A Question About Poetry

I have never been much of a poetry reader (this is one spot where I am unlike Marianne Dashwood), but I am looking for poems which express grief – a broken heart, and so on – that would be around (perhaps even popular) in 1811, and I would appreciate help. Do any of you have suggestions? The name of the poem and the name of the writer would be sufficient; I will then look it up. =) Thank you!

Poll Results, the Villain in Emma, and More

The poll closed quite a while ago, and I didn't get around to doing this until now, but here are the results for:
"Which Jane Austen story most needs another movie?"
Winner: Mansfield Park (5 votes)
Tie for second: Northanger Abbey and Persuasion (4 votes each)
Sense and Sensibility got 2 votes.

I voted for Mansfield Park. I also would greatly appreciate another version of Northanger Abbey, and in short, I'd enjoy another of any of them, even Pride and Prejudice or Emma. Especially P.&P. out of those two - I really love the 1995 version, but it could still be done better, but nothing would be equal to the book.

Claire Foy as Fanny Price?

So, new Mansfield Park movie? When I was reading the book, I could really picture Claire Foy in the roll of Fanny Price. Her character reminds me of Amy Dorrit, and I thought she did it really well. Actually, with brown colored contacts, she could make a good Mary Crawford, too. Mary is supposed to be small, pretty, and have dark hair & eyes. 

What do you think? Would she suit either of those roles? I focus more on characters than actors, so I don't have any other ideas. Do any actors come to your mind who could make a good Mansfield Park character?


Yesterday I posted about the M.P. movies there are so far, and I said I thought there should be a new BBC mini-series. Miss Laurie, Abby and I were commenting about how screenwriters Andrew Davies (Pride and Prejudice 1995, Sense and Sensibility 2008) or Sandy Welch (Emma 2009, North and South 2004) could do a good adaptation. I'd vote for Sandy Welch - what do you think?

Lizzy wins again! ;-)

A bit of a rabbit trail, that. Now, for the other poll that just closed:
"Which Jane Austen heroine is your favorite?"
Winner: Elizabeth Bennet (8 votes)
Anne Elliot (4 votes)
Catherine Morland,
Emma Woodhouse,
Marianne Dashwood (2 votes each)
Elinor Dashwood (1 vote)


And, the new poll!
I was thinking about the villains in Jane Austen novels - John Willoughby, George Wickham, Henry Crawford, etc., but I couldn't figure out who the villain is in Emma! Is there one? What do you think?

After a whirlwind of Emma, Frank Churchill started to drive me crazy. What a jerk, and an arrogant jerk at that. It’s not quite like the book, but I liked what Emma said in the 2009 mini-series:

“Why did he come amongst us, engaged, and then pretend to be so very un-engaged?...I was not in love with him; but how was he supposed to know that? How could Jane bear it – waiting for him, and looking on while he gave attentions to another woman? No wonder she cannot stand the sight of me! It’s so unlike what a man should be - no truth, no principle, no integrity. Badly done indeed!”

Pretending to be interested in one woman just to conceal your attachment to another is not only deceitful but cruel. And then on top of that, he critisizes Jane Fairfax all over the place, just to remove suspicion! If I were Jane, I’d have pitched him. Ha!

But…is he really a villain?

If you wouldn't mind scooting over a little...

Maybe I shouldn’t have called Frank Churchill arrogant when I was planning to talk about Mr. Elton next. He is arrogant. I love Mr. Knightley’s quote from the 2009 mini-series: “That man is so full of himself, I’m surprised he can stay on that horse.” I doubt many clergymen caught girls with 30,000 pounds very often, but Mr. Elton thought he could. He didn’t, of course, and settled for 10,000 instead. I never liked him, but his behavior at the ball is always very maddening, when he refuses to dance with Harriet. (It makes it all the lovlier, though when Mr. Knightley comes to her rescue.)

So they’re both jerks, but is either one a villain? And which one is more so?

Who is the villain in Emma?
-Frank Churchill
-Mr. Elton
-There is no "villain"

The poll is on the sidebar!

~On a side note, Emma seemed unlike Jane Austen's other novels in that there were no very sad parts (such as deaths and broken hearts) or scandals (unless you count a secret engagement!).

