| Sense & Sensibility (with Miss Austen Regrets) (BBC TV 2008) |  | Director: John Alexander
Actors: Hattie Morahan, Charity Wakefield, Dan Stevens, Janet McTeer, Mark Williams
Studio: BBC Warner
List Price: $34.98
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Rating:  142 reviews
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Languages: English (Subtitled), English (Original Language)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Region: 1
Discs: 2
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Running Time: 174 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.4 x 0.8
MPN: WARDE36359D
UPC: 883929006007
EAN: 0883929006007
ASIN: B0012OVCE6
Release Date: April 8, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Movie DVD
Lush, dramatic, and beautifully acted, the BBC's three-part miniseries Sense & Sensibility captures the languid urgency that resonates throughout the Jane Austen novel on which it is based. The miniseries begins with a seduction scene: As a young girl cautiously gives herself to a man, she asks, "But when will you come back?" He answers ominously, "Soon... very soon," and gallops off into the night. We know what she does not--that he will not return for her. But viewers do not learn until the end who the couple are, and how their actions set off a chain of events. It is inevitable that this period piece will be compared to the 1995 big screen adaptation that starred Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet and Hugh Grant, and won Thompson an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. To its credit, this later version stands up incredibly well, with actors whose looks match Austen's written description. And due to a longer running time than the film version, there is more attention paid to detail and minor characters. Sense & Sensibility focuses on the longings of the Dashwood sisters Elinor (Hattie Morahan) and Marianne (Charity Wakefield). After their wealthy father dies, leaving his entire estate to their milquetoast half brother John (Mark Gatiss), Elinor, Marianne, their younger sister Margaret (Lucy Boynton), and their mother are left penniless. John and his shrew-like wife Fanny move into the manor, making the Dashwoods feel like unwanted guests. It is only after Fanny's handsome and kind brother Edward Ferrars (Dan Stevens) arrives for a visit that Elinor feels happy again. Marianne, too, has attracted the attention of two suitors: serious and shy Colonel Brandon (David Morrissey) and dashing Willoughby (Dominic Cooper). Learning that the 35-year-old colonel is interested in her, a stunned Marianne says, "You do realize that it will be impossible for me to speak to him again." Her actions are that of a little girl, running away and hiding when he comes to call on her. But her feelings for Willoughby are real: the kind of love a girl feels for the first time. The differences in the sisters' choices, actions, and secrets set the tone for an era when a perceived impropriety could ruin a woman's reputation and her family's standing in a community. Filmed in England with good use of aerial shots, the production has a sweeping feel that adds a distinct flavor to the drama. As with many Austen novels, the heroines in Sense & Sensibility go through many misunderstandings before their happily-ever-after ending. But that ending leaves viewers satisfied that things turned out just the way that they should. Austen fans will be delighted with the second disc in this set: Miss Austen Regrets is a perfect companion to the miniseries, starring Olivia Williams stars as the author, and Greta Scacchi--who could easily pass as Williams' real-life sibling--as Austen's sister Cassandra. The film takes a bittersweet look at Austen's life and hints at what could have been had she married one of her suitors. Smart and headstrong, Austen refuses to cave into society's notions of what a proper woman should do. While her famous heroines all paired up with dashing gentlemen, Austen found that the loves of her life were her written creations. --Jae-Ha Kim
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 142
 Another BBC treasure September 6, 2010
The gifted person
The movie was as I expected. Classic BBC and I enjoyed it very much.
 A more realistic version of life at the time September 5, 2010
Atheen M. Wilson (Mpls, MN United States)
I've recently been on a Jane Austin kick, and in browsing for titles found that for most of the favorite novels--at least my favorites--there are two, three and sometimes even more cinematic versions to be found. Like Little Women, Little Women (Unabridged Classics), almost every generation seems to need to see its own favorite actresses in the roles. There are at least four versions of the latter, Little Women (1933) (Katherine Hepburn), Little Women (June Allyson), Little Women (Meredith Baxter Berny), and Little Women (Collector's Series) (Susan Sarrandon). Having watched the Emma Thompson edition of Sense & Sensibility (Special Edition), I decided to view this one as well.
