A while ago we did a list of the worst Austen adaptations and so, here is it's counterpart. We've rated them according to how faithful they are to the source material and also how well they have transferred the novel to the screen. You might think that this list is very monotonous but we are, after all, Austen puritans - which should be obvious since we didn't include Mansfield Park (1999). It's a good movie, but not an adaptation of any Austen novel we've read. Like last time, these are period adaptations, not modernized versions.
1. Pride & Prejudice (1995). DUHH!!!! Did anyone really think we would have anything else as #1? We feel we've talked about this show so much that everyone's feeling sick already. So we'll keep it short and state that this is as close to perfection an adaptation can get. The flaws it has are incredibly minor compared to what it got right. It is the only version where the characters go through the transformations they do in the book.
2. Sense & Sensibility (2008). First of all, the novel is our second favourite from Austen (with Persuasion), so it's quite natural that the series would place higher than the film. You always have more time to explore the themes and represent the characters better than a much shorter movie. Also, since this is a BBC produced series written by Andrew Davies, needless to say it's expertly made. And let's face it - the choice between Dan Stevens and Hugh Grant is an easy one.
3. Emma (2009). Again, this is a mini-series, so obviously there's more time to develop the characters and story and to keep it more faithful to the book. Those who have read the book only once and remember the more light-hearted movie, might have been disappointed by this version since there's more drama than straight-out humour here than one would expect. We, on the other hand, were delighted to finally have the version of Emma onscreen that we know from the novel.
4. Sense & Sensibility (1995). This is as close to perfection as one can get with Austen - on film. Emma Thompson did a superb job of fitting this piece of complex drama to just under two hours. And amazingly, without losing much of the nuance of the book. Also, this rendition has our favourite versions of Colonel Brandon and Willoughby.
5. Emma (1996). This is an example of an adaptation where one has captured the spirit and humour of Austen's work while not necessarily being entirely faithful to its source. For us, the positives outweigh the negatives though, and unlike in Mansfield Park, in Emma the characters and the story remain somewhat similar to the novel. Plus, we have some serious nostalgia for this movie, so that may very well affect our judgement.
6. Love & Friendship (2016). Ok, we have to admit - this film surprised us. The dialogue is so authentically Austen it almost made us weep for joy. Lady Susan, the novella this movie is based on, we thought would be difficult to transfer to screen as it's written in the form of letters. But the screenplay is absolutely brilliant - its sharp wit and dry humour is something one would expect from Austen.
7. Northanger Abbey (2007). This movie is the one that teeters at the border of faithful adaptation and oh-my-god-how-drunk-was-davies-when-he-wrote-this. The biggest problem this film has is that it's produced by ITV - and they are nowhere near as classy as BBC. However, it does not butcher the source material the same way that other ITV Austen productions have done. The main players retain their essential characteristics and the story follows the novel quite closely. There was still room to make Mr. Thorpe creepier, though.
We are well aware that we don't have any version of Persuasion here - but we're waiting for Michael Fassbender to be cast as Captain Wentworth.
1. Pride & Prejudice (1995). DUHH!!!! Did anyone really think we would have anything else as #1? We feel we've talked about this show so much that everyone's feeling sick already. So we'll keep it short and state that this is as close to perfection an adaptation can get. The flaws it has are incredibly minor compared to what it got right. It is the only version where the characters go through the transformations they do in the book.
2. Sense & Sensibility (2008). First of all, the novel is our second favourite from Austen (with Persuasion), so it's quite natural that the series would place higher than the film. You always have more time to explore the themes and represent the characters better than a much shorter movie. Also, since this is a BBC produced series written by Andrew Davies, needless to say it's expertly made. And let's face it - the choice between Dan Stevens and Hugh Grant is an easy one.
3. Emma (2009). Again, this is a mini-series, so obviously there's more time to develop the characters and story and to keep it more faithful to the book. Those who have read the book only once and remember the more light-hearted movie, might have been disappointed by this version since there's more drama than straight-out humour here than one would expect. We, on the other hand, were delighted to finally have the version of Emma onscreen that we know from the novel.
4. Sense & Sensibility (1995). This is as close to perfection as one can get with Austen - on film. Emma Thompson did a superb job of fitting this piece of complex drama to just under two hours. And amazingly, without losing much of the nuance of the book. Also, this rendition has our favourite versions of Colonel Brandon and Willoughby.
5. Emma (1996). This is an example of an adaptation where one has captured the spirit and humour of Austen's work while not necessarily being entirely faithful to its source. For us, the positives outweigh the negatives though, and unlike in Mansfield Park, in Emma the characters and the story remain somewhat similar to the novel. Plus, we have some serious nostalgia for this movie, so that may very well affect our judgement.
6. Love & Friendship (2016). Ok, we have to admit - this film surprised us. The dialogue is so authentically Austen it almost made us weep for joy. Lady Susan, the novella this movie is based on, we thought would be difficult to transfer to screen as it's written in the form of letters. But the screenplay is absolutely brilliant - its sharp wit and dry humour is something one would expect from Austen.
7. Northanger Abbey (2007). This movie is the one that teeters at the border of faithful adaptation and oh-my-god-how-drunk-was-davies-when-he-wrote-this. The biggest problem this film has is that it's produced by ITV - and they are nowhere near as classy as BBC. However, it does not butcher the source material the same way that other ITV Austen productions have done. The main players retain their essential characteristics and the story follows the novel quite closely. There was still room to make Mr. Thorpe creepier, though.
We are well aware that we don't have any version of Persuasion here - but we're waiting for Michael Fassbender to be cast as Captain Wentworth.
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