Product Description

Movie DVD

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1225 in DVD
• Brand: WARNER HOME VIDEO
• Released on: 2004-08-24
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 6
• Running time: 1336 minutes

Amazon.com
The socially restricted lives of 18th-century women hardly seems like a subject that would inspire dozens of 20th (and 21st) century adaptations--but the brilliant novels of Jane Austen are flush with sparkling dialogue, razor-sharp wit, marvelously realized characters that range from adorably sympathetic to grotesquely comic, and--above all--ingeniously intricate plots, which arrive at a seemingly inevitable happy conclusion yet keep you seized with suspense every inch of the way. The Jane Austen Collection pulls together six BBC miniseries from 1971 through 1987, one for each of Austen's much-beloved books.

Unsurprisingly, the gems of the lot are also the best of the novels: Pride and Prejudice and Emma. Pride and Prejudice, expertly translated to the screen by novelist Fay Weldon, skillfully chronicles the ups and downs of the sensible but quick to judge Elizabeth Bennet (the adorable Elizabeth Garvie) and the snooty Mr. Darcy (played with an imperious scowl by David Rintoul). Any adaptation of Emma rests firmly on its central character, and Doran Godwin wonderfully captures Emma Woodhouse's resilience, determination, and exasperating self-satisfaction. Definitely the funniest of Austen's novels, Emma's satirical humor is perfectly balanced with romantic yearning, and this 1972 version succeeds delightfully.

Persuasion, though more melancholy in tone, has a wonderfully sympathetic heroine in Anne Elliot (played by the graceful Ann Fairbanks), who once turned away the man she loved but is given the chance, seven years later, to set things right. Sense and Sensibility suffers from comparison to the star firepower and cinematic sweep of the 1995 movie with Emma Thompson (a must-see for any Austen fan), but the dueling characters of gracious Elinore and headstrong Marianne, two sisters struggling with fallen fortunes, make for enjoyable viewing in this 1981 adaptation. Mansfield Park has perhaps the dullest hero and heroine of any Austen novel, yet the story zips along, powered by some of Austen's most outrageous supporting characters, here brought to deliciously comic life by Anna Massey and Angela Pleasence. Northanger Abbey satirizes gothic romances and the overheated imaginations that loved them; but though the tone is more broad and melodramatic than most of Austen, this 1987 adaptation suits the novel and rounds out this very satisfying boxed set. --Bret Fetzer

Customer Reviews

Excellent Collection for Austen lovers!
Let's quickly ammend what the previous reviewer said! First of all, this is an excellent DVD collection of excellent quality. The pictures are all crystal clear, the sound is striking, and the acting is fantastic. BBC and Warner Brothers did a fabulous job of remastering these films from the 70's and 80's and I am thrilled I bought the whole set. You can also buy each movie separately. As for side B of certain movies, the disc specifically says right on it "blank disc." This is because on some of them, the entire movie fits on the first side, thus side B is obviously unused. If the previous reviewer actually watched the movies, they would see that nothing is missing, so let's hope they give their collection another try! I for one am so glad I finally own these older, and more definitive version of Jane Austen's amazing works. Enjoy it, as I have and will continue to do so!

Unexpected surprise!
I'm not going to try to convince people who aren't already familiar with the videotape versions that they have to buy these DVDs. However, if you already enjoy them, then you're going to have a nice surprise when you get the DVDs. The DVDs contain scenes not found on the videotapes. We saw that for ourselves when we put on Pride and Prejudice which is one of our favorites. In this case, there's 265 minutes in the DVD version, but only 229 in the videotape version. That's a big difference! Not only do you get more to enjoy, but the DVDs are going to last a lot longer than the videotapes. The picture and sound are fine. This is an outstanding bargain if you already enjoy these versions of Austen's works.

Some good, some disappointing
I am a Jane Austen fan, having read all the novels several times and was thrilled to buy the complete set of DVDs. My favorite book is Pride and Prejudice so I watched this video first and was most disappointed in it out of all six (although it is by no means the worst). Probably because I went in with the highest expectations. The acting was good, although Mr. Darcy was a bit stiff. The biggest letdown is that it ends so abruptly immediately after the long-awaited understanding is reached between Elizabeth and Darcy...just when I want even more detail even from the book (dare I criticize my favorite book), the movie fails to provide even that much depth. This movie I give only 2/5 stars You are much better served to purchase the famous A&E (Colin Firth) version.

Emma, I watched next and with lower expectations. I was much fonder of this DVD. The Mr. Knightley comes across more angry and condescending to Emma than I would prefer, but overall I give this one a 4/5 stars.

Sense and Sensibility is fairly true to the novel with the exception of the omision of the youngest Dashwood sister, Margaret. I really liked the Colonel Brandon character/actor. I didn't personally find the Willoughby character all that attractive, making him easier to dislike. My DVD skips in the pivotal scene of Marianne's first encounter with Willoughby in London and this was very disappointing... I don't know if Amazon will replace this yet or not. All in all, this one I give a 3.5/5 stars.

Persuasion is my favorite movie from this set. The acting was good, the ending very sweet. Frederick was not how I pictured him in my mind but one can hardly blame BBC for that. I give this one a 4.5/5

Mansfield Park stays fairly true to the novel except Fanny seems so stern and prudish that it did not seem plausible for Henry to fall in love with her. The ending was also not very romantic making Edmund seem to choose Fanny almost only because he was so let down by Mary...I need romance if I'm going to root for cousins getting married! This one is a 2/5 stars.

Lastly, Northanger Abbey. This one is only 90 minutes and that is plenty for it is horrible! I didn't really like any of the characters even Catherine. Very disappointing. This one I give 1/5 stars.