Sense & Sensibility (Special Edition)

The dvd was sent within a week and it's in really good condition. Would order from them again.

This is an excellent version of "Sense and Sensibility", and I'll say right up front that the DVD extra of Emma Thompson's Golden Globe acceptance speech is a much watch. It's hilarious.

Onto the movie itself.

Kate Winslet and Emma Thompson do a fantastic job of selling Elinor and Marianne. It's a bit hard visually since Thompson looks so much older than Winslet, but they do the sisterly rather than the mother-daughter thing, so it works. Winslet's hurt look when Willoughby won't shake her hand was the defining scene for me; with Elinor, it was the scene where she quietly drinks tea while the rest of the house is in an uproar over Willoughby's defection.

What else I liked. Greg Wise and Alan Rickman as Willoughby and Brandon, respectively, are good as well. Imelda Staunton as the cheery Charlotte Palmer and Hugh Laurie as her sarcastic husband are fun. Laurie's few scenes are excellent - he comes across as sarcastic and displeased, but his genuine offer of help to Elinor when Marianne is sick is well done. (But hey, it's Hugh Laurie.)

I liked how they use Margaret Dashwood to enhance Edward and Brandon; I enjoyed the non-Austen map scene as well as Brandon's teasing Margaret over her curious questions about the Indies.

Imogen Stubbs as Miss Lucy Steele was fantastic. I'd seen this movie very early, before I read the book, and for awhile in the movie I couldn't figure out if she was supposed to be a good guy or a bad one. Stubbs' sweet, earnest expression plays so well into Lucy's underhandness.

The other side characters were all right but not memorable.

What sucked: Edward Ferrars. He didn't even show up and sent Hugh Grant in his place. This was the worst Edward Ferrars I've ever seen; instead of Austen's Ferrars, this guy is basically a Regency version of every other character Hugh Grant's ever played. He's kind of an inarticulate, kind of stammering, nervous, shy, bumbling but genuinely nice guy. This is not Austen's Edward Ferrars. I'll admit I missed it the first time I saw it - I had not yet read the novel - but upon second viewing it was pretty clear the disparity between Austen's and Thompson's versions. It's a puzzlement as to why he's written this way; of course Thompson knows Austen better than this, and Grant has got more range than that usual bumbling thing.

A definite watch, though with a caveat emptor.

This is a typical Jane Austen romance, beautifully written and masterfully performed. The witty dialogue is well casted and acted by charming and professional perfomers. Highly recommended, especially for Jane Austen fans.

Again, the movie brought the characters to life. Please read the book, wonderful introduction to the movie.

Emma Thompson, as always, gave a great performance.

This movie was well done. I loved the beautiful scenes of the English countryside, they made it feel as though you were there. The chemistry between all the actors was very strong and every scene just flowed so naturally. They really did a gorgeous job on this movie I don't think you will be disappointed. I do want to recommend you read the book first, it's always a good tribute to the author, as well as to see what the author was trying to portray. Some other movie recommendations would be "Emma" with Paltrow, "Pride & Prejudice" both A&E and Knightley versions`, and I know this is not an Austen movie but I just want to throw it in "A Room with a View" such a great movie. As for books that are similar but not exactly like Austen, the authors would be Victoria Holt aka Jean Plaidy (Mistress of Mellyn for starters), E.M. Forester, Bronte sisters, and Philippa Gregory are all very entertaining reads.