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Product Description: From acclaimed writer Andrew Davies (BBC?s Pride and Prejudice starring Colin Firth) comes this enchanting new adaptation of Jane Austen's classic novel about love and marriage. Marianne Dashwood wears her heart on her sleeve when she falls in love with the charming but unsuitable John Willoughby ignoring her sister Elinor's warning that her impulsive behavior leaves her open to gossip and innuendo. Elinor sensitive to social convention struggles to conceal her own romantic disappointment even from those closest to her. Will the sisters learn that sense must mix with sensibility if they are to find personal happiness in a society where status and money govern the rules of love?Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/BBC UPC: 883929006007 Manufacturer No: 1000036359Amazon.com: 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
Customer Reviews:
- Very good movie: The movie was soooooo good. I saw the movie on television before I had my copy of it. I saw the movie 3 times. I saw the version with Kate Winslet and Emma Thompson over a decade ago. But the Masterpiece Theater Version had more to the story. Wiloby didn't tell Mariane the truth about everything and he hurt her really bad and she was very upset. No wonder why she was sick with worry. I have read Jane Austen nearly 2 years after I graduated from high school. I have liked her for over a decaded. I am glad that people still like her.
- Sense & Sensibility: We are very pleased with the Video. We are not pleased that Amazon promised delivery in 3 days if we ordered immediately but didn't get the video when promised.
- Sense & Sensibilities: Both my wife and I enjoyed this production very much although probably not as much as the version with Emma Thompson & Kate Winslet.
- Love It!: I am a Jane Austen Fanatic. I was more than pleaseantly surprised to find that Amazon carries so many titles and versions. My favorites of course are the BBC adaptations. This newest version of Sense and Sensibility covered aspects of the novel that were not presented in the Hollywood version, which I found delightful. A lot less glitz and glamour. More like what I think times were like back when a woman's worth was measured by the type of matches she made.
- Promises made and broken and the kindness of strangers: This is a lovely and lush film. There are some scenes that don't exist in the book (Sense and Sensibilities by Jane Austen) but are hinted at in the backstory or off the pages. This is a lovely adaptation by Andrew Davies. Even when he adds scenes not in the book, he maintains faith to the spirit of the book.
This film has focused more on the differences between the family's life at Norland and their new life in the cottage in Devonshire, than has been the case in other adaptations. There is a lot of use of the sea and the landscape in Devonshire, highlighting the isolation of the Dashwoods from the life that they once had. From being women of leisure, they now live in a cottage with only two servants and must do much of the menial tasks themselves. They are learning but it's difficult for them as they must learn to economize and yet still maintain their manners and style of living as they associate with Sir John and his family and neighbors.
There's obviously a bond between the sisters but where Elinor controls her feelings, Marianne allows her feelings free range. In fact, Marianne at times seems to glory more in showing her feeling to the world than in feeling them herself. Elinor holds her feeling close to herself as treasures, while Marianne paints them on a marquee. In a society where appearance and surface adherence to propriety is more important than the actual propriety, it is dangerous to allow oneself to show what is felt. Elinor's mask of calm protects her from censure or ridicule but Marianne has no such protection as she hides nothing of what she feels.
Because of their character they each comes close to loosing what they love. Davies may have changed, added, deleted, or emphasized some of the books scenes but he's nevertheless maintained the heart and soul of the story. We feel for these people and because of the writing and the directing we get a feel for the rigid society in which they lived.
It's almost impossible for those of us who have grown up in today's vastly different society where women do have rights and can inherit or work at employment of their own choosing to understand the much narrower choices available to women at the Dashwood's level of society. Remembering too, that much of their problems came from their father's son refusing to honor the promise he made to take care of them. Much of the movie revolves around promises made, promises kept, and promises left unfulfilled. Then, as now, a person isn't honorable because of their place in society, the amount of money or status that they have, but because of their actions.
All in all, the film was an excellent rendition of the the novel (as I remember it). Now, I have to slip the book into my reading stack so that I can refresh my mind on the details.
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