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Nabaza.net-The MarketPlace - Sense & Sensibility (with Miss Austen Regrets) (BBC TV 2008)
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List Price: $34.98
Our Price: $25.99
Your Save: $ 8.99 ( 26% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: BBC Warner
Starring: Hattie Morahan, Charity Wakefield, Dan Stevens, Janet McTeer, Mark Williams
Directed By: John Alexander
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: DVD
Brand: Warner Brothers
EAN: 0883929006007
Format: Closed-captioned
Label: BBC Warner
Manufacturer: BBC Warner
Number Of Items: 2
Publisher: BBC Warner
Region Code: 1
Release Date: 2008-04-08
Running Time: 174
Studio: BBC Warner
Theatrical Release Date: 2008-02-03
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Editorial Reviews:
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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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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: PBS Sense & Sensibility (with Miss Austen regrets)
Comment: I did'nt want the additional "Miss Austen Regrets" which was attached to "Sense and Senibility" as a combo. The DVD was a little pricy; as are all PBS DVD's, I have noticed. But I wanted it, so I had to buy it, packaged the way it was. Liked it very much; felt it was a much more expanded version than the "movie version". Good acting, great sets and production.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great Version!
Comment: This new version of Sense and Sensibility was very well done. I especially enjoyed the actress who played Elinor. I think she captures the character really well.
Overall I thought the director made good choices on how to piece it together and what to include. I always enjoy seeing new interpretations of such a classic story and this one was quite successful.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: good but not great
Comment: The script is competent (of course) but not inspired. The attempts to "improve" on the original are unsuccessful and occasionally absurd (the opening seduction scene and the duel). You mess with Miss Austin at your peril. A cast of good actors doing a great job doesn't hide the fact that many have faces that do not fit, altho' Hattie Morahan makes a terrific Elinor and Lucy Boynton is good as Margaret. The production values are up to the BBC's usual high standard, but I rate this version well behind those of 1981(BBC) and 1995 (Emma Thomson).
The product includes "Miss Austin Regrets", where JA nearing middle age is called upon to give advice on men, love and marriage to her young niece Fanny, a theme too slender to carry a whole film. Pity we weren't given more of JA's earlier life. A missed opportunity, but much better than the dire "Becoming Jane".
The extras are excellent: a commentary (apparently, I couldn't play it), a good (if short) photo gallery, an entertaining interview with Andrew Davies and producer Anne Pivcevic and especially an audio narration ("Remembering Jane Austin") of JA's life, based on the memoir of her nephew J.E. Austin-Leigh (the only Austin biographer who actually knew her).
The discs are housed in a strong folder, one disc in each side (probably the best way of presenting a 2-disc set that I've seen), with an attractive photo on front. Unfortunately this is the only good thing to say about the DVD presentation, which is entirely slipshod. There is not only advertising but the "coming" and "seen previously" slots have been retained. This puerile device is bad enough on telly, but is completely useless on a DVD,and should have been edited out with the inter-episode credits. The scene selection for "Miss Austin Regrets" is in the extra features (weird) and the audio play would be improved with some onscreen images (perhaps of scenes from Jane's life).
I give the audio item 4 stars, the films 3 stars each and the DVD presentation 1 star.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Another Old Man in Love with Jane Austen
Comment: I believe a great literary work is about more than the surface story of it. Sense and Sensibility is such a story. The timeless undercurrents of the human conditions of that time and place flow from this classic as steadily as it did two-hundred years ago. The first time I picked up the book, I read all night to finish it. This latest dvd is the third version of the story I own and for now my favorite. The English actors are wonderfully cast and several surprisingly close to the pictures in my imagination. I'm a lonely old man, but when I watch this dvd, my lost love sits with me and holds my hand.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Charming
Comment: This is a very well done adapation of my favorite Jane Austen novel. I thought Hattie Morahan hit the role of Elinor perfectly and she had great chemistry with Dan Stevens as Edward Ferrars. I fell in love with Charity Wakefield by the end of the series and I hope to see more of her in the future. The production quality of the series was also very well done for a made-for-tv production, but then BBC usually does a good job. I highly recommend this wonderful mini series to everyone.
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