« SUPERVISINGLY SUPERIOR TO EMMA THOMPSON'S PRODUCTION»

Most of the BBC productions of J.Austen's works; have not lived up to the- one would hope- artistic standards you would use in bringing Miss Austen's incomparable novels to life. Fortunately as the sensitive and sensible person that I am; this production has used the 'huge' allotment of time BBC/PBS gives to their "Master Piece" programs, sensibly, and smartly done.

Of course, when you see a reproduction of a loved work, you may be blinded to the vision the director and the screen writer has, if they have one at all. My belief is that you can not have wonderful without failures, even in different productions. This production lets you in on the joke, the satirical and at times irony in the novel. But, I believe that we, I, need to understand that we have to different art-forms and fortunately this one has also worked quit sensibly.
Sense & Sensibility (with Miss Austen Regrets) (BBC TV 2008)

[Sunday, November 30, 2008]

«Well Done But Not Quite Up to Ang Lee's Version»

I thought this version of Sense and Sensibility was well acted, scripted, and photographed. I watched it on a large screen TV and was impressed how beautiful the film looked. It's a totally satisfying version of the novel and better than the other recent PBS Jane Austen adaptations that were screened. (I don't count Emma, which I really like, because that was filmed years ago.) Nevertheless, the actresses who play Elinor and Marianne while very good cannot hold a candle to Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet. And Janet McTeer is not as memorable as the actress who played the mother in the Ang Lee version of the film. Dan Stevens and David Morissey are about as good as Hugh Grant and Alan Rickman in their respective roles but I think Greg Wise is better cast than the current Dominic Cooper in the PBS version. So I still think the Ang Lee film version is better than this respectable TV version.

[Thursday, November 27, 2008]

«I like them both for different reasons.....»

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.

[Tuesday, November 18, 2008]

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