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intereact!Directors: John Glenister, Giles Foster, Rodney Bennett
Actors: Doran Godwin, John Carson, Donald Eccles, Constance Chapman, and Ellen Dryden
Rated: NR (Not Rated)
Retail Price (not our price): $59.98
Release Date: 2004-08-24
Studio: BBC Warner
Run Time: 1336 minutes
Format: Array
Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Discs: 6
Editorial Reviews (supplied by Amazon.com):
1) Amazon.com
The socially restricted lives of 18th-century women hardly seems like a subject that would inspire dozens of 20th (and 21st) century adaptations--but the brilliant novels of Jane Austen are flush with sparkling dialogue, razor-sharp wit, marvelously realized characters that range from adorably sympathetic to grotesquely comic, and--above all--ingeniously intricate plots, which arrive at a seemingly inevitable happy conclusion yet keep you seized with suspense every inch of the way. The Jane Austen Collection pulls together six BBC miniseries from 1971 through 1987, one for each of Austen's much-beloved books. Unsurprisingly, the gems of the lot are also the best of the novels: Pride and Prejudice and Emma. Pride and Prejudice, expertly translated to the screen by novelist Fay Weldon, skillfully chronicles the ups and downs of the sensible but quick to judge Elizabeth Bennet (the adorable Elizabeth Garvie) and the snooty Mr. Darcy (played with an imperious scowl by David Rintoul). Any adaptation of Emma rests firmly on its central character, and Doran Godwin wonderfully captures Emma Woodhouse's resilience, determination, and exasperating self-satisfaction. Definitely the funniest of Austen's novels, Emma's satirical humor is perfectly balanced with romantic yearning, and this 1972 version succeeds delightfully. Persuasion, though more melancholy in tone, has a wonderfully sympathetic heroine in Anne Elliot (played by the graceful Ann Fairbanks), who once turned away the man she loved but is given the chance, seven years later, to set things right. Sense and Sensibility suffers from comparison to the star firepower and cinematic sweep of the 1995 movie with Emma Thompson (a must-see for any Austen fan), but the dueling characters of gracious Elinore and headstrong Marianne, two sisters struggling with fallen fortunes, make for enjoyable viewing in this 1981 adaptation. Mansfield Park has perhaps the dullest hero and heroine of any Austen novel, yet the story zips along, powered by some of Austen's most outrageous supporting characters, here brought to deliciously comic life by Anna Massey and Angela Pleasence. Northanger Abbey satirizes gothic romances and the overheated imaginations that loved them; but though the tone is more broad and melodramatic than most of Austen, this 1987 adaptation suits the novel and rounds out this very satisfying boxed set. --Bret Fetzer
Customer Reviews (supplied by Amazon.com):
Average Customer Rating: 3.5 out of 5
1) Disappointing [Rating: 2 out of 5]
Pride & Prejudice, of course, was excellent. That one's a classic, and difficult to match. Emma was nicely done, offering additional scenes not found in more modern adaptaions. The problem is, you're paying for 6 DVDs and getting about 2 that you'd watch more than once. These DVDs suffer from a terrible want of editing-long sequences with two sisters running up a hill giggling will not entertain many people for long. THe key scenes could have been developed more richly. We're Big Austen fans around here, but we wanted our money back after buying this set.2) Jane Austen Collection [Rating: 5 out of 5]
I have really enjoyed the Jane Austen Collection very much. The stories are done very well and you can see how difficult life was for a woman durning those times.3) Jane Austen collection / cd's [Rating: 4 out of 5]
I had some of these from the eighties on videotape, and then again, somedifferent versions of the others. I liked the videotapes very much, but they are degrading. These films are closer to the novel in most cases.Pride and Prejudice, this version, is my favorite. Persuasion, in myopinion is poorly done.4) jane austen collection [Rating: 1 out of 5]
I am confused, the description states the set has captions but several reviews claim it doesn't. Does it or doesn't it have captions? I don't understand why anyone would issue a DVD without captions. I am 70 and have problems understanding the dialogue in many of today's movies. My wife and I saw The DeVinci Code in a theater and I couldn't understand what the female lead was saying most of the time because of her mumbling. It wasn't until I got the DVD that I could understand what she was saying. I enjoy English TV shows like Midsomer Murders and have bought several sets but because I couldn't access the captions, I haven't watched them because of the accents. I generally have less trouble understanding the dialogue in older movies which don't have much background noise like traffic, etc.5) jane [Rating: 5 out of 5]
i looked at some of these dvd cant not wait to look at the rest