PBS has slowly been airing the new series of Jane Austen movies. (They have made other movies in the past. Make sure you don't get the old Mansfield Park, Sense and Sensibility, Northanger Abbey, or very old Pride and Prejudice).
The new movies of the “Jane Austen Season” are:
Persuasion (labeled 2007 or 2008 - since BBC England released some of these earlier than USA, starring Sally Hawkins; see my review) buy individually at PBS Shop Persuasion $20 (as of now it is backordered 2-4 weeks) or Amazon.com $17
Northanger Abbey (2007 or 2008; written by Andrew Davies, starring Felicity Jones; I liked it with one exception – see my review) buy at PBS Shop Northanger Abbey $25 (as of now it is backordered 2-4 weeks) or Amazon.com $17
Mansfield Park (2007 or 2008, starring Billie Piper; not extremely faithful to the book or the period, but not a bad movie – my biggest complaint is that they seemed to make Fanny give in on her morals, which the literary Fanny Price would never do) buy at PBS Shop Mansfield Park $25 or Amazon.com $20
Pride and Prejudice (Andrew Davies' classic, the best, 1995 Colin Firth & Jennifer Ehle) buy at ebay, your local bookstore, (you might try Target, Walmart, Costco, Sam’s, etc.) or Amazon.com $20 or the Collector’s Set for $33 or PBS Shop Pride and Prejudice $40
and still to come is:
Emma on March 23(1997, Kate Beckinsale; I watched this movie once a long time ago, and since it was not the movie for which I was looking – the bright, witty Gwyneth Paltrow version – I hated it. But I’m ready to repent a little.) buy at Amazon.com $13 or PBS Shop Emma $20
NEW!! Masterpiece Emma (2009/2010) starring Romula Garai; I LOVE this movie - see my review. $35 on the PBS Shop on February 9, 2009. Or on Amazon for about $25.
The 2008 Sense and Sensibility also done by Andrew Davies starting March 30. Starring Hattie Morahan and Charity Wakefield, for about $35 you can buy the movie with Miss Austen Regrets at PBS Shop Sense and Sensibility or spend $25 at Amazon.com
The Sense and Sensibility Collector's Set is $50 on the PBS shop, and includes the new Sense and Sensibility, Persuasion, and what I understand was a remarkably entertaining dramatized bio, Miss Austen Regrets.
The Sense and Sensibility DVD’s are not available until April 8, 2008.
All prices are estimates, not including shipping or tax.
I prefer the Ciaran Hinds and Amanda Root Persuasion, even though I don’t really like it. (NEW December 2009: I discovered I like the old version of Persuasion, from the 70's!) Emma Thompson’s Sense and Sensibility (also starring Kate Winslet and Hugh Grant) is excellent, and I don’t expect it to be supplanted even by Andrew Davies. None of the Mansfield Park adaptations are worth seeing. Gwyneth Paltrow’s Emma is the best; even guys like this Jane Austen movie! See Amazon.com’s list to purchase these DVD’s.
To God be all glory.
I think we'd get along, too. Does she have internet, there in Texas? Or do I have to wait until June? (It's June, right? Or is yours July?)
ReplyDeleteOld book! Yeah. 100 years+ is always wonderful. But Jane Eyre is too gothic for my tastes. I really like happy endings, where heroes are good and heroines, too - but not pathetically good. It is a classic, though, and I here the movie was really good.
I have a friend whose parents can't understand why she owns so many movies, but she watches them over and over. If Bekah's like that, I'm sure it was a great Christmas present.
To God be all glory,
Lisa of Longbourn
Flag Day! (It's my parents' anniversary, too!)
ReplyDeleteJust don't play tennis in New Mexico for your honeymoon.
To God be all glory,
Lisa of Longbourn
Have you seen the older BBC version of Sense and Sensibility? My favourite Austen film is Emma Thompson's Sense and Sensibility.I've seen the BBC one twice and I have grown to enjoy it.In this one Col Brandon seems closer to the novel.Unlike Willoughby,he isn't very dashing and handsome.
ReplyDeleteI'm also a fan of the BBC Emma.I've seen some clips of the Paltrow Emma but it doesn't look as good.I want to watch the whole movie so I can fully judge it.I don't picture Emma as a blonde.
Unlike most males,I'm a Jane Austen fan.So it figures that I wouldn't like the one Austen film that guys would like!
I have not seen the old BBC Sense and Sensibility. I sat through their old Pride and Prejudice (pre 95) and Mansfield Park, so I'm not into watching more of those pasty, badly acted adaptations. But I'm judging what I haven't seen by what I have. Maybe I'm thoroughly American in this, but I want all the heroes to be handsome, and the heroines to be beautiful.
ReplyDeleteJane Austen didn't describe her heroine's physical appearance (Emma got the most, and it amounts to the fact that she was very good-looking.) I saw Gwyneth Paltrow first, even before I read the book, so I have that image. Emma is silly enough to be the stereotypical blonde. But Gwyneth Paltrow is an excellent actress.
I think without pressure, or the impression that Jane Austen wrote girl-books, most men would be Jane Austen fans. She's funny, accurate, and interesting. Congratulations, Robert, on taste that rises above cultural norms.
To God be all glory,
Lisa of Longbourn
Masterpiece Classic made a new version of Emma in 2009, which will be shown in the US early 2010. Review and info about purchase coming after that!
ReplyDeleteTo God be all glory,
Lisa of Longbourn