Customer Reviews:
Becoming a Jane fan.......2008-03-10
Well, I think I was a Jane Austen fan before. But to my shame I had read Mansfield Park and Northanger Abbey only once and Emma only twice, so was not hugely familiar with any of these. Having watched them on TV, re-read the books and now re-watching on DVD, I think these are a great way of getting into some of her less well-known works.
Yes, they suffer a little from the 'Andrew Davis' effect of sexing up the original books that can be a little distracting. But overall they are a faithful enough reflection of the originals, well acted and good value in a boxed set like this - particularly as many of you will already have the BBC Pride & Prejudice and Ang Lee film of Sense & Sensibility (it is more in the school of these than the Gwyneth Paltrow film of Emma or the recent Keira Knightley Pride & Prejudice). It's just a shame they couldn't squeeze Persuasion into the same boxed set - if they could this would have got the full five stars. As it is, it'll get four stars and a recommendation for anyone who is an Austen fan already or who has enjoyed either Pride & Prejudice or Sense & Sensibility and is looking to broaden their range.
It's alright..........2007-11-01
As the reviewer before me stated, if this is indeed the caliber of programming that comes out of ITV, then no, it does not rival BBC...HOWEVER, I was actually relatively entertained by these programs (as well as the Persuasion movie that was part of this season that isn't included here). They weren't quite true to the novels, but overall, they were each worth watching all the way through. Perhaps it is because I'm a fan of cheesy romance films, but I give it 3 stars for being alright in my eyes.
waste of money and waste of time.......2007-10-21
These were quite dreadful and very disappointing. I should have known ITV productions would not match up to anything produced by the BBC. I was fooled by Andres Davis' name!
Customer Reviews:
Strangely fascinating.......2008-03-09
Although the music was strange, the adaptation worked for me. It's not the easiest work of Jane Austin to film. The final scene was very romantic and Peter Firth very attractive.
Mythical 5 star reviews.......2008-03-05
This tedious DVD is listed as having two FIVE STAR reviews by Amazon. Where are these supposed reviews? Are they so embarrassed by themselves that they have run away to Barbados?
However big a Jane Austen fan you are, I wouldn't recommend this DVD to you. It is an awful production in every way.
Not what I expected.......2008-03-02
Having read most of Jane Austen's books and seen many dramatizations I was expecting a story involving her usual portrayal of highly regulated social interactions and restrained wooing of nicely brought up girls by eligible suitors. How different this dramatization turned out to be! Loaded with violent sexual imaginary, predatory males and most of the characters as caricatures of real men and women. I gather from a biography of Jane Austen that Northanger Abbey was an early work much influenced by the Gothic novels of Mrs Radcliffe and that Austen was satirizing the over-blown horror and extravagant prose of that style of book.
I've been re-reading the book and think that the film has been unable to capture Austen's wonderful restrained acidity in describing human failings and foibles, but if you accept this film version as a rather over-blown modern satire of Austen's satire then you can enjoy it and forget what you know and love about all the other Jane Austen's novels.
Cringe.......2008-03-02
Despite reading all the negative reviews, I nevertheless watched this version anyway. I must say I am extremely disappointed. For starter, you could tell it is an 80's film with all that perm! The hero was not good looking in the least and he overacts, like he was in some Shakespears play. Very muddled so you could not follow if you have never read the book.
POOR.......2008-01-19
The acting is one of the poorest I've seen. The heroine is silly and uninteresting. The "lovestory" has no sparks whatsoever.
Customer Reviews:
Some of these adaptations are older than I am (and I'm no longer in my 20s).......2007-08-05
After eagerly anticipating the arrival of my birthday present, I was horrified on opening this to find that the adaptations date back as far as 1972 (Emma) and the most recent are 1995 (Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion). I'm a huge fan of the '95 version of P&P starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle, but could have bought the 10th anniversary edition and saved myself money and a whole lot of disappointment. The older adaptations haven't stood up to the test of time; the acting style has dated, the sound quality is terrible, the colours washed out, and the camera work distracting. A further annoyance is that it wasn't possible to tell from the packaging that the versions were so old - I had to take the shrink-wrapping off (and thereby void my right to return) to find this out. Grrr.
