Emma (BBC, 1972) |  | Actors: Doran Godwin, John Carson, Donald Eccles, Constance Chapman, Ellen Dryden
Studio: BBC Warner
Category: DVD
List Price: $14.98
Buy New: $3.32
as of 3/12/2010 10:48 EST details
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Rating:  32 reviews
Sales Rank: 13113
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Original recording remastered, NTSC
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 270 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: E1684
ISBN: 0790770245
UPC: 794051168429
EAN: 9780790770246
ASIN: B000244F64
Theatrical Release Date: 1972
Release Date: August 24, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | This splendid dramatization brings to life all the glorious wit and sharp humor of arguably Jane Austen's finest novel, recreating her most irritatingly endearing female character, Emma, of whom she wrote "no one but myself could like."Emma presides over the small provincial world of Highbury with enthusiasm, but she will find that it is all too easy to confuse good intentions with self-gratificat |
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Product Description
This splendid dramatization brings to life all the glorious wit and sharp humor of arguably Jane Austen's finest novel recreating her most irritatingly endearing female character Emma of whom she wrote "no one but myself could like." Emma presides over the small provincial world of Highbury with enthusiasm but she will find that it is all too easy to confuse good intentions with self-gratification. The often sensitive ever well-meaning incorrigible Emma Woodhouse having engineered the marriage of governess companion and friend Miss Taylor now turns her attention towards making a match for Mr. Elton the local vicar and her new protege Harriett Smith. Her one voice of reason and restraint is Mr. Knightly who has known her since she was a child and who watches her behavior with wry amusement and sometimes with real anger.Running Time: 257 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA UPC: 794051168429
Amazon.com
The key to any Jane Austen adaptation is finding the perfect balance of romantic yearning and savage, satirical wit. Austen's Emma has these two qualities at their most exquisite and tantalizing, and this BBC adaptation from 1972 serves the novel with complete satisfaction. Delightful Doran Godwin captures not only the title character's good nature and resilient will, but also her exasperating self-satisfaction and ungovernable manipulative impulses. Believing herself to be acting in everyone's best interests, Emma takes the lower-class Harriet Smith (Debbie Bowen) under her wing and sets out to find the girl a suitable husband, disregarding what havoc she wreaks along the way. Her foolish father (Donald Eccles) cannot temper Emma's fancies; only the stern Mr. Knightly (John Carson) offers any reason or restraint. This sprightly adaptation is far superior to the mediocre 1996 film (starring Gwyneth Paltrow) and on par with the ingenious Clueless, which cunningly translates the story to a Beverly Hills high school. The luxurious span of a six-part miniseries gives this version the opportunity to revel in Emma's every deliciously misguided moment. --Bret Fetzer
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 32
 Emma Isn't Pretty Enough March 12, 2010
Alexander Brown
I bought this version of "Emma" for my wife because she was smitten by anything Jane Austen. (And I had read that it was 'the closest' version to the book.) So, I ordered it. But, alas, it was an untimely purchase because the newest "Emma" happened to appear on television. When I proudly presented 'my' gift version of "Emma" to My Beloved, she could not reconcile a "plain Emma" with the more attractive and vivacious newer model of the latest TV offering. (For my sake she toiled through it and then went out and bought the latest TV version.)
Sometimes life is cruel. Perhaps the real Emma was as plain-faced as the one I purchased, but I could never convince my wife of that.
That is why I have scored this "Emma" as 3 stars ["It's OK"]. The movie probably deserves a better score for the acting and storyline integrity, but I have discovered that I am as shallow as my wife.
Emma August 29, 2009
Green Eyes (Los Angeles)
This is a "chick flick". I have watched it a least a dozen times. I do like the newer version better but this fills an evening very well for me. I enjoy the period pieces and am constantly amazed that this piece still claims facination after 200 years. I am a fan of Jane Austen and I have several versions of each of her works. I have read the books as well.
Worthwhile but flawed May 27, 2009
Tracy Marks (Arlington, MA USA)
I enjoyed watching this early production of Emma because it was quite true to the book (though where was the BLUNDER scene at Box Hill?) and more "fleshed out" than the 2 hour films. But I was not happy with most of the actors.
I never found the character of Emma very likeable, but she fails to gain my sympathy in this version because a) she lacks warmth and vitality - is quite flat; b) she is quite unattractive.
However, she didn't bother me as much as Mr. Knightley - who was FAR too old - he looks at least 55 - and more than 30 years old than Emma, old enough almost to be her grandfather! And there is just so little chemistry between him and Emma - nothing like Paltrow and Northam. Plus Harriet is just too insipid - I think she says "yes, Miss Woodhouse" several hundred times throughout the film. Enough to make you want to scream.
The actress who played Mrs. Elton was perfect, but she went on and on more than we needed to see and hear for us to get a sense of her character. In fact, some of the scenes focusing on the "small things" of daily life and character (as Mr. Woodhouse's quirks) were drawn out more than was necessary.
Finally, I was annoyed by some of the continuity problems - e.g. The clock behind Mr. Woodhouse says 11:30 at the beginning of a scene and then at the end of the scene, less than 2 minutes later, it quite clearly says something like 3:30.
Nonetheless, it was a more accurate portrayal of the book than any of the other films....and likely to be of interest to those who particularly appreciated Austen's book.
 Emma (BBC, 1972) January 23, 2009
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I love to see Jane Austen movies. It takes you back to a time where live was not so easy.
Surprisingly Great Movie October 8, 2008
Plain Jane (USA)
I purchased this movie because of my favorite British actor, John Carson. I was actually pretty pleased with this movie. It is a "video" movie, shot on a sound stage using video rather than film and rather bland and washed out with minimal sets and furniture -- no shadows, no "realism," but still a great movie. I didn't think I would outlast it, but I found I couldn't shut it off -- I found it rather good. It's a bit long, drawn out and at times tedious, you really have to pay attention to who's who and who's doing what, but, again, it's pretty good. Makes me think about what living in that period of time would have been like and how classified people were.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 32
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