Emma, by BBC Video is distributed in the U.S. and Canada by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment and available for a suggested retail price of $29.98.
It seems as if we can’t get enough of Jane Austen. Emma, in particular, appears to have captured filmmakers’ interest. Miramax’s film version starring Gwyneth Paltrow enjoyed a tremendous critical and commercial success, a rare achievement that testifies to Jane Austen’s universal appeal.
Another version of EMMA, an adaptation by BBC Video, provides an interesting contrast to the glamorous, high-budget Miramax version. Starring Doran Goodwin as Emma Woodhouse, the BBC version represents a more faithful adaptation of Austen’s original. Although, like Miramax’s version, it is filmed on location in an authentic English locale with actors in period costumes, the BBC version focuses more on text than scenery.
Running a full 257 minutes (compared to Miramax’s 120), the BBC version, directed by John Glenister and dramatized by John Constanduros, includes many of the slower, more intimate scenes that, for the sake of time, the cinema version was forced to eliminate. These scenes provide viewers with a true taste of Austen’s genius. Her novels focused on the idiosyncrasies and hypocrisies of 19th century manners and social customs. While we get glimpses of Austen’s keen commentary in the Miramax version, the BBC video captures each careful (sometimes almost painstaking) conversation and interchange.
Yet another version of EMMA will appear on television in the near future. A&E, the network that brought us the wonderful Pride and Prejudice series, has created its own adaptation of the novel starring Kate Beckinsale as the beloved Emma.
This version, like the BBC video, attempts to remain as faithful as possible to the original text. Shot on location throughout Engalnd, this exquisitely crafted series takes pains to recreate the world as Jane Austen would have known it.
The series represents the collaboration of producer Sue Birtwistle and dramatist Andrew Davies, who had teamed up previously to produce the A&E Pride and Prejudice. Director Diarmuid Lawrence and Oscar-winning costume designer Jenny Beavan complete the creative team.
If you have the time and the inclination, watch all three versions of Emma (Miramax plans to release its version to video this Spring) and choose for yourself which you find to be the most entertaining. If all else fails, go back to the purest, truest representation of Austen’s delightful tale–read the book.
The A&E television production of Emma is scheduled to air on 16th February 1997. Check local listings for further details.
Leigh Ann Berry
