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Sense & Sensibility (with Miss Austen Regrets) (BBC TV 2008)
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Price:
$34.98
$23.04*
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| Part No: | B0012OVCE6 |
| Manufacturer: | BBC Warner |
| MFG Part: | WARDE36359D |
| Customer Rating: | 4.5 / 5.0 |
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Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 04/08/2008 Rating: Nr
Lush, dramatic, and beautifully acted, the BBC's three-part miniseries
Sense & Sensibility captures the languid urgency that resonates throughout the Jane Austen novel on which it is based. The miniseries begins with a seduction scene: As a young girl cautiously gives herself to a man, she asks, "But when will you come back?" He answers ominously, "Soon... very soon," and gallops off into the night. We know what she does not--that he will not return for her. But viewers do not learn until the end who the couple are, and how their actions set off a chain of events. It is inevitable that this period piece will be compared to the 1995 big screen adaptation that starred Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet and Hugh Grant, and won Thompson an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. To its credit, this later version stands up incredibly well, with actors whose looks match Austen's written description. And due to a longer running time than the film version, there is more attention paid to detail and minor characters.
Sense & Sensibility focuses on the longings of the Dashwood sisters Elinor (Hattie Morahan) and Marianne (Charity Wakefield). After their wealthy father dies, leaving his entire estate to their milquetoast half brother John (Mark Gatiss), Elinor, Marianne, their younger sister Margaret (Lucy Boynton), and their mother are left penniless. John and his shrew-like wife Fanny move into the manor, making the Dashwoods feel like unwanted guests. It is only after Fanny's handsome and kind brother Edward Ferrars (Dan Stevens) arrives for a visit that Elinor feels happy again. Marianne, too, has attracted the attention of two suitors: serious and shy Colonel Brandon (David Morrissey) and dashing Willoughby (Dominic Cooper). Learning that the 35-year-old colonel is interested in her, a stunned Marianne says, "You do realize that it will be impossible for me to speak to him again." Her actions are that of a little girl, running away and hiding when he comes to call on her. But her feelings for Willoughby are real: the kind of love a girl feels for the first time. The differences in the sisters' choices, actions, and secrets set the tone for an era when a perceived impropriety could ruin a woman's reputation and her family's standing in a community. Filmed in England with good use of aerial shots, the production has a sweeping feel that adds a distinct flavor to the drama. As with many Austen novels, the heroines in
Sense & Sensibility go through many misunderstandings before their happily-ever-after ending. But that ending leaves viewers satisfied that things turned out just the way that they should.
Austen fans will be delighted with the second disc in this set: Miss Austen Regrets is a perfect companion to the miniseries, starring Olivia Williams stars as the author, and Greta Scacchi--who could easily pass as Williams' real-life sibling--as Austen's sister Cassandra. The film takes a bittersweet look at Austen's life and hints at what could have been had she married one of her suitors. Smart and headstrong, Austen refuses to cave into society's notions of what a proper woman should do. While her famous heroines all paired up with dashing gentlemen, Austen found that the loves of her life were her written creations. --Jae-Ha Kim
| I like them both for different reasons..... | 2008-11-18 | 5 / 5 |
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I have to say that I have been in love with the character of Colonel Brandon since I was twelve and I read this novel the first time. In both films, the 1995 and the BBC production, I find myself remembering why, the character is played by two men who are both powerful in presence but who have a softness to them. The fact that in previous movies they have played villians actually adds to this unexpected goodness in this role, Rickman in Die Hard/Robin Hood and David Morrissey in The Reaping. Oh, they are both handsome too. I have to say that I loved both Elinors, this version's was more of what I have always imagined, so solid and with a good head on her shoulders. I prefer Winslet's Marianne somewhat but I like the fact that in the end the BBC's Marianne showed that sober side more so than 1995's. It is somewhat more serious than 1995's version but that is one of the things that I liked most about it, its a sad story for the most part much like Persausion, these girls are penniless for the most part and their destinies are very much uncertain. I love this one for its detail and the fact that they go into more detail about the Misses Steele and Mrs. Ferrars. I have to say that there is one thing that I didn't like about this version and that was Willoughby, that guy was seriously unattractive, seriously, when I think of Willoughby I think of someone so dangerously handsome that you can't help but want to run off with him. I do like that they go into the story of Col. Brandon's ward more, and don't write her off. I love that they show how Marianne becomes most ardently attached to Col. Brandon in the end, like I said he has always been my favorite character of all the Austen novels, this film lets through the agony of what he went through and what he gained. I loved the duel scene, it was just what I wanted to happen, to see Willoughby brought to account for all his wrong doing. Speaking of which the fact that there is the scene when Willoughby comes back to explain what happened between he and Marianne, I love that scene, it actually brought me to tears. I have always been more Elinor than Marianne, I have no real romantic notions, but I felt badly for her everytime that I read this novel. I sort of wanted a final scene that denoted what Austen wrote at the end of the novel, that the sisters lived in close enough proximity to visit one another most frequently, perhaps a dinner scene with all the Dashwood girls their husbands and mother and younger sister. I think that you have to go into this movie not ready to compare it to the earlier version but to love it for what it is. A more detailed telling of a wonderful story, I love both versions for different reasons. The point is that I love them both.
M. |
| Love Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility+Miss Austen Regrets | 2008-10-30 | 5 / 5 |
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| I loved this movie when it aired on MPTV and enjoyed it uninterrupted in my sitting room....the characters are perfect and the scenery wonderful. Jane Austen's material comes to life and if she were alive would so enjoy watching. Rocks....its not Net Flicks and I have to send my movie back...its mine and when I feel like it I can pop it in and have a visit with my old friends...Thanks you, BLC |
| Great film | 2008-10-24 | 5 / 5 |
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| I had been enamored of the Emma Thompson version of this Jane Austen story, at least until I saw the BBC version. This version is so much more true to the feelings of the book. The music is glorious, the photography lovely, and the acting is passionate and sensitive. This is now my favorite version. |
| Best Interpretation Yet | 2008-10-23 | 5 / 5 |
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| I have enjoyed many of Jane Austen's period pieces and novels; they are rich in history and in reminding us all of the beauty of the human relationship. This version of Sense and Sensibility is simply the best I've seen bar none. The acting is superb and it is quick to absorb oneself in the human drama. However, one other element makes this series superior: the music. It is moving and in a heartbeat sweeps you into Barton Cottage and each key moment of this drama and romance. This is a series worth owning. |
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| This is awesome. Its a difficult novel to get right on the screen because there are so any levels to it and personalities hiding behind the stiff upper lips - but this version just has the right "finish". I've already watched it twice within 2 weeks. This is a great one to watch again and again and again and... |
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