June 28: A few of my readers have said Emma was the villain in Emma. This is an interesting point of view, but even if it were possible to change th poll, I wouldn't because (1) Emma is a girl and (2) to me, she doesn't seem to be any more villainous than the other two options. But, I really enjoyed Maria Elisabeth/Miss Darcy's post about it - to read it, click here (where you can find nearly all my thoughts on the subject; I went a little long when I commented on her post.)

Mansfield Park: The Movies

Click here to read about the actual story

1983 (BBC)

Since this is one of the older versions, it’s not as well made, and seems a little like a play; however, I thought it was better than some of the other older ones, and I enjoyed it. I thought Fanny was cast well; Edmund not so much, and if it had been me I would have chosen a different Mary – probably a different Henry, too. It stuck close to the book though, and that is very important, and something which I cannot say for the other ones.

   I think it’s funny that Jonny Lee Miller (Edmund on a different version, and Mr. Knightley in Emma [2009]) is in there, only very young, as one of Fanny’s little brothers…though you can hardly see him, his hair must be covering half his face! (You need to give him a haircut, Mrs. Price…)

   I enjoyed this version. I’ve seen it all the way through twice, and some more besides; and I’m sure I’ll be watching it again.
Fanny: Sylvestra Le Touzel

Edmund: Nicholas Farrel

(You can see this couple again, but older, in Amazing Grace.)

Length: 5 hr. 12 min.

1999 (Miramax)

I have never actually seen this version, nor have I any intention of doing so. From  what I hear, it is repulsively unlike the book. Even if it weren’t for the fact that someone took a Jane Austen story and completely changed it, I wouldn’t watch it. There are very inappropriate things that Jane Austen would never have made up. All right, there are some scandals in the book that could be taken to extremes, but everything is mentioned so very discreetly in Jane Austen books; mentioned, not shown; talked of, not written about directly. There’s also probably other stuff in there that wasn’t even slightly alluded to in the book. From a single quote I happened to see, I also know that they didn’t do Fanny at all right, either. It might have been interesting to see Jonny Lee Miller (Emma 2009) as Edmund and Justine Waddell (Wives and Daughters) as Julia, but for all I know they messed up those roles, too.

Fanny: Frances O’Conner

Edmund: Jonny Lee Miller

Length: 1 hr. 52 min.

2007 (ITV/Masterpiece Theater)

This one I started watching with my family, but we didn’t finish it. For one thing, all the dresses had really low necklines – mostly all the time – more so than usual. And the way the people were acting was rather…er…low-class. Now the Bertram girls don’t always have the highest morals and Mary is sort of flirty, but they weren’t like that. Fanny wasn’t much better than them on the movie, as far as how she dressed, from what I saw. Which brings me to the next thing – Fanny. That actress was really annoying me – how she looked and acted; and she never puts her hair up! And it’s rather short. Really, I find that quite unauthentic. She always seemed to be scowling, and didn’t give that impression of sweetness like Fanny is supposed to. And then there’s Edmund – he was Mr. Elton in the 2009 Emma, and he suited that role, but he doesn’t suit Edmund in my opinion. He’s too creepy or something. A lot of the dresses had too low of a waistline to be Regency; they’re more 1790s. (The book was published in 1814, and unlike some other of Jane Austen’s stories, it wasn’t first written when she was younger, so they have no excuse.) I’ve read that it didn’t follow the story very closely, either. In short, I’m not fond of Jane Austen stories with a modern feel.

Fanny: Billie Piper

Edmund: Blake Ritson

Length: 2 hr.

My Favorite

Well, that would be the mini-series from 1983. I enjoyed it and it follows the book, so I approve. ;-) (Really, Mansfield Park deserves a new movie. Let us not be negligent, BBC; give us another mini-series!)

So, which is your favorite?

Which, in your opinion, is the best version of Mansfield Park?
	BBC 1983
	Miramax 1999
	ITV 2007
pollcode.com free polls

Mansfield Park: The Book

The story

Fanny Price, a girl of ten, undergoes a complete change of circumstances when her rich relatives the Betrams offer to bring her up, away from her large and under-privileged family. Small and scared, it takes time for her to grow accustomed to her new family, but she is much comforted by the kindness of her cousin Edmund.