The filmography is quite good, as one has come to expect it to be with this type of production. The English scenery is haunting and exquisite, the manor homes made intimate despite their size by candle light evenings of extended family gathered around the spinet. Even large parties seem "private" under this illumination. The costumes are somewhat less brilliant than some of those I've seen in other films of the Victorian Era, but still quite good. They definitely reflect the differences between the generations well.
The actors, while not quite as front line as those in the Emma Thompson version, are quite skilled in their rendering of each character, and while I feel that those of the latter are more charismatic in their interpretation--Huge Grant, for instance, is the quintescentual Edward--those of the former are probably more realistic with respect to the period and to the author's original intent. The Dominic Cooper Willoughby is portrayed as far less a "star crossed" lover who is to be pittied, as he is in the Thompson film, nor is there any sense that he suffers any real anguish of loss. Here he is a selfish, self-seeking opportunist willing to sacrifice anything and anyone to enjoy the lifestyle to which he has always been accustomed--though with the alternative, who can really blame him? While we understand the Willoughby in this film, we don't necessarily like, forgive or sympathize with him. I think this was the author's intent. She wanted us to see the predicament of wealth without joy or happiness other than through dissipation, and the disaster of life without any secure income. Certainly this put into high relief the circumstances of Edward, whose character though honest and morally upright faced prospects of utter ruin and a life with which he was ill prepared to deal. One is left wondering if he is stupid or crazy; in short we are wondering about the sanity of Edward but equally critical of the selfish behavior of Willoughby. There is no doubt in the reader/viewer's mind that these individuals are held hostage by society just as much as the women are.
This rendition of the novel seems to have less levity to it. Everything is far more serious, than the Thompson film is. Charity Wakefield's Marianne's risky behavior, though less flamoyant than the Kate Winslet Marianne, is seen much more clearly here as the threat to her reputation and marital future that it is. Her indiscretions are small and innocent compared to those of the Winslet version, but they reveal to the modern audience just how little it took to actually bring ones behavior into question. The Winslet Marianne would have been way off the chart for a contemporary audience. While a modern audience will see a willful girl of 15 or 16 in love, acting out as adolescents so frequently do, the contemporary audience would have seen an imprudent and reckless young woman throwing away her future and that of her sisters in a world where society could be brutal in its ostracism of any woman whose potential off-spring might inherit considerable sums of land, property, and capital. These rules were well known and well understood both by the author and by her contemporary readers. While a married woman who'd provided her legal spouse with an "heir and a spare" might dally with other men and often did, until she had married and done her legal duty, she was under the social microscope. Reputation was thus everything to an unmarried woman. Maryanne's behavior would have put her own future on the line along with that of both her sisters Eleanor and Margaret.
Since there were few men with large fortunes of which to dispose, the competition for them was intense, with the wealthy and aristocratic young women seen as front runners for the prizes available to each generation. The Dashwood girls' sister-in-law Fannie Dashwood was a personification of just such an heiress. She is played skillfully and with restraint here by Claire Skinner in keeping with the emotive ambiance of the version, but with much greater flamboyance and comedic skill by Harriet Walter in the Thompson version. Successful in her own generation, she had fished for and caught the girls' brother, heir to the Dashwood fortune, and expected to reap the benefits of having done her "duty," here represented by the little red headed boy in the film. By eliminating her husband's "burden" of unmarried sisters by driving them out of the house they had been born in and by assuaging his conscience over his failure to do as his dying father had requested--sort of "out of sight out of mind"--she ensured that her own son would inheret an intact estate.
All of this marital maneuvering led to the famous "season" in London with its parties presenting for inspection the young women just "coming out" each year like so many fine horses for sale to the highest bidder. Fannie is at the ball where Maryanne humiliates herself over Willoughby to make certain her beloved brothers Edward and Robert meet appropriate potential marriage partners. She has already made it plain to her mother-in-law and to the audience that Edward's inheritance is predicated on his marriage to a woman acceptable to his mother, played with great effect by Jean Marsh of Upstairs, Downstairs - Collector's Edition Megaset (The Complete Series plus Thomas and Sarah) fame. This makes it obvious that the duty to keep the family fortunes out of the hands of "unsuitable" connections was the responsiblity of everyone in the family, especially the women. That she is right in her suspicion of their vulnerability is obvious to the reader/viewer because they already know that Edward has secretly betrothed himself to Lucy Steele, played demurely by Anna Madeley in this version and with greater comedic Machiavellianism by Imogine Stubbs in the Thompson film, while a student at the girl's father's school.
