Jane Austen movies to watch

Austen-mania tends to happen every ten years or so. There were some movies made by BBC in 70s and 80s, more made by BBC/PBS and Hollywood in the 90s, then another bumper crop in the 00s by ITV/PBS and Hollywood. We must have been oversaturated, as we're in a drought of new movies now. My passion for Jane started with Emma 1996 (Paltrow) when the art history teacher I worked for in 2001 showed it to her class. I fell head-over-heels in love with that movie. Despite having been assigned Pride and Prejudice as a senior in high school, I didn't actually read it until I read all of Jane's other books in 2001 and 2002 (but still got an A on my class essay exam after having watched the 1995 BBC version).Like adaptations of other books, the Jane Austen adaptations range in quality. I've seen good ones and bad ones. Some are clearly a product of their time, and either succeed or fail due to that. To capture what movies I would recommend should be seen, I've listed out the adaptations that available for each book and a very brief comment about each. Books are listed in the order they were published. I've included links to IMDb and Netflix for easy access to more information and for viewing. Most of the movies are only available on disc, but a few are available for streaming [like Emma 1996 (Paltrow)!]. The movies are listed in descending order of "goodness". If you only want to watch one film per book, watch the first one listed. I've bolded the titles of the movies you really should watch, regardless of quantity limitations. But if you do watch them all, you can play the fun game of "where have we seen you before?" with the actors. There are some that are in other Austen movies (Sophie Thompson is in Emma 1996 (Paltrow) and Persuasion 1996. Victoria Hamilton is in Mansfield Park 1999, Persuasion 1996, and Pride and Prejudice 1995).Update: I've ranked these same movies across source material in another blog post.

Sense & Sensibility

• Sense and Sensibility 1995 (IMDb)(Netflix)
  Notable actors: Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant, Hugh Laurie
  Even though Emma Thompson's Elinor is much too old compared to the Kate Winslet's Marianne, the acting by all is good and the story is streamlined enough to keep the movie going.
• Sense & Sensibility 2008 (IMDb)(Netflix)
  Notable actors: Dominic Cooper, Dan Stevens, David Morrissey, Janet McTeer, Mark Gatiss
  The mini-series format allows for including lesser characters. This one includes my favorite S&S character Miss Steele.
• Kandukondain Kandukondain (I Have Found It) 2000 (IMDb)(Netflix)
  Notable actors: Aishwarya Rai
  This gets the full Bollywood treatment with songs and long, drawn out scenes.
• From Prada to Nada 2011 (IMDb)(Netflix)
  Notable actors: Alexa Vega, Wilmer Valderrama
  The general idea of the book is there, but I don't think it translates that well.
• Sense and Sensibility 1971 (IMDb)(Netflix)
  Notable actors: Patricia Routledge, Joanna David
  I haven't yet watched this one, but have queued it. I'm willing to sit through it if Patricia Routledge (Keeping Up Appearances, Hetty Wainthropp Investigates) is in it.

Pride & Prejudice

• Pride & Prejudice 1995 (IMDb)(Netflix)
  Notable actors: Colin Firth, Jennifer Ehle, Julia Sawalha, Anna Chancellor, Joanna David
  Absolutely a favorite. I compare all other productions of Pride and Prejudice to this one.
• Bride & Prejudice 2005 (IMDb)(Netflix)
  Notable actors: Aishwarya Rai, Naveen Andrews, Indira Varma, Alexis Bledel
  This gets the Bollywood treatment, too, but since it was made in England for Western audiences, it moves along at a faster clip than Kandukondain Kandukondain did.
• Lost in Austen 2004 (IMDb)(Netflix)
  Notable actors: Jemima Rooper, Hugh Bonneville
  An interesting take on the book and one woman's obsession with the book. I don't have strong feelings about this one.
• Pride & Prejudice 2005 (IMDb)(Netflix)
  Notable actors: Keira Knightley, Matthew Macfadyen, Rosamund Pike, Jena Malone, Carey Mulligan, Donald Sutherland, Tom Hollander, Rupert Friend, Judi Dench
  I don't have strong feelings about this one. There were fine performances.
• Bridget Jones' Diary 2001 medialink imdb(Netflix)
  Notable actors: Renée Zellweger, Colin Firth, Hugh Grant, Gemma Jones, Jim Broadbent, Shirley Hendersen
  I don't have strong feelings about this one.
• Pride & Prejudice 2003 (IMDb)(Netflix)
  Notable actors: Orlando Seale, Kelly Stables
  I probably watched this mostly because Kelly Stables is Lydia. I went to high school with Kelly so it was fun to see her peform. The movie itself could have benefited from a more severe editor. Comedic scenes are too long, so they aren't as funny.
• Pride and Prejudice 1940 (IMDb)(Netflix)
  Notable actors: Laurence Olivier, Greer Garson
  I haven't yet watched this one, but have queued it. I have seen clips and think it'll be typical of a movie of that era. I'm adding it to the list just because I know someone will point out that I had left it off and that it needs to be watched.