By the time Fanny is eighteen, she has become quite necessary to the comforts of the extremely laid-back Lady Bertram, but her other aunt –Mrs. Norris, quite the opposite of her sister in every way – likes to spend her time criticizing and over-scolding Fanny for anything she can possibly think of. She is not of much consequence to her other cousins (Tom, Maria, and Julia) one way or another. Her uncle Sir Thomas, whom she always found rather frightening, had been gone for a year or two, his business dragging on longer than he’d expected.

Henry and Mary Crawford, the half-sister and brother of the parson’s wife, arrive at Mansfield and find their way into the emotions of the Bertram siblings. Henry is quick to capture both Maria and Julia’s fancy, while Edmund finds himself attracted to Mary.

Fanny is disturbed by all this – disgusted by Henry’s flirtatiousness, and worried about Edmund and Mary; not only does Fanny herself have tender feelings for Edmund, but she observes Edmund’s (sometimes purposeful) blindness to Mary’s faults and shortcomings. When he does notice something – be it an inappropriate way of looking at things, or something that goes against Edmund’s beliefs and principles – he is bothered by it for a while, but then conveniently forgets as he is distracted by her good looks, playful wit, and sparkling dark eyes.

After sporting with the Miss Bertrams’ hearts, Henry Crawford decides that he must make Miss Price attached to him, and though he tries very hard to be agreeable, he does not succeed with her so easily as he has with everyone else. Eventually, Mr. Crawford finds himself to be the one in love, and everyone is very happy about the proposed match – except Fanny herself.

Mansfield Park was Jane Austen’s third book, published in 1814.

My sentiments (for those who are already acquainted with Mansfield Park)

Now, there is some scandal in most of Jane Austen’s books, but Mansfield Park must top them all off. I got towards the end, and goodness! It all happens at once! I went through the last seven or so chapters with great rapidity. (Great rapidity for me, that is, but I’m never much of a fast reader.)

I like Fanny. All the Jane Austen heroines are so different! Fanny is shy and timid, gentle and selfless. One thing I especially like about her – she cries easily. (I can relate to that.) Even though she is timid and quick to do anything anyone wants her to do, she stands firm in her beliefs, and with important things, while it makes her very upset to be displeasing anyone, she won’t let them change her convictions. She is a better judge of character than anyone else in the book.

I felt sorry for her a lot. The words “poor Fanny!” were so often running through my head,  since unpleasant things were so frequently happening to her, and because of the way she had to bear them all.

Despite other opinions I know have been expressed, I thought as badly of Henry and Mary Crawford as Fanny did. I hated the control Mary seemed to have over Edmund, and I always thought Henry was a jerk – even before the scandal. It would have been horrid if Fanny had married him – he would still have been a flirt, even after they were married, and likely worse. As to Mary and Edmund, I was very happy they didn’t end up together! They both would have been miserable.

 I actually liked Mansfield Park better than I had expected to – other than it’s being written by Jane Austen, I didn’t have many expectations. I’m not quite satisfied with the hurried ending – I would have liked to see more dialogue there (especially where Edmund and Fanny are concerned) but then, with only one chapter to settle it all, I didn’t expect more than that. 

I had chosen Mansfield Park to read next, because it was the story I knew least about. I’d seen the 1983 mini-series once, but that was all, and I felt so under-educated when it came to the characters. I am very glad I read it.

Period Drama Film Tournament!

I know, I'm a little late and everybody's already heard about it, but I'm still doing a post for it. ;-) 


 

It sounds so fun! I hope my favorite movies get to the top....=)

The Hero Tournament is almost over! At the moment Mr. Thornton (North and South) and Mr. Knightley (Emma) are tied! I'm rooting for Mr. Knightley... Vote at Elegance of Fashion.

Quotes from Emma

“There are people, who the more you do for them, the less they will do for themselves.”

“One half of the world cannot understand the pleasures of the other.”

“Human nature is so well disposed towards those who are in interesting situations, that a young person, who either marries or dies, is sure of being kindly spoken of.”