Less affluent women of various degrees, like the Dashwood and Steele sisters and like the betrayed ward of Colonel Brandon, relied upon beauty, talent, virtue, family connection, or pure guile to enter the marriage race and with varying degrees of success. Both versions of the film reveal that it was the responsibility of extended family, especially the women, to find suitable husbands for these unmarried women. Hence the enthusiastic response of the Mrs. Jennings of both versions of the film. Some of these young women were destined to marry the younger sons of wealthy families who were themselves destined for careers in the military or the church and who might inherit small legacies from their family but would essentially earn an income from their professions, keeping them at least in the lower ranks of the upper class. A churchman might actually inherit a benefice offered by the estate of the family of which he was a part and do very little by means of actual labor. Edward's ultimate destiny reflects this aspect of society when he receives a benefice from the estate of Colonel Brandon. The importance of these profurements and the competition for them, especially in the church, can clearly be seen in Trollope's Barchester Chronicals (excellantly filmed in The Barchester Chronicles with Donald Pleasence). Those with fewer prospects were reduced to making secret liasons, like Lucy Steele, or granting sexual favors like Colonel Brandon's ward. That this sometimes met with success is personified by the wiley Lucy and sometimes with disaster by the betrayed ward of the Colonel.
In such circumstances innuendo and gossip could be wielded like a battle axe by contenders in the marriage market to damage or even destroy the chances of an opponent, and once damaged the lady was all but unmarketable and fell back on her family as a dependant and burden forever. Nor was the character of just one daughter with a damaged reputation the only victim, since her fate put that of all of her unmarried sisters into question as well, effectively removing them for the sweepstakes. This is made even clearer by the Austin novel Pride and Prejudice, Pride And Prejudice and Pride and Prejudice - The Special Edition (A&E, 1996), when younger sister Lydia runs off with (another) unconscienced Willoghby and the Bennet family feels it encumbant upon themselves to withdraw from society altogether, until Mr. Darcy comes to their rescue. Families were well aware of the consequences of such damage and took precautions against it, while those of young eligible bachelors took even greater care to keep their heirs out of the hands of "unsuitable" women.
All of this "survival of the fittest" activity was bread and butter to Jane Austin, who was herself part of the lower ranks of upper class society. She presents for gentle ridicule a system that leaves women no options for their continued well being except a "good" marriage or the kindness of well-disposed brothers, fathers and other male relatives--the latter group having been her own solace until her death at 41.
All of these rules are made plain to the audience through the stereotypical characters in the novel and are well portrayed in this film version of it.
Of course, only Andrew Davies can write Austen as well as this. August 29, 2010
Linda S. Cosma
Of course, only Andrew Davies can write Austen as well as this. I know Emma Thompson's S&S is the top mark, setting the standard S&S. However, Davies really has an understanding of Austen's work and translates it perfectly . Enjoy all you Romancers!
 sense and sensibility August 20, 2010
clyde71
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
ordered new dvd. Received used dvd with many scratches and scuff marks. Disc stops in several places.
Will probably not purchase further items from Amazon,
Enjoyable August 14, 2010
Tera Hishon (Chino Hills, CA USA)
While different from the '95 Ang Lee version, it is not worse, really, it just has a different feeling. With a presumably lower budget, it lacks big names and the huge ball sequences we come to expect in Austen adaptations-some of the costumes come from other sets. However, this is easily overlooked, as Austen's story remains to this day, quite lovely; Marianne's journey from naivety to true love and Elinor's from responsibility to happiness are timeless. Adapted by Andrew Davies, it has a darker tone that he seems to find in classics (Bleak House and Northanger Abbey felt the same way); this adaptation feels a little less passionate than Ang's, but in 3 hours, it can provide more story. Worth a viewing if you like classics!
Showing reviews 1-5 of 142
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