Jane Austen Adaptations :: Part 1 {Persuasion & Emma}

Due to a comment (from the lovely Naomi :) on this post (plus my overall love of all things Austen, of course!), I'm currently in the mood to chat more about Jane Austen and her wonderful stories. Naomi noticed that I mentioned I have watched just about all of the adaptations out there. There are still a couple I've missed, I think, but I've gotten to see pretty much all of them. This was helped because a small library that was located very near my California house had most of them! Which was awesome. :D

Now then. I figured it was high time I talked about a few of the adaptations here, maybe rank my favorites and so on. Because I do have favorites, although some of them are harder to choose between than others. And then there's all the modern retellings out there as well! I was going to just do one big post about the adaptations of the original stories and then a second post about the many modern retellings, but I realized those posts were liable to get really, really huge, at which point I'd probably lose your interest. So! I'm separating the books out into different posts and including all adaptations (modern or no) therein. Fun, yes? I hope so. :)

Persuasion

Yes, y'all know that this is my favorite of Ms. Austen's stories. I have made no secret of this, I am well aware! So naturally I picked this one to talk about first. :) Unfortunately, there are not a lot of film adaptations of this book, which is quite terrible, I might add! In point of fact, I'm still waiting for the perfect adaptation. You know, the one that will be at least three or four hours long, with a great cast, stays pretty faithful to the book, etc. I can dream, right? And hope? :)

I did write a post on the 1995 and 2007 versions and the actors/actresses a few months ago (here) and I talked about my reasons for liking each one. I also mentioned the 1971 version and how I haven't seen it in years, but I remember it being a bit dry. I don't want to bore you with more of the same thoughts worded differently (or not), so will keep this short and sweet. {Also of note: this review of Persuasion, including the book and both recent adaptations ('95 & '07), which just made me happy. So I had mention it here!}

Persuasion - 1971
Like I said, I haven't seen this one in a while, but what I remember is it's really dry and can be a bit boring. The BBC has definitely come a long way since 1971! The overall story is pretty faithful to the book, I believe. And if you don't mind the drab look of the miniseries, you may just enjoy it. Although I'd really recommend it only to the diehard Persuasion fans.

Persuasion - 1995

I think I love this one most for the conversation between Captain Harville and Anne near the end and where Wentworth and Anne finally come to understand one another again. You know, where Anne and Harville talk about who loves the longest, men or women. It's where we get the sweetest and quickest interaction between Anne and Wentworth as well. Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds do a fantastic job in this scene, in my opinion. For all the little things that bother me about this version, that scene redeems it for me. What can I say? I'm a sucker for the moment where Wentworth gives her that incredible letter and Anne's heart gets put completely back together again! Anne's face as she reads that letter...? Oh my heart! I love it. :)

Persuasion - 2007
Yes, I will admit that a big draw to this one is Rupert Penry-Jones as Wentworth! It's shallow, but there you go. I love how he stares at Anne, especially in two scenes in particular. The first being when Anne is playing the piano in a room by herself at Uppercross and she imagines Wentworth watching her (or does she? We'll never know. :) and the second being when they have their chat near the end and Wentworth finds out Anne is not engaged to Mr. Elliot. Plus I love the little bits where we get things from his point of view, like his conversations with Harville. And that very last scene? True to the time period and book or not, I love it anyway! This version is not without its flaws, but I can mostly overlook them. For Rupert, I can overlook them! ;)

Emma

This is one of the books I haven't read yet. Interestingly, a dear friend hadn't read any Austen at all until earlier this year and she started with this one. And loved it! Clearly I need to move this one up my TBR. :) I've seen four versions of this, plus two modern retellings.

Emma - 1972
Like Persuasion from 1971, this one is a bit dry from what I can remember. I haven't seen it in a great while either. But I can definitely say this, the BBC has been good at staying faithful to the original books when they do an Austen adaptation! The actress who plays Emma has a particular way of acting and talking, it sort of began to bug me by about halfway through. And Mr. Knightley seems a great deal older than Emma. Which, I know, he is, but it just bothered me in this version. If you're a serious Emma fan though, you might enjoy this one!

Emma - 1996

I wanted to like this one, I really did. I know several people who love it, but unfortunately I don't. Although I do admit that I haven't seen it in a while, so if I watched it again perhaps my opinion would change. But I've found a favorite version and this isn't it. I can say this in its favor however, Jeremy Northam is rather handsome as Mr. Knightley! (He's not my Mr. Knightley, but I can appreciate his good qualities nonetheless. ;) Gwyneth does a fine job, and she and Jeremy have great chemistry from what I remember. To be honest, I never could pinpoint precisely what doesn't work for me with this version. All I know is that I tried to love it and seemed unable to. Several friends love this version though, so don't just take my word for it! :)

Emma - 1996
I wanted to like this version as well, but alas. It's not quite as star-studded as the previous one, but is still very well done. I'm pretty sure where this one trips me up is Mark Strong as Mr. Knightley. I just never can really like him. And you need to like Mr. Knightley, he's pretty important to the story! :) In that climactic scene with Emma, he's a bit too stern and grumpy or something. There are those that love his Mr. Knightley though, so once again don't just take my word for it. I should mention that I do like Samantha Morton as Harriet. She comes across as appropriately naïve, but not too silly, which I appreciate.

Emma - 2009

Now we reach my favorite! I had anticipated this version for months before I got the chance to watch it, hoping I would finally find an adaptation I would enjoy, and immediately fell in love with it. I love Romola as Emma! I know some people think she comes across too modern, with her facial expressions being a bit annoying, but she never bothered me at all. And Jonny Lee Miller as Mr. Knightley?! Oh my heart, he is most definitely my Mr. Knightley! ;D I loved him from his first scene, but where he cemented my love forever (well, for a long time anyway) is his delivery of that famous line, "If I loved you less, I could talk about it more." His speech in that scene just melts me every single time. And I love his gentleness and sweetness, as well as his fun banter with Emma, and the way we get to watch him realize that he's in love. *happy sigh* I LOVE this version! I've watched it umpteen times and will most likely watch it umpteen more. It just makes me happy! And I'm so glad that I can say I have a favorite version of Emma now. :)

Aisha - 2010
This is a movie from India based on Emma. I forget where I first heard about it, but was able to procure a copy and watch (with English subtitles, of course) and fall in love. Having never watched a Bollywood movie before, I wasn't sure what to expect, but it's quite a fun story. I'm sure there are things lost in translation, but the overall story is easy to follow and the two leads have really great chemistry. (Especially in a particularly adorable scene near the end! :) I love the music a great deal as well and, my extremely limited understanding of Bollywood movies notwithstanding, the music is an important part of the story. If you have the chance to watch it (and don't mind subtitles), I really recommend it! It's loads of fun.

Emma Approved - 2013

This is the youtube (and Pemberley Digital team from The Lizzy Bennet Diaries) modern retelling of the story. And it's adorable fun! In my opinion, obviously. :) The best thing about this version? The wonderful friendship between Alex and Emma. I loved that these two have this amazing friendship that they can count on. Love stories that begin as friendships are one of my favorite things! And these two? Oh my goodness, I dare you not to fall for these two! They just get each other, they are always, always there for each other, their friendship is just plain awesome, and when they finally realize their feelings...well. You should watch it, if you haven't already, because it's fabulous. It really, really is! :D


And there you have it! All the versions of Persuasion and Emma that I've watched. Have you watched any (or all?) of these? Which are your favorites? Tell me, tell me! And stay tuned for parts 2 and 3 to be coming soon. (Hopefully! :)