Jane Austen Collection - Mansfield Park/Northanger Abbey/Emma (Box Set)

Advantages: Excellent entertainment
Disadvantages: Some of the productions are better than others

...Jane Austen needs little or no introduction to both modern readers and viewers. She was one of the pioneers of the modern novel and her work continues to be read widely - not just for its historic value but for its entertainment too! Whilst some consider it to be "women's literature" this is simply because her heroines are young women. Frankly it is a gender-inspired argument as ridiculous as to say that Shakespeare is for men. Her novels are carefully crafted and exquisitely written snapshots of her era and if her social concerns are not as wide-ranging as, say, Charles Dickens' the wickedness of her wit is sharper through being muted. Since she unfortunately died at the early age of forty-one it is possible to present all Austen's mature works within one collection. This dvd set contains adaptations of all her adult novels... Read review

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Advantages: Charming cast in a fine adaptation of Fowler book
Disadvantages: Too many contrivances and an uneven story

......SIX MONTHS Five different women---each of whom are dealing with various down periods in their lives---decide to form a book club dedicated to reading all six of Jane Austen's novels: "Emma", "Sense and Sensibility", "Mansfield Park", "Northanger Abbey", "Pride and Prejudice", and "Persuasion". One of the women, Jocelyn (Maria Bello, WORLD TRADE CENTER) meets a producer of science fiction TV shows named Grigg Harris (Hugh Dancy, EVENING), and asks him to be the sixth member of the club. The creator---and eldest member---of the group is Bernadette (Kathy Baker, COLD MOUNTAIN), who gets dibs on hosting "Pride and Prejudice". Sylvia Avila (Amy Brenneman, TV's "Judging Amy") is now suffering through a divorce from her husband Daniel (Jimmy Smits, TV's "NYPD Blue"); her lesbian daughter Allegra (Maggie Grace, "Lost") is suffering from writer... Read review

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Advantages: McAvoy a dish, fun for Austen fans to see her imagined biopic
Disadvantages: Jane didn't get to write her own ending

...overhears him dismissing her as girlish and self indulgent. Not used to criticism, Anne has a bit of a strop. Well, as much of a strop as Anne Hathaway deigns to. Hathaway's performance as Jane was, to me, the main problem in this film. While perfectly passable, something about her I just found dull. It was hard to believe some of the witticisms she spoke, much less that she would become a woman capable of writing some of the most timelessly revered novels of all time. She just lacked the sparkle and archness of an Austen heroine. While perhaps this was a character choice as Austen was very possibly not as vibrant as Lizzie or Emma, the dialogue and setting of the film are so reminiscent of Austen's work it is hard not to expect a bit more fizz from the character. I caught a snippet of the BBC's Pride & Prejudice the other night on t... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful