Product Description

A young couple's stormy romance scandalizes English society in this acclaimed adaptation of Jane Austen's classic love story. Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds of the Royal Shakespeare Company are the star-crossed lovers Anne and Wentworth whose passion is thwarted by a scheming socialite. Eight yearslater when Anne is considered an old maid and her once-rich family is on the verge of bankruptcy Wentworth returns. Will their second chance at love be ruined by the social conventions that destroyed it once? Or will the heart be persuaded by rules of its own? Adding flirtatious fun to Austen's irresistible romance PERSUASION takes your breathe away! A dazzling five-star feast.Run Time: 155Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: PG UPC: 043396039520 Manufacturer No: 03952

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #291 in DVD
• Brand: Sony
• Released on: 2000-02-01
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, French, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 104 minutes

Amazon.com
Movie adaptations of Jane Austen's classic novels were all the rage (relatively speaking) in the mid-1990s. Clueless updated Austen's Emma, which was more conventionally adapted in another version (Emma) starring Gwyneth Paltrow. Emma was produced yet again, this time for British television, as were a celebrated miniseries of Pride and Prejudice and this splendid film of Austen's Persuasion. Persuasion is the story of a love that survives eight years of dormancy and the frustrating obstacles of class prejudice in 19th century England. Anne (Amanda Root) is captivated when she meets the dignified naval officer Capt. Wentworth (Ciarán Hinds), but she is advised to discourage his romantic overtures because he has no fortune. They meet again eight years later, but now Capt. Wentworth has become wealthy while Anne's father is in reduced circumstances in the wake of reckless extravagance. A series of circumstances ensue which prevent Anne and Wentworth from expressing their mutual and inevitable love. The film's success depends entirely on the subtle, superb performances of Root and Hinds. The film builds slowly, occasionally leaving you wondering if anything at all is going to happen. When it does, you realize how carefully crafted a film this is, and the final result is grandly rewarding. --Jeff Shannon

From The New Yorker
The young British director Roger Michell has done what always seemed impossible. He has made a Jane Austen movie that is never pretty and only occasionally charming; instead, it is troubled, astringent, and touched with melancholy-not unlike the novel. Amanda Root, almost out-mousing Isabelle Huppert in reticence, plays Anne Elliot, who once turned down Frederick Wentworth (Ciaran Hinds, who has the profile of a Regency miniature) and has regretted it ever since. They come together again-in the country, by the sea, and on the streets of Bath-and you can guess the outcome. But Michell somehow tenses a simple narrative into suspense; the camera catches every glance between the former lovers and probes every scene for signs of hope. Anyone expecting verbal Ping-Pong and unspotted elegance will be disappointed: Anne's dress gets caught in the mud, and her sister, Mary (a fine turn from Sophie Thompson), talks through a mouthful of pie. With Corin Redgrave as Anne's monstrous father, and Fiona Shaw as the worldly wife of an admiral. -Anthony Lane
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

This is the version to watch
As I watched the 2008 Masterpiece version of Persuasion I was appalled at the blithe rewriting of the story, inadequate acting and interminable unnecessary pauses that doubled the run time. I love the novel and the story came alive for me as I watched this movie - perfection in every scene. The actors fit their characters so exquisitely that I could not imagine anyone else playing the roles, and certainly there are none that could come close to Amanda Root and Ciaran Hand playing the leads. Their respective transformations from rundown to radiant, and aloof to passionate were subtle and spot on, and completely matched my personification of the characters as I read the book. I watch the final scenes every time I need a romantic "high" - Wentworth realizing Anne still loves him has he hears her say that women love the longest when there is no hope, and Anne reading his amazing letter that brings her total joy then madly trying to be alone with him to say "yes". Well done!

the best
This is my favorite of all the Jane Austin stories. I must have watched this DVD 20 times already.

Even Jane herself would approve of this production
The producers of this film took their jobs seriously. By that, I mean that I think they actually read the book before producing the film. And the production is so much better for it.

The story is classic and familiar: Boy and girl fall in love. The girl (who is young and easily manipulated) is convinced to drop the boy since he is not "acceptable" -- not of her caste. Later, after many changes in fortune, they meet again, but this time it is the man who is initially reluctant to form any kind of alliance with her, though she still cares deeply for him. It takes some shared experiences, a change of scenery, and some realization on both of their parts of their mutual responsibilities before they are happily joined together.

Sounds like the making of a soap opera, doesn't it? But in the hands of Jane Austin's incomparable skill at story telling coupled with excellent casting of the film, a fine adaptation of the story, and just a smidge of Aristotle's "willing suspension of disbelief," this film is a wonderful fresh surprise.

By the way, if you saw the recent PBS Masterpiece Classics adaptation of this same book, you may find as I did that it suffered greatly when compared to this earlier production. Take a look at this film and once more escape into Jane's world of Regency England and the rise of the middle class.