Jane Austen Fans Share Her 9 Best TV And Movie Adaptations Of All Time
This year marks the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen's birth, which might explain the deluge of Austen shows hitting the stage and screen this year.
As well as the BBC's (fantastic) freshly-released Jane Austen: The Rise Of A Genius, there's Audible's star-studded adaptation of Pride & Prejudice (set to come out in summer), Dolly Alderton's upcoming version of the same title, and a brand-new stage adaptation of Emma, to name a few.
All this ought to be good news to Austen lovers. But let's be real: not all adaptations are created equal, as members of Reddit's dedicated r/janeausten forum know.
Writing to the fanbase, site user u/Jorvikstories asked readers to list their favourite film and TV adaptations of Austen's books.
Here are the most popular responses:
'It is the standard by which all Jane Austen adaptations should be judged.'
Credit: u/Disastrous-Bee-1557
'I'm sure I'm not the only person who learned to love the novel by watching this adaptation.
'It's also the only adaptation of Emma I've seen that does the Frank Churchill and Jane Fairfax storyline justice.'
Credit: u/Asleep_Lack
'Perfectly cast, fairly faithful.'
Credit: u/RoseIsBadWolf
'It's delightful and I feel touches all the right notes for an adaptation of Austen's earliest novel,' u/MrsApostate agreed.
'Again, the 1995 version is the gold standard. Directed by Ang Lee and written by Emma Thompson, it is just gorgeous and a must-watch.
'I also really loved the 2008 mini-series of Sense And Sensibility [on the BBC], though it is less well-known and loved. Dan Stevens in the role of Edward Ferrars is a little bonus in that one, though.'
Credit:u/MrsApostate
'It's as good an adaptation of Lady Susan as we're going to get. I don't really think it's necessary to read Lady Susan before watching it.
'Yes, they change things a little bit... but it would probably be fine to try without knowing the text.'
Credit:u/CapStar300
'Basically, 1995 was a very good year for Austen fans,' wroteu/salymander_1.
'This set the standard for film length [book] adaptations, where cuts must inevitably be made,' u/ditchdiggergirl agreed.
Reddit user u/MrsApostate said: 'There's a 2007 adaptation of Mansfield Park that is passable, with Billie Piper in the role of Fanny. However, I actually prefer the 1999 version in which Fanny is a bit more like Austen herself.
'It's more tongue-in-cheek and not as interested in being true to the book as it is in exploring the characters and leaning into the sarcasm and wit that are real Austen trademarks. I'll likely get harshly downvoted for liking it, but I do.'
'I really like that movie,' u/treowlufu agreed. 'It is not the most faithful, because it leans much more into the idea of Austen as romance than into the grittiness of the novel. I'm sure, too, that the director and producers also worried that a novel-true Fanny wouldn't play well to audiences.
'But I think that despite this caveat, it's a faithful depiction of almost every other character and one of the best for showcasing Austen's wit.'
'It's just a modern-day Pride And Prejudice.'
Credit: u/Gerry1of1
Writer's note: Helen Fielding, author of the Bridget Jones books, has explicitly said she nicked the plot from Austen's 'well market-researched' novel.
'I haven't seen Clueless mentioned yet, and I feel like that's a pretty good modern adaptation of Emma.'
Credit: u/TheDustOfMen
Do you have anything to add? Let us know!
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