February’s most-anticipated new movie is probably Wuthering Heights, Emerald Fennell’s already divisive adaptation of Emily Brontë’s classic 1847 novel.
Starring Margot Robbie as Catherine “Cathy” Earnshaw and Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff, the film is generating tons of buzz and is expected to break records at the box office when it’s released on February 13.
If you can’t wait that long to watch Cathy pine for the brooding Heathcliffe, well, you don’t have to — you can watch Wuthering Heights right now.
No, not the 2026 version, but previous film versions of the classic love story that were made over the last 50 years.
Pluto TV just added four Wuthering Heights adaptations to stream right now, and the best part is that you don’t have to pay a penny to watch them.
‘Wuthering Heights’ (1970)
If you’re craving a classic, PBS Masterpiece Theater-style production, 1970’s Wuthering Heights is for you. Starring future James Bond Timothy Dalton as Heathcliff and Anna Calder-Marshall as Cathy, this version was a minor hit in 1970 but received mixed critical reviews.
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Like the famous 1939 adaptation, this version omits portions of the novel to focus on Cathy and Heathcliff’s romance. The highlight of the film is Dalton, who makes a swoon-worthy Heathcliff.
‘Wuthering Heights’ (1992)
The most starry version of Wuthering Heights before Robbie and Elordi came along, this version features future Oscar winner Juliette Binoche as Cathy and Voldemort himself, Ralph Fiennes, as Heathcliff. This was Fiennes’ film debut; just a year later, he would star in Schindler’s List and earn his first Oscar nomination.
This adaptation is probably the most faithful of them all as it features Cathy and Heathcliff’s children, who are prominent characters in the second half of the book. Dark and romantic, this is my favorite iteration of Wuthering Heights and the one to watch if you want a tragic romance set in the gloomy English countryside.
‘Wuthering Heights’ (1998)
One of the most obscure versions of the classic tale is this ITV made-for-TV adaptation, which is pretty faithful to the source material. Scottish stage actor Robert Cavanah is solid, if unconvincing, as Heathcliff, while Doctor Who’s Sarah Smart is an OK Cathy. This is a mostly by-the-numbers adaptation that isn’t too radical with its changes, but it’s also pretty wooden and devoid of any real passion.
‘Wuthering Heights’ (2011)
In contrast, 2011’s Wuthering Heights is as radical as you can get. Told from Heathcliff’s point of view, director Andrea Arnold’s bold take casts a Black actor, James Howson, as Heathcliff, who is described as a “dark-skinned gypsy” in the book, and The Maze Runner’s Kaya Scodelario as Cathy.
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Arnold plays fast and loose with the material, so Brontë die-hards will likely wince at her changes, but this version is perhaps the most realistic and cinematic of all the Wuthering Heights adaptations. The film features two Mumford & Sons songs and terrific visuals of the moody Yorkshire countryside by Oscar-nominated cinematographer Robbie Ryan. You should check this one out if you want a literary adaptation that isn’t stuffy and feels like it actually happened.
