Anything Jane Austen

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Comment by Shinergirl on January 7, 2009 at 8:31am

Lost in Austen, a BBC TV show is coming to the US. According to my Entertainment Weekly magazine issue I received this week, LOST IN AUSTEN will premiere on Ovation, channel 157 (For those with DISH network) Sunday, January 11, 2009 from 8-10. Check out an episode on You Tube. The premise is a lady who switches place with Elizabeth Bennet and goes back and meets Mr. Darcy. I viewed some episodes on You Tube and was hooked.

Comment by Shinergirl on December 4, 2008 at 7:24am

Absolutely - that is what sets her apart from everyone else. It is amazing how ahead of her time she was when she wrote her novels, considering how suppressed women in general where during that time period and yet she gave them courage, attitude and a voice. Out of all the books, P&P is my favorite because I think both Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy were even-footed. My next favorite would probably be Emma, once again an independant minded woman not in a hurry to find a husband and happy in her current setting.

I only wish there would have been more novels written by this wonderful artist. Great hearing from you.
Shinergirl

Comment by Sevorin on December 4, 2008 at 12:10am

What's great about Jane Austen is that he can be hard as nails when she writes about her characters' romantic notions. This tough-mindedness on her part distinguishes her from every other writer, male or female, who's worked within the small, but wonderfully intricate, world of the "domestic" novel. I don't believe that even Henry James, whose own books often revolve around the Byzantine machinations of suitors and hungry brides-to-be, was any more acute in his analysis of motives or keen in his observations of human behavior.

For this reason it appalls me that movies made from Austen's books are confused with "chick-flicks". Nothing can be further from what she gives us than the simpering, almost aggressive "empowerment" scenarios that are so prevalent in the garden-variety film made for the female audience. When you read her, you encounter a mind so firm, so well-grounded, that you never question whether women are the "equals" of men. The very question is asinine and irrelevant. Her people come and go, and one's sex has little to do with his or her intelligence, drive, humor, honor, spirit, or personal worth.

Pride and Prejudice has developed he reputation as her best book. Frankly, it's my favorite, too. But I won't argue with those who point out passages in Emma or Sense and Sensibility that are as great as anything she ever wrote.

Comment by Shinergirl on December 3, 2008 at 11:32am

Hello - I joined this group because I love all of Jane Austen. Have any copy made of P&P, Emma, S&S, Mansfield Park. They are the only movies that I can watch over and over again. Still finding something I did not see before. Recently purchased the BBC versions of Sense and Sensibility and Persuasion. Does anyone know if any additonal versions from BBC will be coming soon.

I did not care for The Jane Austen Book Club either and wished Becoming Jane would have been better. Did not care for Miss Austen Regrets...as I did not care for Jane Austen's portrayal and thought she was kind of snarky.

Comment by Sevorin on October 13, 2008 at 3:01am

Anyone see The Jane Austen Book Club?

I realize it's not Jane Austen -- in fact, my objection to the movie is that it's completely alien in tone and in content to what I like in Jane Austen's books. But I'm wondering if my attitude is so crotchety and isolated that I'm missing something in it that everyone else is hip to.

By the way, my guiding principle is that no successful transcription of a Jane Austen novel can possibly be considered a "chick-flick".

Comment by Joe J on July 14, 2008 at 4:06pm

The other night I watched Emma with Kate Beckinsale (back when she was only pretty) and it seemed to me that she played her as a bit more immature and snobbish than I recall from the Gwyneth Paltrow version. And more self-righteous too. But, I enjoyed her portrayal. Anyway, I went to Half.com and ordered all 6 of her novels. The advantage of not reading them, of course is, that you cannot be disappointed that they are not as good as the book (which is always better) or that things have been changed which is usually the rule rather than the exception. But I do love Clueless for which I have suffered abuse on another board or two so, please be kind.

Comment by * Amber * on April 15, 2008 at 8:55pm

The movie is "Wanted".

Comment by Susan on April 15, 2008 at 10:02am

I will definitely check those movies out Aaron. He is a really good actor. I am excited to see what he comees out with next.

Comment by Susan on April 15, 2008 at 10:02am

You have to love Jane Austen because she never spends time on war. It is all about the love!! The relationshionships.

Comment by Susan on April 10, 2008 at 2:43pm

That is what I thought. I didn't really like Knightly's performance either. mcAvoy was amazing though. I think it was the fact that the story was centered around a love story, yet they seemed to have spent more time on the war

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