Jane Austen
Surprise, I'm an Austen-ite. I'm actually not sure that I can go by that title, since I haven't read all of her books. I've read four of the six, and the reason why I tarry is because I don't want to hurry through all of them. I picked up Vanity Fair because it's huge and describing a similar time-period, but it's somewhat tedious. It was written Thackeray in the same manner as Dickens: they were published as vignettes in periodicals, so there are a lot of characters and it goes on for a long time. I cheated and watched the recent Reese Witherspoon movie version and I haven't gotten through the rest of the book (ok, so I barely picked it up since then!).
Back to the topic: Jane Austen. I turned on PBS last Tuesday and a new Persuasion was on. I have read that novel, and it's rumored to be based on Austen's own experiences with a naval officer, and I have not seen any adaptation. I jumped into it from the middle and it took some time to remember where I was in the story line.
I used to scoff at people who liked Austen. Yech, so boring! But I really fell in love with the way she describes these people and how you can palpably understand why they are unable to express themselves openly. It can frustrate you, reading it from such an open society, and she also chooses to shine her light only on the middle and upper classes, completely ignoring the peasants and the unpleasantness of England at that time. But she wrote what she knew and her observations about her contemporaries are spot on.
This version of Persuasion wasn't that good, since the lead actress was not expressive enough. The books offer you insight into the womens' minds and without narration or constant dialogue, the actresses really need to emote. This one was stiff and silly.
The BEST Austen adaptation is the BBC's 1995 Pride and Prejudice mini-series. The movie cuts so much of the story out that it becomes a bit simplistic. I did enjoy the recent film adaptation starring Keira Knightley, which was pretty good for all the story that was removed. It also painted the Bennett's as a less well-off family, while the mini-series chose to allow them the facade of affluence while they were pinching pennies behind closed doors.
Anyway, this has fueled my desire to see more adaptations, particular the 1995 BBC Persuasion. The Gwyneth Paltrow Emma was dreadful. Yech. Maybe I'll rip that one to shreds some other time. Clueless was a much better adaptation. I own Mansfield Park (the novel) and I have the Bollywood movie Bride and Prejudice on my Netflix queue, so it's just a matter of finishing my current books and movies and having some Austen time while Aaron's busy.
Back to the topic: Jane Austen. I turned on PBS last Tuesday and a new Persuasion was on. I have read that novel, and it's rumored to be based on Austen's own experiences with a naval officer, and I have not seen any adaptation. I jumped into it from the middle and it took some time to remember where I was in the story line.
I used to scoff at people who liked Austen. Yech, so boring! But I really fell in love with the way she describes these people and how you can palpably understand why they are unable to express themselves openly. It can frustrate you, reading it from such an open society, and she also chooses to shine her light only on the middle and upper classes, completely ignoring the peasants and the unpleasantness of England at that time. But she wrote what she knew and her observations about her contemporaries are spot on.
This version of Persuasion wasn't that good, since the lead actress was not expressive enough. The books offer you insight into the womens' minds and without narration or constant dialogue, the actresses really need to emote. This one was stiff and silly.
The BEST Austen adaptation is the BBC's 1995 Pride and Prejudice mini-series. The movie cuts so much of the story out that it becomes a bit simplistic. I did enjoy the recent film adaptation starring Keira Knightley, which was pretty good for all the story that was removed. It also painted the Bennett's as a less well-off family, while the mini-series chose to allow them the facade of affluence while they were pinching pennies behind closed doors.
Anyway, this has fueled my desire to see more adaptations, particular the 1995 BBC Persuasion. The Gwyneth Paltrow Emma was dreadful. Yech. Maybe I'll rip that one to shreds some other time. Clueless was a much better adaptation. I own Mansfield Park (the novel) and I have the Bollywood movie Bride and Prejudice on my Netflix queue, so it's just a matter of finishing my current books and movies and having some Austen time while Aaron's busy.