“What is right to be done cannot be done too soon.” –Mr. Weston

“…I hate Italian singing.---There is no understanding a word of it.” –Harriet Smith

“There is no charm equal to tenderness of heart.” –Emma

“Ah! There is nothing like staying at home, for real comfort.” –Mrs. Elton

“Mr. Knightley seemed to be trying not to smile, and succeeded without difficulty, upon Mrs. Elton’s beginning to talk to him.”

“Emma must submit to stand second to Mrs. Elton, though she had always considered the ball as peculiarly for her. It was almost enough to make her think of marrying.”

“She was more disturbed by Mr Knightley’s not dancing, than by any thing else.—There he was, among the standers-by, where he ought not to be; he ought to be dancing,--not classing himself with the husbands, and fathers, and whist-players…--so young as he looked! He could not have appeared to greater advantage perhaps any where, than where he had placed himself. His tall, firm, upright figure, among the bulky forms and stooping shoulders of the elderly men, was such as Emma felt must draw every body’s eyes.”

   “Whom are you going to dance with?” asked Mr. Knightley.

   She [Emma] hesitated for a moment, and then replied “With you, if you will ask me.”

   “Will you?” said he, offering his hand.

   “Indeed I will. You have shown that you can dance, and you know we are not really so much brother and sister as to make it at all improper.”

   “Brother and sister! no, indeed.”

   "No,"--he [Mr. Knightley] calmly replied,--"there is but one married woman in the world whom I can ever allow to invite what guests she pleases to Donwell, and that one is---"
   "---Mrs. Weston, I suppose," interrupted Mrs. Elton, rather mortified.
   "No--Mrs. Knightley;--and, till she is in being, I will manage such matters myself."

    “…He had ridden home through the rain; and he had walked up directly after dinner, to see how this sweetest and best of all creatures, faultless in spite of all her faults, bore the discovery.
   “He had found her agitated and low. –Frank Churchill was a villain. –He had heard her declare that she had never loved him. Frank Churchill’s character was not desperate. –She was his own Emma, by hand and word, when they returned into the house; and if he could have thought of Frank Churchill then, he might have deemed him a very good sort of fellow.”

“I always deserve the best treatment, because I never put up with any other.” –Emma

Quotes from the 2009 mini-series

"A mile's walk and a daily scolding of Emma is just what Dr. Perry prescribes." -Emma (about Mr. Knightley)

Emma: We have heard that you are very musical, Mrs Elton.

Mrs Elton: Oh, I dote on it! Dote! As I said to Mr E. – don’t give me two carriages, don’t give me enormous houses, but I could not live without music. No. Life would be a blank to me without music.

“ ‘Knightley’, indeed. Never seen him in her life, and she calls him ‘Knightley’! Insufferable woman! Horrible, upstart, vulgar being with her ‘Mr E.’ and her ‘caro sposo’ and her carriages and air of pert pretentions and underbred finery. Actually to discover that Mr Knightley is a gentleman, and that the woman who brought me up should be ladylike! I’ve never met her equal! ‘Knightley’, indeed! I’ve known him all my life, and even I don’t call him that!” –Emma

Isabella: You know, I believe my father would worry. I believe George is not well – he is listless and snappish.

Mr. Knightley: What?

Isabella: You are behaving strangely – not yourself. You did not want to go to dinner with the Cavendishes, you did not wish to take the boys to find frogs in the park.

John Knightley: Some might say hesitation was a perfectly normal response to both those invitations.


"That man is so full of himself, I'm surprised he can stay on that horse." - Mr. Knightley (about Mr. Elton)

~I know there are many more great quotes from this mini-series; if you think of any (particularly ones that aren’t in the book), feel free to suggest them.~

And so concludes my posts on Emma. I hope you enjoyed them!

