Welcome to the November meeting of Risky Regencies’ JANE AUSTEN MOVIE CLUB!

Because we at Risky Regencies aim to please, today we’ll be talking about the 1995 BBC/A&E miniseries of Pride and Prejudice.

Yes. That one.

The one with Colin Firth.

In a wet shirt.

(Not that I noticed or anything.)

So, whether you’ve seen this recently or a long time ago, tell us what you think!

Who did you like? Dislike?

How did you feel about the script? Costumes? Direction? Historical accuracy?

How true to the book did you find it?

To aid the discussion, here are the names of some of the folks who worked on or acted in this adaptation:

DIRECTOR: Simon Langton

SCREENPLAY: Andrew Davies

CAST:

Elizabeth Bennet: Jennifer Ehle

Jane Bennet: Susannah Harker

Mary Bennet: Lucy Briers

Kitty Bennet: Polly Maberly

Lydia Bennet: Julia Sawalha

Mrs. Bennet: Alison Steadman

Mr. Bennet: Benjamin Whitrow

Darcy: Colin Firth

Bingley: Crispin Bonham-Carter

Caroline Bingley: Anna Chancellor

Mrs. Hurst: Lucy Robinson

Mr. Collins: David Bamber

Lady Catherine de Bourgh: Barbara Leigh-Hunt

Wickham: Adrian Lukis

Charlotte Lucas: Lucy Scott

Maria Lucas: Lucy Davis

Col. Fitzwilliam: Anthony Calf

Georgiana Darcy: Emilia Fox

Mr. Gardiner: Tim Wylton

Mrs. Gardiner: Joanna David

Anne de Bourgh: Nadia Chambers

Mr. Hurst: Rupert Vansittart

Ooh, look at that jealous glare…

Elizabeth Bennet got everything that Miss Bingley wanted…

Now…let the debate begin!

All comments welcome!

Cara
Cara King, great admirer of whoever made the stays for this production

Welcome to the October meeting of the Jane Austen Movie Club! The first Tuesday of every month, Risky Regencies is the place to be for daring discussion and dastardly debate about Jane Austen film and television adaptations!

This month: the 1999 Patricia Rozema film of MANSFIELD PARK.

First, a word of caution: I know a lot of us have very strong views on this movie, so let’s be sure to remain polite and respectful at all times!

Discuss any aspect of the film that you like — but, in case it helps to get the dicussion going, here are a few questions you may or may not want to think about:

If you’ve read the novel, what did you think of it? Do you think it would be possible to do an adaptation that (a) is faithful, (b) works cinematically, and (c) is also interesting/pleasing to modern viewers? Why or why not?

Did you think Alessandro Nivola and Embeth Davidtz were well-cast as the Crawfords? Did you find them attractive? Dangerous? Sympathetic?

What did you think of the character of Fanny, and of Frances O’Connor’s performance? If you’ve read the book, what do you think of the changes? If you haven’t, did you like the character? Did she seem true to the period?

What did you think about Jonny Lee Miller as Edmund? Did he seem a good match for Fanny, or did you wish she had someone more strong/manly/perceptive/handsome/anything else?

What did you think of the “feminist” subtext? Do you think the movie Maria was plausibly a victim?

If you’ve read the book, what did you think of the way Rozema turned some characters more “good” or sympathetic (e.g. Tom) or less (e.g. Sir Thomas)? If you haven’t read the book, did you find these characters believable? Did they fit well into the story?

And, of course, ask or answer any other question that interests you!
Now, to help jog everyone’s memory, here’s a partial cast list:

Written & Directed by Patricia Rozema

CAST:

Fanny Price: Frances O’Connor

Edmund Bertram: Jonny Lee Miller

Tom Bertram: James Purefoy

Maria Bertram: Victoria Hamilton

Julia Bertram: Justine Waddell

Sir Thomas Bertram: Harold Pinter

Mrs. Price/Lady Bertram: Lindsay Duncan

Mrs. Norris: Sheila Gish

Mary Crawford: Embeth Davidtz

Henry Crawford: Alessandro Nivola

Mr. Rushworth: Hugh Bonneville

And if you have any suggestions for what we should discuss next time, suggest away!

