Masterpiece Theatre Marathon...

[izzarina]

Starting on 13 January at 9pm, PBS's long running series Masterpiece Theatre will be airing a Jane Austen Marathon. They are beginning with Persuasion, which, in my opinion, is a wonderful way to kick it all off. I believe they will be airing the BBC versions of each movie...in other words, the new Pride and Prejudice with Kiera Knightly will not be shown, but instead the one with Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy (this one is about 6 hours long, but well worth the watch if you like the story). You can find out more here:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/austen/index.html

I just wanted to share...I know I'm so excited about it, I can hardly stand it!

[izzarina]

Also, here is the schedule for the 2008 season, with the Jane Austen showings included...in case anyone is interested.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/sch ... hedule.pdf

[emmline]

the new Pride and Prejudice with Kiera Knightly will not be shown, but instead the one with Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy...

Those 2 versions get all muddled in my head. I tend to think of the '06 movie version, until Mr. Wickham comes into the picture. Then I see the dark curly-haired dude. All so confusing.

[chas]

We have the BBC box set. They're really uneven. Persuasion is my favorite of her books, but really difficult to make into a good movie. The BBC version is the best of the three or so I've seen. I greatly enjoyed their version of Northanger Abbey, and it was that version of Pride and Prejudice that got me into Jane Austen in the first place. I thought Emma and Sense and Sensibility, both good movie material, were both awful. Especially the latter, which took too many liberties with the story -- they wrote the little sister completely out of the screenplay. Okay, she didn't have a huge part in the book, but to write out a character completely for no apparent reason is too much for me.

[CHasR]

sigh... this is definitely a thread for the female persuasion...Mrs Chas R is enthralled too, ChasR himself crashed about 40 minutes into episode 1.(give me an I Claudius marathon any day!!)
ALthough, I have to admit...anything Jane Austen wrote pales in boredom-ness to 'The Horse Whisperer'

[Innocent Bystander]

sigh... this is definitely a thread for the female persuasion...Mrs Chas R is enthralled too, ChasR himself crashed about 40 minutes into episode 1.(give me an I Claudius marathon any day!!)
ALthough, I have to admit...anything Jane Austen wrote pales in boredom-ness to 'The Horse Whisperer'

I'll give that the lie.
Kipling wrote a story (I've lost the thing, curse it!) where one enlisted man explains to another that the password for wangling your way into the right Lodge is "Jane" (and her works).

Ah! Here it is: The Janeites!



The BBC is currently running another (new) dramatisation of Sense and Sensibility. We (Mrs Bystander and I) are enjoying it.

[mutepointe]

You should really host a dress up theme party with period foods and drinks. Where are the gays when you need one?

[izzarina]

I thought Emma and Sense and Sensibility, both good movie material, were both awful. Especially the latter, which took too many liberties with the story -- they wrote the little sister completely out of the screenplay. Okay, she didn't have a huge part in the book, but to write out a character completely for no apparent reason is too much for me.

Do you mean the Beeb versions of these? I found the Emma Thompson version of Sense and Sensibility to be better in some ways, despite the deviations from the book. And Margaret was very well represented in that one as well It at least seemed to try to be true to the story. Although the whole thing with Cpt. Brandon and Marianne was terribly off in the movie. But I suppose one can't complain.

[izzarina]

The BBC is currently running another (new) dramatisation of Sense and Sensibility. We (Mrs Bystander and I) are enjoying it.

See that, CHasR? IB likes to watch it...so this isn't completely a female thread Although I admit that the Horse Whisperer was vile. Not something I want to watch again, ever.

[cowtime]

give me an I Claudius marathon any day!!

I don't see why we can't have both "old king log"( wasn't that what he called himself at the end) and Jane.

[chas]

I thought Emma and Sense and Sensibility, both good movie material, were both awful. Especially the latter, which took too many liberties with the story -- they wrote the little sister completely out of the screenplay. Okay, she didn't have a huge part in the book, but to write out a character completely for no apparent reason is too much for me.

Do you mean the Beeb versions of these? I found the Emma Thompson version of Sense and Sensibility to be better in some ways, despite the deviations from the book. And Margaret was very well represented in that one as well It at least seemed to try to be true to the story. Although the whole thing with Cpt. Brandon and Marianne was terribly off in the movie. But I suppose one can't complain.

Oh, definitely the BBC versions. I LOVE the Emma Thompson version of S&S despite having a really hard time picturing Ms. Thompson being 20 years old. I also very much enjoyed the Emma of a few years ago with Gwynneth Paltrow, despite its flaws. Thing was, with both of these they preserved the humor of the books.

For ChasR: Jane Austen can be appreciated as much by men as by women; I am a case in point. I had read all of her books, and fragments for that matter, before I was married. The books really aren't as touchy-feely as the average guy thinks. Ms. Austen is pretty much poking fun at the whole culture she lived in. The touchy-feely part comes when you realize that she died single, and the books were also expressing her extreme desire for male companionship. The bottom line is they can be enjoyed on any number of levels. She may not be the best pre-Victorian English novelist, but she's certainly among the best, whether read by men or women. Her recent popularity is a rare case of something really good becoming really popular.

[izzarina]

Oh, definitely the BBC versions. I LOVE the Emma Thompson version of S&S despite having a really hard time picturing Ms. Thompson being 20 years old. I also very much enjoyed the Emma of a few years ago with Gwynneth Paltrow, despite its flaws. Thing was, with both of these they preserved the humor of the books.

Yes, I agree that portraying Emma Thompson as a 20 year old was a bit of a stretch But, having said that, she was flawless in the part. She made a very good Elinor. And Kate Winseltt was a perfect Marianne.

As for Emma, the Gwynneth Paltrow version deviated quite a bit from the book, but I thought that the characters were well cast, and as you said, kept to the humourous elements of Ms Austen's books. And that is the one thing that many people don't really get about Jane Austen's books (as you mentioned)...they were intended in many ways to be a mockery of the way of life that Ms Austen was born in to. You can see, upon reading, that she really wasn't too terribly fond of the superficiality of the whole thing...and that she longed for something more. Perhaps that's why she never married.

I actually am very heartened that the books have gained so much popularity in recent years, due to the movies that have been made. I think that the newest version of Pride and Prejudice has made her writings even more popular than they had been, due to Keira Knightly playing the part of Elizabeth. And while it wasn't my favourite version by a long shot (the BBC version really was far superior), there were elements in it that actually were more in tune with the book than the Beeb version was. Like, the part where she found out that Charlotte was to marry Mr. Collins....Lizzie was angry, not overwhelmingly happy like she seemed to be in the Beeb version. The Keira Knightly version seemed to portray that part much better, IMHO. And while it's not at all in keeping with the original story, I really did love how the first proposal scene with Mr Darcy was done in the rain. I found that to be much more fitting.

Anyway, I could go on and on here...Jane Austen has been one of my favourite authors for quite some time, even before the newly found popularity of the books. Her works are well worth reading for anyone. the 13th can't come quickly enough for my liking!

[CHasR]

what???eh??...OH, right (waking up now...) ...Houston? Austin? oh-Austen...no, I guess its not just for the ladies...different strokes & all that. enjoy the show!