Fantastic!.......2007-04-16
I agree with the second review that is fantastic, although I don't own this particular boxset yet I have watched all of these exact films which this boxset contains and I think they are great to watch. I have watched some of the newer versions and I feel that the nes in this boxset are far better and this is coming from a 22 year old, however I do have a thing for history and especially period fashion and of course period dramas. I think this boxset would be a great buy for anyone interested in period drama.
Don't buy this unless you know you already love it.......2006-10-14
I bought this for my wife based purely on the Pride and Prejudice series on the BBC which is excellent and the only reason it got a 2 star rating. How bad was this purchase!?! The other adaptations are so dull to be true. Even my mother, who loves this type of programme, described them as "awful". Unless you have seen the previous and old adaptations do not buy this. The acting is terrible. The sound quality awful. Avoid at all costs unless you already know you love these programmes. Most of them from the 1970's!! Not worth the money. Buy the modern adaptations instead.
EXCELLENT!!!!.......2006-04-08
The finest adaptations of Austen's work. A collection of the finest British talent both in front of and behind the camera. The most popular film in the collection is, of course, Pride and Prejudice [Colin Firth ;)] however the other films are just as good. I am a big Austen fan, though never too fond of Persuasion, and this collection is the perfect companion to the novels themselves (as of course they could never be better than the novels!) This is not the Emma Thompson Sense & Sensiblity or the Gwyneth Paltrow Emma in case you are planning on purchasing this item expecting these films to arrive.
Product Description
European import. Plays on standard UK DVD players in English without subtitles.
Collectors DVD Box set with 4 BBC TV mini-series: MIDDLEMARCH: An epic story of love, politics and frustrated passion. This Masterpiece Theatre production, set at the cusp of the Industrial Revolution, chronicles, the life, loves, foibles and politics of the fictional English town of Middlemarch. Adapted from the George Eliot classic of the same name, the plot centers on the socially conscious, but naive Dorothea Brooke, whose disastrous match to the pedantic Rev. Edward Casaubon sets in motion a chain of events that will change the face of Middlemarch forever. Starring Juliet Aubrey, Robert Hardy and Douglas Hodge._VANITY FAIR: William Makepeace Thackeray´s most adventurous classic with Becky Sharp and Amelia Sedley. Starring Natasha Little, Jeremy Swift, Philip Glenister, Frances Gray, Miriam Margolyes, Tom Ward and Nathaniel Parker._NORTHANGER ABBEY: From the novel by Jane Austen about Catherine Morland and Henry Tilney. Starring Katherine Schlesinger, Peter Firth and Robert Hardy._JANE EYRE: Charlotte Bronte´s Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester._ Starring Timothy Dalton and Zelah Clarke.
Product Description
European import. Plays on standard UK DVD players in English without subtitles.
Collectors DVD Box set with 10 BBC TV mini-series: FINGERSMITH: from the novel by Sarah Waters about two young women...one passion. Mutual betrayal...final retribution. Starring Sally Hawkins, Elaine Cassidy, Rupert Evans, Charles Dance, David Troughton and Imelda Staunton._JANE EYRE: Charlotte Bronte´s Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester._ Starring Timothy Dalton and Zelah Clarke._VANITY FAIR: William Makepeace Thackeray´s most adventurous classic with Becky Sharp and Amelia Sedley. Starring Natasha Little, Jeremy Swift, Philip Glenister, Frances Gray, Miriam Margolyes, Tom Ward and Nathaniel Parker._NORTHANGER ABBEY: From the novel by Jane Austen about Catherine Morland and Henry Tilney. Starring Katherine Schlesinger, Peter Firth and Robert Hardy._MAYOR OF CASTERBRIDGE: A lavish adaptation of Thomas Hardy´s classic tale with Michael Henchard. Starring Ciaran Hinds, Juliet Aubrey, Jodhi May, James Purefoy and Polly Walker._PORTRAIT OF A MARRIAGE: They both took lovers...of either sex. Starring Cathryn Harrison and Janet McTeer._NICHOLAS NICKLEBY: A Charles Dickens´ tale about Nicholas and Kate. Starring Nigel Havers, Derek Francis, Patricia Routledge and Freddie Jones._BLEAK HOUSE: A Charles Dickens´ tale about Lady Dedlock and the Jarndyce trial. Starring Warren Clarke, Charles Dance, Gillian Anderson and Johnny Vegas._THE PICKWICK PAPERS: A Charles Dickens´ tale about Samual Pickwick and the Pickwick Club. Starring Nigel Stock, Alan Parnaby, Clive Swift and Patrick Malahide_TIPPING THE VELVET: Form the novel by Sarah Waters about Nan and Kitty. Starring Anna Chancellor, Jodhi May and Hugh Bonneville.
