Mansfield Park (DVD)

Advantages: Erm.....none?
Disadvantages: Too many to mention!

...right from the beginning - Mansfield Park. This TV dramatisation of a Jane Austin novel. I'll give you a basic plot overview: Mansfield Park is the home of a wealthy family, the Bertram family. They take in a young and less well-off relative to give her the best education, and all the good advantages of being well-off. This lucky girl was Fanny Price. The poor girl is completely up-rooted from everything she knows, friends and family, house etc. ...
...to hold herself against the wealthy, and the poor and all about the sexual politics in the new world she is becoming accustomed to. Now, for the DVD. I'll start with the actors, some of which I knew, and some I'd never heard of before, and after this disaster, probably never will again! Billie Piper, Jemma Redgrave, Maggie O'Neill, Douglas Hodge and James D'Arcy. I personally do not believe that above were the best actors/actresses for the job. ... Read review

Advantages: Well its Jane Austen.. or at least it started that way
Disadvantages: Mangled storyline

HISTORY For anyone who hasn't came across Jane Austen's work before, here is a little history lesson! The book that this is adapted from was published in 1814, 192 years ago! By that time Jane had already written her biggest and most popular novel, Pride and Prejudice. So when this book came out, people were a little disappointed. In fact, Fanny Price, who is the heroine, is one of the most hated literary characters of all time! Go ahead, put that ...
...pages appear before your eyes. So already a hard job for a director, who decided it was probably best not to stick to the novel. So instead the director takes part of the story, and parts of Jane Austen's real life and merges them together. So if you have read the book or another adaptation and then watched this and said 'hang on a mo! That's nuffin' Like the real story' then that's why! ABOUT? Fanny Price is born to a rather poor family, her mother ... Read review

Advantages: Beautifully shot period romance and satire
Disadvantages: Not that close to the originial

...she just makes your skin crawl. The film is shot in beautiful surroundings and the whole feel of the piece transports you to Mansfield Park and embroils you in the plot that unfolds. Not the best of the recent adaptions in my opinion but definitely worth watching again. ... Read review

Advantages: Great acting and characterisation
Disadvantages: Some wooden performances from child actors

...Coming from a large family with little money, Fanny Price is sent at a young age to her mother's sister, Lady Bertram, at Mansfield Park. Sensitive and shy, Fanny misses her family terribly, all the more so because her cousins, Maria and Julia, look down on her. Luckily, cousin Edmund takes care of her and she soon becomes part of the family, although always aware of her lowly position. She soon comes to care for Edmund, but his heart is won by another woman - Miss Mary Crawford - whose rascally brother, Henry, eventually falls in love with Fanny. Much to the horror of Fanny's aunts and uncle, she turns him down, still in the throes of unrequited love for Edmund. Will she come to her senses and marry Henry? Or will she follow her heart and hold out for Edmund's love? Although forced to study Pride and Prejudice for O level, which was... Read review

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