I purchased this DVD on the advice of a friend who absolutely loves Rupert Penry-Jones and I was not disappointed!! The acting is top notch and you can feel the heartbreak of lost love between Captain Wentworth and Anne Elliot, when Sally Hawkins cries you will cry too!!! The music from Martin Phipps(same composer as BBC's North and South) is superb!! I wish he would release a CD of his BBC production scores!! The only distraction is the running scene at the end!!! We all want true love in the end but not at the expense of a heart attack!!! I would need oxygen after running like that in Bath, England!!! But overall, I highly and unequivocally give this production 5 stars!!!
August 28, 2008Most reviews seem to bash this version of Persuasion but I think it's quite good and would encourage someone interested to rent it and make their own opinion. I don't think the characterization of the the lead role strays as far as some would suggest. I do agree there are a few elements that seem unlikely for the culture but these are few and insignificant. I think it can rival, though not surpass, the A&E version but to each his own.
August 23, 2008When I first watched this movie WithOuT reading the book I thought it was nicely done and the cast looked great. The movie really got me wanting to read the book. After reading the book I still think they did a good job the cast I love. Now I can't compare to the 95 movie so let's compare the book to this movie ... Now I think Rupert is very handsome and played a very good Wentworth And I really like Sally Hawkins. The movie almost everything was to the book I have read other ppl's review and some dislike all of Anne (Sally Hawkins) Emotions in this film but I didn't it made me really feel for Anne. I mean just think if you had to remeet your first love after so many years she did a great job. - in the book everything is in her head- its Very hard to do in a movie the journal writing was perfect so let get to the part that everyone comments on the end.... ok in the novel Anne does not go running in the street and no she does not kiss him that didn't happen in the 1815. I understand BUT the last chapter in the book has a lot of dialog that's hard and boring to explain in a movie - (can you picture Anne and C Wentworth just talking and talking and talking and talking) that very expensive and stupid I think the end really sums everything up. Anne running to better explain how much she loved him and to explain that she doesn't want to lost him - maybe him buying her the house is a bit to much b/c that's not possible and its overdone by Austin's standards but I think it's a sweet idea the film is trying to better explain all the Emotions that the two Characters have for each other. It's not like the horrible job they did with Pride and Prejudice with Keira Knightly Now that was an Abomination
August 23, 2008I rate this higher than "Becoming Jane" (3.5) just because it's "Persuasion", and the story is just fantastic - though Austen should get credit for it. Overall, it wasn't terrible, it just wasn't fantastic.
Sally Hawkins didn't do horribly, and she conveys the gentleness and patience of Anne Elliot well. When she's happy to see Wentworth, you can tell the difference between her sadder moods, but I don't remember quite feeling Anne's despondency as much. If Amanda Root hadn't gone before her, I doubt we'd all beat up on Hawkins as badly. It's really not a bad performance.
So Rupert Penry-Jones is the finest looking Wentworth I've seen yet, though not the best Wentworth I've seen. Like Hawkins, he's not bad; I loved how Penry-Jones played it when Wentworth sees Lady Russell again for the first time since she separated him and Anne. Unfailingly polite, he does manage to convey the necessary emotions at the necessary parts. His concern and slight panic when he discovers people expect him to offer for Louisa is well done. Again, same problem; he was preceded by Ciaran Hinds, and it's a little bit like Macfayden attempting Darcy after Firth.
No real opinion on the script...again, liked the inclusion of the conversation where Wentworth finds out that people expect him to offer for Louisa. I have mixed feelings about how the writer moved the Benwick-Anne conversation about how men and women love: it fits where it is in the movie, but in the book it's a key factor in Wentworth's offering again for Anne at the end. Anne running the "streets of Bath" marathon - CHEESY AND DUMB.
Really liked Finlay Robertson's Benwick; I found him more memorable than Richard McCable's 1995 version. This Benwick looked truly lovesick at the loss of his fiancee. Alice Krige's Lady Russell was well done as well. How she did the conversation where Lady Russell and Anne discuss Wentworth at the start of the movie was very good. It's easy to believe that Lady Russell is really just looking out for Anne; Krige delivers all the maternal warmth while maintaining a regal bearing. Hard to go wrong with Anthony Head as Sir Walter Elliot.
Go with the 1995 if you only want to watch one, but this is worth watching.
August 16, 2008I have never before recommended that a fan of Jane Austin and fans of the BBC productions not buy a dvd, but this one is really horrible. I am impressed with the previous review by Merkeet who lists the good and bad points. Much more diplomatic than I am right now. I bought the dvd based on positive reviews that I read at this site, and I'm not sorry that I've seen it - Jane Austin is always good, I just can't understand how this one was allowed to have been produced. The direction is dubious at best, which I can only assume is what caused all the over- acting. There are some wonderful actors who are aren't given a chance in this version. I recommend spending your money on the Amanda Root version which is absolutely beautiful, and while you're at it, look into Elizabeth Gaskill's North and South, which just came out in dvd, and is as close to perfection as a BBC production can be, and that's saying a lot! I love Jane Austin, but unfortunately this production of her Persuasion is surprisingly, and just simply, very badly done.
August 9, 2008More reviews at Amazon.com ...
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