Product Description
Collectors DVD Box set with 8 BBC TV mini-series: FREUD: A portrayal of the great psychoanalyst played by David Suchet._BYRON: Discover the man behind the myth, the poet Lord Byron played by Jonny Lee Miller._NORTHANGER ABBEY: From the novel by Jane Austen about Catherine Morland and Henry Tilney. Starring Katherine Schlesinger, Peter Firth and Robert Hardy._CANTERBURY TALES: A modern re-telling of 6 timeless stories by Geoffrey Chaucer starring Julie Walters and James Nesbitt._HARD TIMES: A powerful adaptation of Dickens' tale for all times. In an industrial Victorian town the philosophy of the market predominates over human sensitivity and true passions are repressed. Starring Bob Peck and Bill Patterson._TWENTY THOUSANDS STREETS UNDER THE SKY: Patrick Hamilton's classic story of unrequited love in 1930s London. Starring Zoë Tapper, Sally Hawkins and Phil Davis._CHARLES II: The power and the passion. Rufus Newell stars in a vivid drama set during one of the most decadent and colourful periods of English history._NORTH AND SOUTH: Elizabeth Gaskell's classic explores the simmering, restrained passion between two very different people who fall in love in spite of themselves. Starring Daniella Deny-Ashe, Tim Piggott-Smith and Rickard Armitage.
Product Description
European import. Plays on standard UK DVD players in English without subtitles.
NORTHANGER ABBEY: An Eighteenth Century drama adapted from the novel by Jane Austen. Catherine Morland arrives at Northanger upon the invitation of Henry Tilney and discovers that the place is shrouded in mystery and intrigue.
VANITY FAIR: Follows the fortunes of Becky Sharp as she climbs the social ladder. Determined to reach the top, Becky schemes and seduces those who get in her way. Her progress is threatened, however, when she encounters real love... Based on the novel by William Makepeace Thackeray.
Customer Reviews:
Jane Austen is sexed-up here, but it's still worth watching .......2008-03-08
This ITV production of Northanger Abbey - which first aired in March 2007 and is now available on DVD (without extras) - might not match up to the stellar standard set by the Pride and Prejudice BBC mini-series starring Colin Firth nor the Persuasion film starring Amanda Root, but it's definitely worth a watch. The two leads are well cast with Felicity Jones (she of the pouty, bee-stung lips!) playing Catherine Morland and JJ Feild (a rather charming, warm-voiced actor) taking up the role of Henry Tilney. Sparky chemistry can be felt between them onscreen; and the age difference of the main characters has also been preserved. Carey Mulligan plays the sly and scheming Isabella with aplomb and William Beck is delightfully deep-voiced and manipulative as rival suitor John Thorpe. However, I found Sylvestra Le Touzel deficient on occasion as Mrs Allen (could she have said, "Why, Catherine, how you've grown!" in a more contrived manner?!) and Catherine Walker at 32 was too old to play Eleanor Tilney, who is a woman in her late teens and early twenties in Austen's novel. Another drawback is that the character of Captain Frederick Tilney is rather flattened to a stereotype and played as a one-sided womaniser by Mark Dymond. His father General Tilney (Liam Cunningham) also comes across as a one-dimensional vampiric being rather than as a more realistic antagonist.
Having said that, there are plus points! The comedy, for example: Mrs Allen's repeated insistence that Henry is a fine gentleman because he knows the price of muslin, and Catherine's cute brothers and sisters acting stroppily towards Henry at the close because they believe he has slighted their beloved sister. And JJ Feild puts in a sterling performance as the male lead, showing how Henry is a little too self-indulgent in his humour, mocking people, commonplaces and the expectations of polite society, but is ultimately a man of warm heart.
