Qualifications: No biographies, not based on/inspired by real events, has to be happening before 1945 and by pure coincidence all the entries use pre-existing material. We have already expressed our displeasure about relegating period dramas (especially Austen) to the "chick flick" genre. Period dramas often have more women and female leads thus they offer female perspectives on different matters. In our opinion, this is the reason they are frequently downgraded in comparison to other more male centred dramas.
1. Much Ado About Nothing. Dear God, this movie is amazing. By far, our favourite Shakespeare. Emma Thompson was born to play Beatrice. It's the original romantic comedy that everyone else has since attempted to duplicate. Who knew that Shakespeare was capable of writing something proto-feminist? We've even grown to love the only thing that is amiss in this film, namely Keanu Reeves' performance.
2. A Room with a View. Obviously the '85 version. This is a near perfect adaptation from the book. The sets, the music, the cinematography, the locations, etc. It's all perfect.
3. East of Eden. The only entry where the lead or co-lead isn't a woman. But goddamn it's really great and the female characters are not adjacent to the men and are presented with resentment towards the patriarchy, which of course make us relate to them. There's some really good shit about religion and family here. We recommend this to everyone.
3. Far from the Madding Crowd. The more we watch this film, the more we love it. Once again, a superb adaptation of a wonderful book. What surprised us the most was that this came out in 2015 and wasn't an attempt to pander to the zeitgeist but simply trying to make a decent version of the story. Also, we have to admire that the creators had the guts to keep it a romance in this anti-romance age of film.
5. Sense & Sensibility. Duh! It is rather shocking to us that Austen isn't higher on the list, but alas they have not made a perfect film version of any of Austen's books and this has come the closest and most likely will remain as such. The book is very hefty so of course you couldn't manage to include everything necessary like the miniseries did. Plus Hugh Grant as Edward... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. But this is incredibly well done and has THE Willoughby. In addition it has the best period drama film soundtrack.
6. The Painted Veil. One of the few instances where the adaptation surpasses the original material for us. This film looks absolutely gorgeous. So much so, that one is able to let Edward Norton's questionable accent slide. And we like the characters.
7. The Secret Garden. One of our all-time childhood favourites. We dare you not to be happy after watching this film. These are some of the most authentic child characters created for screen.
8. Emma. It's light, it's funny, it's thoroughly enjoyable. Once again, there's a later miniseries that expanded really well on the original material. However, for a movie this one's not too shabby! Trust us, they've done much worse.
9. Romeo & Juliet. The '60s one. This is the only version we have seen where the two leads knew what they were saying, and that makes a world of difference. We were actually quite astonished to notice that we like a Shakespearean drama/tragedy. In all the other versions we've seen, their love is presented as a tragedy because they are so young and amidst circumstances beyond their control and all that combined leads to their demise. This one is the only film adaptation we've seen where the parents, the only adults involved, are responsible for creating those unhappy circumstances. That gives us the complexity that we've always longed for in this story. Instead of victim-blaming the children the onus is on the adults and their petty feuds.
10. Love & Friendship. This is a great adaptation of Austen's work. It's almost as if she had written it herself. The quick-witted dialogue, the sardonic humour and salient commentary about the human and social conditions. Now this is how one panders to the zeitgeist.
1. Much Ado About Nothing. Dear God, this movie is amazing. By far, our favourite Shakespeare. Emma Thompson was born to play Beatrice. It's the original romantic comedy that everyone else has since attempted to duplicate. Who knew that Shakespeare was capable of writing something proto-feminist? We've even grown to love the only thing that is amiss in this film, namely Keanu Reeves' performance.
2. A Room with a View. Obviously the '85 version. This is a near perfect adaptation from the book. The sets, the music, the cinematography, the locations, etc. It's all perfect.
3. East of Eden. The only entry where the lead or co-lead isn't a woman. But goddamn it's really great and the female characters are not adjacent to the men and are presented with resentment towards the patriarchy, which of course make us relate to them. There's some really good shit about religion and family here. We recommend this to everyone.
3. Far from the Madding Crowd. The more we watch this film, the more we love it. Once again, a superb adaptation of a wonderful book. What surprised us the most was that this came out in 2015 and wasn't an attempt to pander to the zeitgeist but simply trying to make a decent version of the story. Also, we have to admire that the creators had the guts to keep it a romance in this anti-romance age of film.
5. Sense & Sensibility. Duh! It is rather shocking to us that Austen isn't higher on the list, but alas they have not made a perfect film version of any of Austen's books and this has come the closest and most likely will remain as such. The book is very hefty so of course you couldn't manage to include everything necessary like the miniseries did. Plus Hugh Grant as Edward... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. But this is incredibly well done and has THE Willoughby. In addition it has the best period drama film soundtrack.
6. The Painted Veil. One of the few instances where the adaptation surpasses the original material for us. This film looks absolutely gorgeous. So much so, that one is able to let Edward Norton's questionable accent slide. And we like the characters.
7. The Secret Garden. One of our all-time childhood favourites. We dare you not to be happy after watching this film. These are some of the most authentic child characters created for screen.
8. Emma. It's light, it's funny, it's thoroughly enjoyable. Once again, there's a later miniseries that expanded really well on the original material. However, for a movie this one's not too shabby! Trust us, they've done much worse.
9. Romeo & Juliet. The '60s one. This is the only version we have seen where the two leads knew what they were saying, and that makes a world of difference. We were actually quite astonished to notice that we like a Shakespearean drama/tragedy. In all the other versions we've seen, their love is presented as a tragedy because they are so young and amidst circumstances beyond their control and all that combined leads to their demise. This one is the only film adaptation we've seen where the parents, the only adults involved, are responsible for creating those unhappy circumstances. That gives us the complexity that we've always longed for in this story. Instead of victim-blaming the children the onus is on the adults and their petty feuds.
10. Love & Friendship. This is a great adaptation of Austen's work. It's almost as if she had written it herself. The quick-witted dialogue, the sardonic humour and salient commentary about the human and social conditions. Now this is how one panders to the zeitgeist.