All comments welcome!

Cara
Cara King, author of MY LADY GAMESTER and Jane Austen movie junkie

Welcome to the September meeting of the JANE AUSTEN MOVIE CLUB!

You need to no Almack’s voucher to join the club. In fact, there’s no club to join! We’re very non-exclusive here. Welcoming. Common, even! (Well, some of us are. I am.)

And the first Tuesday of every month, anyone who cares to stop by Risky Regencies (“the friendliest Regency site in cyberspace, guaranteed, or your money back”) can say any clever or inane thing about the current month’s choice of Jane Austen adaptation.

We’ve had a lot of interesting discussion in our first two meetings (PERSUASION (1995) and EMMA (1996)) — and a lot of fun, too! (Or, at least, I had fun. Which is really all that matters, if you think about it.)

Now on to today’s adaptation: the 1995 feature film SENSE AND SENSIBILITY.

I have put cast info and other details below, in case they aid the discussion. Feel free, of course, to discuss any aspect of the film that you please!

Director: ANG LEE

Screenwriter: EMMA THOMPSON

CAST:

Emma Thompson: Elinor Dashwood

Kate Winslet: Marianne Dashwood

Hugh Grant: Edward Ferrars

Alan Rickman: Colonel Brandon

Greg Wise: Willoughby

Gemma Jones: Mrs. Dashwood

Emilie François: Margaret Dashwood

James Fleet: John Dashwood

Tom Wilkinson: Mr. Dashwood

Harriet Walter: Fanny Dashwood

Elizabeth Spriggs: Mrs. Jennings

Robert Hardy: Sir John Middleton

Imelda Staunton: Charlotte Jennings Palmer

Hugh Laurie: Mr. Palmer

Imogen Stubbs: Lucy Steele

If you want ideas for discussion questions to get you started, here are a few:

Which character do you most resemble?

Do you think this was one of the better Austen adaptations you’ve seen? Why or why not?

What do you think of Emma Thompson’s screenplay?

Did you think the interpretations of Marianne, Edward, and Colonel Brandon were true to Austen’s book? If not, do you think this was a problem?

Do you think Willoughby was a complete villain from the start, or did Marianne have a chance of saving him from himself?

Or, of course, ask or answer any question of your choosing.

All comments are welcome. Let the discussion begin!

Cara
Cara King, author of My Lady Gamester and firm despiser of flannel waistcoats. Except when it’s cold.

Welcome to the August meeting of the JANE AUSTEN MOVIE CLUB!

This is the place to discuss, debate, detail, decry, deride, deplore, defend, delight in, or decree to be divine a different Jane Austen film or television adaptation the first Tuesday of every month.

This month’s topic: the 1996 feature film of EMMA (a.k.a. “the one with Gwyneth Paltrow.”)

Whether you’ve seen this adaptation recently, or watched it once years ago, please join in!

I’ll throw out some ideas to help the discussion get started, but feel free to leave a comment on any aspect of the film you wish.

A few possible questions:

Did you think this version was funny? Romantic? Thought-provoking? Beautiful to look at?

What did you think of the casting? (Cast list below.)

In particular, what did you think of Paltrow? Or her accent?

How about Ewan McGregor? His hair? His lack of light saber?

How about Alan Cumming? Juliet Stevenson? Sophie Thompson? Toni Collette? Jeremy Northam?

Did you think this film captured the essence of Austen’s novel? The essence of Emma’s character?

Was this adaptation too clean and pretty for you?

Did you love (or hate) the gowns?