There are some excessively melodramatic moments, though. In principle the vivid scenes of Catherine's imagination - shown to convey the growing overwroughtness of her mind due to an excessive appetite for the gothic novels of the day (as well as to parody such works along the way) - are a good idea. However, Andrew Davies sexualises Catherine's dreams in a cheaply titillating manner. In one of them, we see Catherine lounging in a milky bath, followed by a shot of the back of her naked body. She is often shown in bed, too, seemingly in a state of orgasm whilst dreaming her gothicised nightmares. Captain Tilney's treatment of Isabella is embellished, too - a slighting in the novel that happens after he has let her feed his vanity for a while is transformed into a seduction in brothel-like surroundings followed by her expulsion from polite society! The modernised dialogue, peppered with contemporary slang, is also a problem: at one point John Thorpe tells Catherine that the novel 'The Monk' is "hot stuff"! The trouble with this modernisation (done, I imagine, to attract a broader audience) is that it hoists the viewer back to the present after he or she had been escapistly wandering through a Regency period full of balls, rigid social rules and familes divided by monetary ambitions and the force of real emotions. This version of Northanger Abbey would seem to want to have its cake and eat it, too.
So it might not be flawless, but it is certainly a good and enjoyable production of Jane Austen's early novel.
Great given the competition! .......2008-02-17
I'll keep this short and sweet. Given the competition, this adaptation of Northanger Abbey is outstanding and was a real diamond in the rough from ITV's Jane Austen series last year.
Not entirley faithful to the book, quite over done in some parts but altogether I thought it was a very enjoyable production! Felicity plays a wonderful Catherine and is physically exactly how I imagine her to be! Defenetley worth 90 minutes of your time!
So lovely.......2008-02-07
Cette adaptation a été qualifiée de "presque miraculeuse" : de quoi me donner envie de me la procurer très vite.
Diffusée en 2007 sur la chaine anglaise ITV, on ne la trouve qu'en VO sous-titrée VO, mais la diction très articulée et surtout la bonne connaissance du roman font que comprendre ne pose aucune difficulté !
Avant de passer en revue quelques petits points, je veux souligner l'excellence du jeu de JJ Feild, qui interprète un Mister Tilney correspondant en tous points au héros de papier. Felicity Jones est également très convaincante en Catherine Morland, à la limite presque meilleure que l'héroïne du roman, d'une naïveté que l'on trouve charmante de bout en bout, alors que dans la lecture on a quand même envie de la souffleter quelquefois.
C'est un roman très mordant, à l'ironie très cinglante, et il regorge de petits passages férocement drôle, d'attaques persifleuses envers les personnages. Ainsi ce Thorpe, est dépeint dès les premiers passages le concernant d'une admirable manière :
"Je ne l'ai pas lu.
- Vous n'avez rien perdu, croyez-moi. C'est la plus affreuse idiotie que vous puissiez imaginer. On n'y parle que d'un vieillard qui joue à la bascule et apprend le latin. Sur mon honneur, c'est tout.
Cette critique, dont la pauvre Catherine était malheureusement incapable d'apprécier la valeur; les amena jusqu'à la porte de Mrs Thorpe. Là, les sentiments du lecteur si clairvoyant et si exempt de préjugés cédèrent le pas aux sentiments du fils obéissant et affectionné quand ils retrouvèrent Mrs Thorpe qui les avait aperçus dans la ruelle, depuis l'étage.
- Ah, mère, comment-allez-vous ? dit-il, lui donnant une cordiale poignée de main. Où avez-vous été pêché ce chapeau ridicule, vous avez l'air d'une vieille sorcière avec ça."
Dans le film, on ne s'attarde pas trop sur ces détails, mais c'est suggéré par une parole désinvolte de sa soeur (oh mais il dit n'importe quoi selon les moments, ce qui lui passe par l'esprit). Ou, dès les premières soirées, l'exagération avec laquelle il dépeint Catherine au Général Tilney. Mais c'est carrément avec le physique de l'acteur (William Beck) qu'est le mieux exprimé son caractère, souriant, certes, mais inquiétant. Le Thorpe du film parait moins vaniteux que celui du roman, à l'instar de sa soeur, dont le pépiement incessant est en quelque sorte atténué par l'attirance qu'elle éprouve très vite pour le frère de Tilney.