Mansfield Park

• Mansfield Park 1983 (IMDb)(Netflix)(ben m online)
  Notable actors: Anna Massey
  It's long. And it's boring in places, but it does a good job of representing the ridiculousness of Mrs. Norris.
• Mansfield Park 1999 (IMDb)(Netflix)
  Notable actors: Frances O'Connor, Jonny Lee Miller, Hugh Bonneville, Embeth Davidtz, Justine Waddell, Anna Popplewell
  Honestly, I need to watch this again to give it a fair shake. When I last watched it, I was more offended by content and less concerned about how faithful it was to the source material. I have the feeling I'd enjoy it more now.
• Mansfield Park 2007 (IMDb)(Netflix)
  Notable actors: Billie Piper, James D'Arcy, Hayley Atwell
  Mrs. Norris is severely limited and not funny. Billie Piper is about the worst casting possible for timid Fanny. The best part is the "purple epiphany" when Edmund realizes he's in love with Fanny.

Emma

• Emma 1996 (IMDb)(Netflix)
  Notable actors: Gwyneth Paltrow, James Cosmo, Greta Scacchi, Alan Cumming, Sophie Thompson, Jeremy Northam, Toni Collette, Ewan McGregor, Juliet Stevenson, Phyllida Law
  So very good. One could argue that it streamlines the plot too much, but I would not do that. Ewan McGregor probably overplays it, but I'm starting to nitpick. This is tied with Persuasion 1996 as my favorite Austen movie.
• Clueless 1995 (IMDb)(Netflix)
  Notable actors: Alicia Silverstone, Brittany Murphy, Paul Rudd, Stacey Dash, Donald Faison, Breckin Meyer, Jeremy Sisto, Wallace Shawn
  I didn't appreciate this when I first saw it, but have really come to love it and how fully it captures the essence of the novel.
• Emma 1996 (IMDb)(Netflix)
  Notable actors: Kate Beckinsale, Mark Strong, Samantha Morton, Olivia Williams
  A more faithful rendering of the novel, but with less life than the other 1996 film.
• Emma 2009 (IMDb)(Netflix)(ben m online)
  Notable actors: Romola Garai, Michael Gambon, Jonny Lee Miller
  I blogged about it, but it was painful to watch. Romola could have used more direction, as she was the one to really make it unbearable.

Northanger Abbey

• Northanger Abbey 2007 (IMDb)(Netflix)
  Notable actors: Felicity Jones, JJ Feild
  An enjoyable show. I don't appreciate the book as much as other people do, but the film seemed to represent the book well.
• Northanger Abbey 1987 (IMDb)(Netflix)
  Notable actors: None that I recognize
  It's been a very long time since I've seen this. There were some really odd scenes that have stuck with me, but I think it was because I didn't really understand what a gothic novel was.

Persuasion

• Persuasion 1996 (IMDb)(Netflix)
  Notable actors: Ciarán Hinds, Fiona Shaw, Sophie Thompson, Judy Cornwell
  A lovely film. There are few movies that capture the essence of a book and remain faithful to the text itself like this one does.
• Persuasion 2007 (IMDb)(Netflix)
  Notable actors: Sally Hawkins, Alice Krige, Anthony Head
  I could not get past 10 minutes of this movie. It's so bad. When it came out, viewers were pretty put off by the "Bath Marathon" that had Anne Elliot literally running around Bath.

Austen-related

• The Jane Austen Book Club 2007 (IMDb)(Netflix)(ben m online)
  Notable actors: Kathy Baker, Emily Blunt, Maria Bello, Amy Brenneman, Maggie Grace, Jimmy Smits, Hugh Dancy, Marc Blucas
  As I say in the blog post I wrote about this movie, it rekindled my love for Jane's novels. I loved seeing how everyone has a different take on her books.
• Miss Austen Regrets 2008 (IMDb)(Netflix)
  Notable actors: Olivia Williams, Greta Scacchi, Imogen Poots, Phyllida Law, Tom Hiddleston, Hugh Bonneville
  This is a wonderful production. Olivia Williams portrays Jane much as I might expect to have been.
• Becoming Jane 2007 (IMDb)(Netflix)
  Notable actors: Anne Hathaway, James McAvoy, Julie Walters, James Cromwell, Maggie Smith, Anna Maxwell Martin
  I refuse to watch this. You should only need to watch this YouTube video about the movie.