Here are some credits, to aid in the discussion:

Directed by: Douglas McGrath

Screenplay: Douglas McGrath

CAST:

Gwyneth Paltrow … Emma Woodhouse

Denys Hawthorne … Mr. Woodhouse

Jeremy Northam … Mr. Knightley

Toni Collette … Harriet Smith

James Cosmo … Mr. Weston

Greta Scacchi … Mrs. Weston

Alan Cumming … Mr. Elton

Sophie Thompson … Miss Bates

Phyllida Law … Mrs. Bates

Polly Walker … Jane Fairfax

Ewan McGregor … Frank Churchill

Juliet Stevenson… Mrs. Elton

All opinions welcome!

So…let the discussion begin!

(And if you have any suggestions for what our movie next month should be, suggest away!)

Cara
Cara King, author of MY LADY GAMESTER,
starring Ultimate Atalanta and her annoying sidekick Tom

Welcome to the first meeting of the JANE AUSTEN MOVIE CLUB!

The first Tuesday of each month, we’ll be discussing a different Jane Austen film or TV adaptation.

This month: the 1995 version of PERSUASION.

If you’ve ever seen it, please join in the discussion!

As this is our first meeting, I’ll start by saying a few words about how this will work.

After gathering suggestions, I’ll announce each forthcoming selection a month ahead of time.

On the day of the meeting, I’ll put useful and pertinent info in my post to help the discussion (such as cast lists, etc, so we don’t have to go searching for names.)

I may also suggest topics to discuss — but if I do, these will just be suggestions! So please, discuss whatever aspects you wish.

So: this month’s film: 1995’s PERSUASION.

Tidbit: although this was shown first as a television movie in the UK, it was released in movie theatres in the US.

MOVIE DETAILS (courtesy imdb.com):

Director: Roger Michell

Screenwriter: Nick Dear

CAST:

Anne Elliot: Amanda Root

Wentworth: Ciaran Hinds

Tidbit: Ciaran Hinds played Rochester in the 1997 Jane Eyre

Lady Russell: Susan Fleetwood

Sir Walter: Corin Redgrave

Elizabeth Elliot: Phoebe Nicholls

Mrs. Clay: Felicity Dean

Mary Musgrove: Sophie Thompson

Tidbit: Sophie Thompson had a role in another Austen adaptation — she played Miss Bates in the Gwyneth Paltrow version of Emma. She is also the sister of Emma Thompson, who played Elinor (and wrote the screenplay) for the 1995 Sense and Sensibility

Charles Musgrove: Simon Russell Beale

Louisa Musgrove: Emma Roberts

Henrietta Musgrove: Victoria Hamilton

Mrs. Musgrove: Judy Cornwell

Mr. Musgrove: Roger Hammond

Captain Harville: Robert Glenister

Captain Benwick: Richard McCabe

Tidbit: Actor Richard McCabe had a role in Notting Hill, also directed by Roger Michell

Mrs. Harville: Sally George

Admiral Croft: John Woodvine

Mrs. Croft: Fiona Shaw

Mr. Elliot: Samuel West

Tidbit: Samuel West also appeared in one installment of the recent Hornblower series, as St. John Rivers in the 1996 Jane Eyre, and as the poet Southey in the 2000 film Pandaemonium

Nurse Rook: Jane Wood

Mrs. Smith: Helen Schlesinger

As I said before, please discuss any aspect of the movie that you wish!

But if you don’t know where to start, here are a few ideas:

Did any of the actors seem to you to be perfect for their roles?

Did you think any of the actors were miscast?

If you’ve read the book, what did you think of the screenplay? Did you think any of the characters were changed in a way that weakened the story? Did you think the right things were cut or shortened?

If you haven’t read the book, did you find the movie easy to follow? Was it confusing in places? Could you keep all the characters straight?

How did the low lighting in nighttime scenes work for you?

How about the long wordless passages?

Overall, how well did you like the movie?

Anyway, those are just a few questions that may spark answers! Answer any or none, answer other questions, or pose your own.

And one more question: do you have a suggestion for what adaptation we should discuss at the next meeting of the Jane Austen Movie Club, which will meet the first Tuesday of August?

Cara
Cara King, author of My Lady Gamester, and Austen movie nut