The Jane Austen Handbook: A Sensible Yet Elegant Guide to Her World

(More recently published as: The Jane Austen Handbook: Proper Life Skills from Regency England)

By Margaret C. Sullivan

Learning about life in the past couldn't be more enjoyable. Delightfully mixing information with entertainment, this illustrated book tells you what every Regency young woman should know – from becoming an accomplished lady to declining an offer of marriage. It’s divided into four sections, and has a very useful appendix in the back – including a list of all Jane Austen’s novels with a summary, and when they were written and published. It also includes a list of all the movies with year it was made, actors, etc. Then there is a helpful glossary that defines tricky words of the time, and a good index to help you find what you’re looking for. This book is essential to any young woman who has ever imagined herself to be a Jane Austen heroine!

I have nothing but praise to say about this book. It’s one of the few non-fiction books that is great to read all the way through. I recommend it very highly to all Janeites – or anyone who likes Jane Austen, the time period, or old-fashioned things in general. More enjoyment can be drawn from it, however, if you do know something of Jane Austen’s stories. The authoress is constantly making indirect references to the books and characters – which you only catch if you know – and it’s very funny. I can’t say how many times I’ve started laughing out loud while reading it. I really love how at the beginning of each section of one of the ‘How To’s, there is a Jane Austen quote. The way everything is written is superb – I love the interesting choice of words and sentences, quite the opposite of boring.

I was exceedingly glad to receive the book for my birthday – I had been borrowing a friend’s copy, and it’s so nice to have my own on hand. (By the way, the girls at my birthday party were having fun flipping through the book, laughing, and saying they needed to get one for themselves.)

I know so much more now than I did before I read it (which wasn’t too small an amount.) I love knowing about things like the proper dress for first mournings and second mournings, what sort of meals were served at what times, paying calls…there’s so much in there!

Yes, I know, I should stop already – but what can I say? It was splendid! Highly recommended!

Anne of Green Gables & The Sequel

Anne of Green Gables (1985)



Mistreated in homes and not wanted at orphanages, Anne Shirley comforts and amuses herself with her excellent and dramatic imagination. She tries to imagine difficulties away and lives her own life, the way she wants it, in her head. When she finds herself in Avonlea, Prince Edward Island, on her way to a new home with a quiet old man named Matthew Cuthbert, she can hardly believe it is real. When they arrive at Green Gables, she learns from Matthew’s spinster sister Marilla that they were expecting a boy, and she must go back. Anne’s happiness melts to despair as the beautiful dream is shattered. Marilla’s hasty decision to send Anne back is hindered, and she decided to let Anne stay “on trial”. Anne finds the “bosom friend” she’s always dreamed of, a girl named Diana Barry. 

Rachel Lynde, a gossipy woman who speaks her critical mind and Gilbert Blythe, a boy at school who teases get the better of Anne’s short temper – not difficult to achieve, when her red hair is remarked upon. However, in spite of – or because of – her peculiar ways, with Matthew on Anne’s side the whole way, she finds her way into Marilla’s heart, and Green Gables becomes her permanent home. As few years pass, and Anne excels in her studies, has Gilbert as a constant but unwelcome admirer (and rival), and all along keeps finding herself in numerous mishaps and difficult situations (which, to the onlooker, can prove quite hilarious.)

Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel (1987)

(Also known as Anne of Avonlea, when sold by Disney.)Now 18, Anne Shirley is a teacher at the Avonlea school. She is an aspiring authoress, but discouraged first by a rejection letter from a magazine and then by the surprising (and horrifying) publication of her story for a baking powder company. Gilbert proposes, but convinced that she feels only friendship for him, she refuses – much to his distress. Her best friend Diana marries, and Mrs. Rachel Lynde, at the loss of her husband, comes to live at Green Gables. Anne’s old teacher and friend writes to her about a need for an English teacher at a private school for young ladies, and Anne accepts the position, leaving Avonlea. She arrives in Kingsport, where she finds an abundance of prejudiced Pringle families, who want desperately to see her lose her position and a sour, sarcastic spinsterly teacher who is always out of humor.

Anne finds a kindred spirit in one of her students, 13-year-old Emmeline Harris, who lives with her crabby old grandmother. Emmeline's dashing widower father Morgan takes an interest in Anne, and she, in turn, is charmed by his romantic ways - but it ends with her realizing that handsome and melancholic isn't everything. After a very interesting and eventful year, she is happy to return to Avonlea, which, to her, is the best place -with the dearest people- on earth.