Evidemment, on ne peut attendre d'une heure et demi de film de contenir l'ensemble du roman. Mais il est étonnant que de tous petits détails soient modifiés, telle la première fois que Catherine aperçoit Miss Tilney. Dans le roman, elle saisit aussitôt qu'il s'agit de sa soeur, dans le film elle pâlit à l'idée que Tilney soit marié... Nul doute qu'on ait voulu ainsi démontrer l'attirance qu'il exerçait dès cette époque sur elle, mais je persiste à trouver curieux ce choix précis, sur un aussi infime détail.
Dans le roman, Tilney, dès la toute première rencontre, annonce la couleur :
" - Autant que j'aie eu l'occasion d'en juger, il me semble que les femmes excellent dans le genre épistolaire, hormis sur trois points précis.
- Et quels sont-ils ?
- Un insuffisance générale de matière, une inattention systématique en ce qui concerne la ponctuation et une très fréquente ignorance de la grammaire."
Dans le film, il se montre au contraire charmant, de bout en bout, un sourire gentiment moqueur en permanence au coin des lèvres.
D'une manière générale, le roman est vraiment respecté, les aménagements visant tous à faciliter la compréhension, ou à appuyer le caractère des rôles plus ou moins secondaires, sans leur laisser trop de dialogues qui prendraient trop de temps. Ainsi l'insistance de Mrs Allen avec la connaissance de Mister Tilney de la mousseline, ou les fantasmes de Catherine mis en images.
Par contre, il y a quand même une différence de taille : l'épilogue. Celui du roman est d'un pragmatisme décevant, avec notamment ce passage, qui me fait littéralement hurler à chaque lecture :
"Bien que Henry fût sincèrement épris de Catherine, bien qu'il fût conscient et enchanté de toutes ses perfections morales et qu'il se plût réellement en sa compagnie, je dois avouer que son amour ne provenait de rien d'autre que d'un sentiment de reconnaissance. En d'autres termes, la seule raison à l'origine de son intérêt pour elle avait été la conviction qu'elle avait un faible pour lui. Voilà qui est nouveau dans un roman, je le reconnais, et qui porte une terrible atteinte à la dignité de l'héroïne; mais si une telle situation est tout aussi nouvelle dans la vie quotidienne, on le mettra totalement au crédit de mon imagination."
Fort heureusement, le film ne brise pas, lui, nos petits coeurs de midinettes qui ont appris avec Catherine à follement apprécier la désinvolture taquine du bel Henry : sa demande a quand même plus de panache, et nulle trace de ces restrictions chichiteuses du "qui le premier".
Quoi qu'il me faille bien convenir qu'il lui ait fallu un sacré bout de temps, au Riton, pour se pointer à Fullerton, mais, oups, un tel langage ou même une telle pensée n'a aucune place ici !
Tout ceci pour dire que oui, cette adaptation (à laquelle a travaillé Andrew Davies, une sacrée référence !), vaut la peine d'être achetée. Elle n'entre pas dans la phrase de Pierre Goubert (Pléiade) "Cinéma et télévision ont ces dernières années rendu plus familier le nom de la romancière, mais en prenant parfois de telles libertés avec les textes qu'ils en devenaient des prétextes." On peut même y trouver une voix off en début et fin, celle du texte exact de Jane Austen (avec quelques coupes), et nombre de dialogues exacts, à la virgule près.
Il est aussi exact, cependant, qu'il n'y a pas cet aspect pimpant et coloré, presque fastueux de certains autres films.
Mais croyez-moi sur parole, on pleure quand même, tout autant qu'on se délecte !
disapointed!!!!.......2008-01-01
As a lover of jane austen, i was so disapointed with this addaption following the review's that it had recieved. I am no critic and i am sure there are many things that the film did well, but i could not get my head around the partnership between the two main cast members. The age difference made the leading lady, appears to be more like his daughter than suiter, nor was the passion, longing or desire believable between the pair. As an old romantic this was disapointing and was lost watching the film with the story line, not one of the stronger stories and not worth watching again?
English subtitles included.......2007-11-21
Excellent adaptation!!
I would like to point out that DVD includes English subtitles for the hard of hearing... and for English learners.
I wish all DVD released could also include English subtitles...
UK DVD:
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UK DVD List
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