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« Masterpiece Theatre
Jane Austen series
Masterpiece is showing the works of Jane Austen. They started with Persuasion. I thought it was good, but was very short and rushed. I loved the performers playing Ann and the Captain. But the actresses playing Ann's sisters were awful.
I looked at the time of the DVD and it was 93 minutes. But the version on PBS was about 10 minutes shorter. If PBS isn't going to show the whole thing, why bother? Is it to get people to buy the DVD to get the complete version?
Anyone have any opinions on Persuasion?
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Jan 17, 2008 9:49 AM
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It is being killed on the PBS discussion site. Very unpopular portrayal and script.
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Jan 17, 2008 3:38 PM
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Persuasion is often the underrated Austen work, while Pride and Prejudice and Emma get a lot of the spotlight (I enjoy all 3, Pride most of all).
The 1995 version of Persuasion is my favorite. Anne seemed reluctant and naive rather than a woman of 27 years with the emotional age of 12 year old. I didn't mind the "breaking the 4th wall" effect while Anne sought comfort and empathy from the viewer.
The run through Bath to find Wentworth was insane and seemed like a time waster rather than what it should have been: a build toward the climax of Anne accepting Wentworth's proposal of marriage. The kiss, though meant to be drawn out (not unlike their courtship) seemed silly in retrospect. I wanted to scream, "just kiss her and get it over with." Wentworth's purchase of Anne's childhood home was ridiculous, especially in light of the fact that they spent time explaining why Mr Elliot was interested in reconciling with the rest of the Elliot clan in the first place. I also didn't like that Mrs. Smith, Anne's friend, is supposed to be virtually crippled with disease, and yet she too is running through Bath, in search of Anne to warn her of Mr. Elliot's deception. These things didn't need to be rewritten to totally deviate from the original story.
Mary Musgrove (Anne's younger sister) was made to be almost mentally ill and unstable instead of exceedingly selfish. She was simply unwatchable.
For the film being 1 1/2, it seemed so rushed and empty. I didn't know it was cut short for airing on PBS until I read the message boards the day after it aired. I wonder what they cut and if it would affected people's views of the adaptation.
I was so excited when I saw that PBS was doing this whole "Complete Jane Austen" with new adaptations, but now I feeling more and more certain I will be disappointed in the effort. I did see Northanger Abbey last night, but I will confess that I have not read the story and have no other adapation to compare it with. I will say I liked that it was different from her other work and is centered around a girl with imagination and flooding with hormones. I can give the films credit for renewing my interest in those stories that I've not read in quite some time.
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Jan 21, 2008 11:28 AM
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It was good, but i thought it was short and got a little confused at parts...I also thought her sister was mentally ill rather than just selfish and thought the run through the streets was odd because it seemed like she was running, he was walking, yet he had time to get home, write a letter and do other things and make it back to her house before she did!
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Jan 27, 2008 5:05 PM
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Well as someone who had never read this book I quite enjoyed the movie. I liked the feel of it and particularly the actors in the two lead roles. I suppose it is always easier to be more critical when you have read the book and than watch an adaptation (I have been known to do this myself) but without that prior expectation I really liked it.
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Jan 28, 2008 3:52 PM
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I got to see the DVD of this version of Persuasion and it was much longer than what was aired on PBS. The extra scenes, or longer versions of scenes, filled out the story. And while they have taken some liberties with Austen's work, I try to judge the film on its own merit. I liked what they showed on PBS, but prefer the DVD edition.
For those who were annoyed that Ann ran around Bath so much at the end, the scenes of her running are even longer in the DVD edition. It implies that the Captain left her house in a carriage, as Ann doesn't see Frederick on the street when she runs out, but we do see a carriage that has just pulled away. And we also see that it was a greater distance between her house and Frederick's, so he would have had time to write the letter.
The PBS film has Frederick upset that people think he is going to marry Louisa, and he asks his friend what to do. In the DVD, the scene doesn't end there. Instead he is advised to leave for an extended visit with his brother so that Louisa will move on to someone else. So Louisa's engagement to another man doesn't seem so out of the blue as it did in the PBS version.
In the DVD, William Elliot sees Ann twice, not once, and is attracted to her, before finding out who she is.
The DVD also shows Mrs. Clay and Ann's father alone together in a garden, that suggests that Mrs. Clay is not staying with the Elliots just as Elizabeth's companion, but also as a love interest for Mr. Elliot.
I would suggest that if anyone is interested in this film that they rent the DVD. And I would hope that PBS stop editing shows on Masterpiece and Mystery for time.
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Feb 2, 2008 8:09 PM
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I actually enjoyed this movie very much; although you are right, at times it felt rushed.
I tuned in not only because I love anything Austen, but I am a fan of Rupert Penry-Jones from MI-5 (Spooks), and of Anthony Head from his Buffy days.
Even though Anne Elliot is the ugliest (I mean, plainest) of the Austen female protagonists, her personality is such that she won me over. However, I still don't believe that someone as handsome as that Captain Wentworth would look at her twice. Sorry, but I am being honest.
Now that I know the DVD is longer, I will have to rent it. Thanks for the information!
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Feb 4, 2008 12:31 PM
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