of Jane's memory..

I think Charlotte Bronte would have put the horizontal kissing scenes in the book, if she could have got by with it.

I agree totally!

Bang on! TD has the classical theater training to bring this off...he is not "pretty boy: handsome...has some rugged features and I like Zelah Clarke...so isn't a glam queen just a little lady doing a big job.

Well yeah he wasn't pretty boy...but he was still smouldering handsome to me. That was the only flaw I have of him 😊

I agree. Timothy Dalton has set the bar so high and no one has reached it so far...

Charlotte Bronte would never have had Jane and Mr. Rochester laying down in bed like that. Purely a 21st century adaptation. The height was wrong and he wasn't dark and broad shouldered as described in the book. In the book Mr. Rochester towered over Jane. That's why he called her an elf.

Dalton was the best

+Karen Couey Yes, Karen. I expected George C. Scott to make the list. I thought he did a very good job in the 1970 version which is the very first one I saw. I agree that Timothy Dalton really embraced and owned the charachter of Rochester. However, I believe he was far too handsome for the role.

Too handsome. I would agree. But he does have the dimpled chin described in the book! 😊

+Donata Cusano I agree I never found Timothy Dalton attractive until I saw him play Rochester and then I thought he was too attractive.George C Scott is my favorite because he is not good looking but very appealing.And like you the 1970 was the first one I saw and started my love affair with Jane Eyre.

I couldn't watch this film to the end even one time. No wish to see it again. If I hadn't read the book many times, if I hadn't seen Timothy-Zelah as Rocherster and Ja ne, I might have thought Toby and Ruth just OK. But they are from some other book.

I agree. Toby Stephen’s the best Rochester. 🥰

I agree with you on the two best Rochester. I cannot decide between Fassbinder and Dalton. Fassbinder had much better chemistry with Mia. Dalton's partner was somewhat a dead fish and she could not sell me many of the most iconic scenes.

@@MsLuath Timothy Dalton definitely is the quintessential Rochester, no doubt in that and I did like Michael Fassbender as well but somehow neither Mia nor Zelah convinced me as Jane Eyre. I didn't like Mia wasikowaska either, she seemed depressed all the time and I didn't feel any chemistry between her and Michael. Also Michael Fassbender's dialogue delivery wasn't upto the mark 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️, seemed like he was just reading the lines.

​@@MsLuathExactly! She ruined the whole miniseries for me. I prefer Samantha, Charlotte and Mia as Jane

Anna Fernando have you watched 1973 version with Michael Jayston!? 2006 version was my favorite till I watched 1973 adaption...

And between them a long distance..

Yes, or Samantha Morton. Zelah Clarke is not up to Dalton.

Yes to the dream team of Dalton and Gainsbourg.