I love both these movies, they have been favorites of mine for more than half my life. They are light-hearted and highly entertaining, comical and romantic. Here are a few things I particularly like:

The heroine. Anne Shirley must be one of the most interesting and amusing heroines in literature: there is no one else quite like her. She is bright and hilarious as a child; entertaining and elegant, and still very likeable as an adult. Her imagination, her love of reading, and her use of big words have always delighted me.

The music. Superb acting, authentic costuming and settings, and a good soundtrack make up a large part in the success of a ‘period drama’. The music has a large part in determining the feel of the movie and the mood of the story. I have always loved the soundtrack, especially the theme song. It is so beautiful and well-written; Hagood Hardy was a talented composer.
The scenery is sometimes breathtakingly beautiful.

The time era. These movies are set in the late 1800s. I love late Victorian fashions – the long, floor-sweeping elegant gowns, lacy shirts, poufy hairstyles – everything so delicate and feminine.

The characters. L. M. Montgomery is one of those authors who knows just how to create a variety of highly amusing characters.

Accuracy to the books

   Anne of Green Gables is based on the book (of the same name) by L. M. Montgomery. There are a number of differences – one being: in the book, Anne was 11 when she came to Green Gables, and in the movie she was 13. The Christmas ball was not in the book – if I remember correctly, it was some sort of concert (not just music, but other performing arts as well.) Many things were from the book, though, and it stayed faithful to the story and characters.

   Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel is based on Anne of Avonlea, Anne of the Island, and Anne of Windy Poplars by L. M. Montgomery. There is a lot of content in all three of those books, so making them into one movie took a lot of combining. In Anne of Avonlea, Anne is teaching at the Avonlea school. Her neighbor, a grumpy old man who eventually takes a liking to Anne was the one with the jersey cow, and the one who said her story had ‘high-faultin’ mumbo-jumbo’, etc. They took some of his quotes and gave them to Mrs Lynde and Gilbert Blythe.

    In Anne of the Island, Anne and a couple others from Avonlea are attending a university, where she meets the dashing Roy Gardner, where they must have gotten the idea for Morgan Harris. Roy is a younger man than Morgan, and of course does not have a daughter.

   In Anne of Windy Poplars, Anne is teaching at a high school, where there are a lot of families with the last name of ‘Pringle’. So that’s where Kingsport Ladies College came from. However, they got some ideas for teaching experience there from Anne of Avonlea – such as snakes in desks and firecrackers in woodstoves. I gather Windy Poplars must be the book where Mrs. Harris, Pauline, and Emmeline originated, but I have not read the whole book.

   While so many changes were made, they managed to keep the characters faithful to the books. I was rather annoyed, though, that they had Gilbert become engaged to Christine – in the book, nothing close to that happened.

Quotes

I love the quotes from these movies, and there are so many! I will try to narrow them down.

(Anne 1)

Marilla: Well, what's your name?

Anne: Would you please call me Cordelia?

Marilla: Call you Cordelia?

Anne: Don't you think it's a pretty name?

Marilla: Is that your name?

Anne: Well, no, it's not exactly my name, though I would love to be called Cordelia.

“You can punish me any way you like. You can lock me up in a dark dungeon inhabited by snakes and toads, and feed me on bread and water. I won't complain. But I cannot ask Rachel Lynde to forgive me. –Anne

Anne: Don’t you ever imagine things different from what they are?

Marilla: (emphatically) No.

Anne: Oh, Marilla! How much you miss.

“Let us not have tears; partings are a natural part of life.” –Mr. Phillips
“My life is an open book, I see. Who told you that?” –Anne

Mrs. Allan: How are you, Anne?

Anne: Well in body, although considerably ruffled in spirit, thank you.

“I read in a book once that a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, but I was never able to believe it. A rose just couldn't smell as sweet if it was a thistle or a skunk-cabbage.” –Anne

(Anne 2)

Marilla: Now, you come downstairs and see if a good cup of tea and some of those plum puffs I made today don't hearten you.

Anne: (Tearfully) Plum puffs won't minister to a mind diseased in a world that has crumbled into pieces.

