Product Description

This splendid dramatization brings to life all the glorious wit and sharp humor of arguably Jane Austen's finest novel recreating her most irritatingly endearing female character Emma of whom she wrote "no one but myself could like." Emma presides over the small provincial world of Highbury with enthusiasm but she will find that it is all too easy to confuse good intentions with self-gratification. The often sensitive ever well-meaning incorrigible Emma Woodhouse having engineered the marriage of governess companion and friend Miss Taylor now turns her attention towards making a match for Mr. Elton the local vicar and her new protege Harriett Smith. Her one voice of reason and restraint is Mr. Knightly who has known her since she was a child and who watches her behavior with wry amusement and sometimes with real anger.Running Time: 257 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA UPC: 794051168429

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #23480 in DVD
• Brand: Warner Brothers
• Released on: 2004-08-24
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Original recording remastered, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 270 minutes

Features

• This splendid dramatization brings to life all the glorious wit and sharp humor of arguably Jane Austen's finest novel, recreating her most irritatingly endearing female character, Emma, of whom she wrote "no one but myself could like."Emma presides over the small provincial world of Highbury with enthusiasm, but she will find that it is all too easy to confuse good intentions with self-gratificat

Amazon.com
The key to any Jane Austen adaptation is finding the perfect balance of romantic yearning and savage, satirical wit. Austen's Emma has these two qualities at their most exquisite and tantalizing, and this BBC adaptation from 1972 serves the novel with complete satisfaction. Delightful Doran Godwin captures not only the title character's good nature and resilient will, but also her exasperating self-satisfaction and ungovernable manipulative impulses. Believing herself to be acting in everyone's best interests, Emma takes the lower-class Harriet Smith (Debbie Bowen) under her wing and sets out to find the girl a suitable husband, disregarding what havoc she wreaks along the way. Her foolish father (Donald Eccles) cannot temper Emma's fancies; only the stern Mr. Knightly (John Carson) offers any reason or restraint. This sprightly adaptation is far superior to the mediocre 1996 film (starring Gwyneth Paltrow) and on par with the ingenious Clueless, which cunningly translates the story to a Beverly Hills high school. The luxurious span of a six-part miniseries gives this version the opportunity to revel in Emma's every deliciously misguided moment. --Bret Fetzer

Customer Reviews

Worth the wait.
I've seen all three film productions of Jane Austen's "Emma," and while all of them have merit, I appreciate that this version is the one that's closest to the book. I'll have to reread my copy of "Emma," but it seems to me as if this movie is taken verbatim from the book. Unlike the Gyneth Paltrow and Kate Beckinsale Emmas, this movie takes a while to draw you in, but once you are drawn in--about the time Mrs. Elton (Ellen Dryden) appears--you're hooked. Dryden's portrayal of the hilariously vulgar Mrs. Elton is practically perfect. Doran Godwin, as Emma, sometimes seems a bit too prim, but she grows on you as the movie progresses. Debbie Bowen, as Harriet Smith, is certainly the best Harriet Smith of the three films. I also enjoyed Ellen Dryden's portrayal of Mrs. Weston, and the actor who plays Mr. Weston gives life to what is a very minor character in the other two movies. Also totally charming, and just as I imagined him is Donald Eccles' portrayal of Mr. Woodhouse. To sum up: you may feel impatient with this movie at first, but watching it to the end is worth the wait.

Wonderful and True Adaptation of Jane's Book
This is the one for you if you love Jane Austen as much as I do. It is very faithful to the book. The acting is superb all around. Espcially in Emma and her father, Mr. Woodhouse. Basil Dingham does a terrific job playing the anxious and worrying Woodhouse.

This Emma is not "flashy" like Paltrow's, but then that one took several major liberties. This one may take a little time to get into. But stick with it! It is definitely rewarding and fulfilling to watch Jane Austen's characters come to live as she intended. You feel like you have traveled back in time to the Regency Era.

Definitely worth it!
I recently watched this series. I must admit that at first I wasn't sure whether I would like it -- it doesn't have the lush production values of some Austen adaptations - such as the A&E version of Pride and Prejudice or the Roger Michell film, Persuasion. However, the acting is superb and quite faithful to the book. I especially enjoyed Ms. Goodwin's portrayal of Emma - she manages to convey the complex nature of Emma's character. I also enjoyed the A&E version of Emma (even though it takes certain liberties with the story) - however, I really believe this version to be superior.