“I'm afraid to speak or move for fear that all this wonderful beauty will just vanish - like a broken silence.” –Anne

“I don’t eat my lunch with anyone. I’m not a raggle-taggle gypsy, take me in! Take me in!” –Mrs. Harris

“Good grief! You know how to try one’s patience, don’t you?” –Anne

Josie Pye: You wore that sweet old dress to Fanny Emerson's wedding last year, though, didn't you, Anne? You know what they say, "Twice a bridesmaid, never a bride".

Anne: That's three times, not twice, Josie. But then you're so fortunate; the only thing you've had to wear twice, is a sour expression.

Marilla: What is to be will be, Rachel.

Mrs. Lynde: And what isn’t to be sometimes happens.

Info, links, etc.

Actors…

Anne: Megan Follows

Gilbert: Jonathan Crombie

Marilla: Colleen Dewhurst

Diana: Schuyler Grant

Length: Anne 1: 3 hrs. 19 min.

             Anne 2: 3 hrs. 50 min.

My grade: A+

Trailers:

~I cannot very well review both Anne 1&2 without even mentioning 3&4.

Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story (2000) was, in my opinion, a failure, and Sullivan Films should have stopped while they were ahead. Their big mistake: this movie was not based on the books. At all. The time period was inconsistent, too – it takes place during WWI, and in the books, Anne had a son who was old enough to fight; in this movie, she’s not even married at the beginning. For another thing, the characters themselves were not presented the same way at all – and it was not an improvement. ‘Twas quite sad to see Anne’s character so altered!

Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning (2008) was a complete and utter disgrace. They should have stopped while they were behind. I don’t know much about it, but enough to know that it pretty much changes the whole of Anne’s story – and, of course, it was all completely made-up (it didn't even have characters from the books, except a younger Anne.)

The scripts, some soundtrack samples, and a bunch of other information can be found here: http://greengables.tripod.com/ (It’s also where I got some of the pictures.)

Emma Actors

Here are the actors/actresses from the Emma movies that I recognized from other old-fashioned films:

(* means I haven’t actually seen it (or all of it); therefore I may not approve of it, but I always hear about that person being in that movie, or may have recognized them from the what I did see.)

Emma 2009

Romola Garai (Emma Woodhouse) – Kate Nickleby on Nicholas Nickleby (2002), Gwendolen Harleth on *Daniel Deronda, Barbara Spooner on Amazing Grace

Frederick Hale

Rupert Evans (Frank Churchill) - Frederick Hale on North and South (2004) 

Jonny Lee Miller (George Knightley) – Edmund Bertram in *Mansfield Park (1999) and Charles Price (Fanny’s little brother) in Mansfield Park (1983)

Blake Ritson (Mr. Elton) – Edmund Bertram on *Mansfield Park (2007)

Michael Gambon (Mr. Woodhouse) – Squire Hamley on Wives and Daughters, Mr. Holbrook on Cranford, some person on Amazing Grace
Christina Cole (Mrs. Elton) - Nora Rowly on He Knew He Was Right
Jodhi May (Mrs. Weston) - Mirah Lapidoth on *Daniel Deronda

Emma 1996 (A&E)

Jane Eyre

Mark Strong (George Knightley) – Sir John Conroy on The Young Victoria

Samantha Bond (Mrs. Weston) – Maria Bertram on Mansfield Park (1983)

Samantha Morton (Harriet Smith) – Jane Eyre on the 1997 version

Raymond Coultard (Frank Churchill) – Mr. Glascock on He Knew He Was Right, Scrooge as a young adult on A Muppet’s Christmas Carol (hehe)

Lucy Robinson (Mrs. Elton) – Mrs. Hurst (Bingley’s sister) on Pride and Prejudice (1995)

Olivia Williams (Jane Fairfax) – Jane Austen on *Miss Austen Regrets

Emma 1996 (Mirimax)

Sophie Thompson (Miss Bates) – Mary Musgrove on Persuasion (1995), Someone on Nicholas Nickleby (2002)
Juliet Stevenson (Mrs. Elton) - Mrs. Squeers on Nicholas Nickleby (2002)