Guys!
Today, we're going to be ranking Jane Austen adaptations.
Yes, like movies and mini series.
Which one will be number one on my list?
Well, you'll just have to wait and find out.
Will it be Pride and Prejudice?
Persuasion?
Northanger Abbey?
Who knows!
Well, I know.
I've wrote a list down.
Anyway, if you'd like to find out, then definitely
stay tuned for today's video.
Okay.
I'm going to try to keep all of my thoughts on these different
movies and adaptations pretty succinct and to the point,
because otherwise this video is going to be forever long.
Also I've spoken about many of these in different videos already.
But, you guys have been asking me about some ones I
haven't really spoken about.
So I'm going to be sharing my truthful opinion about
those in this video.
And I just want to remind everyone, this is just my opinion.
Everyone doesn't have to agree with me.
You guys can like, whatever you like.
You can not like whatever you like when it comes to movie adaptations.
This is just my personal list.
And also I am very sorry if I happen to criticize
some things that you like.
I have 12 adaptations on this list.
I have not seen every Jane Austen adaptation ever made.
And I narrowed this list down to true period drama
representations of the books.
I'm not going to be covering like the Bollywood version of Pride
and Prejudice or the Utah version.
Though as someone who's lived in Utah, the Utah version of Pride
and Prejudice is very accurate to what life in Utah is like.
I'm just going to throw that out there.
But starting off with number 12, what is my least favorite
Jane Austen adaptation?
Well, that award goes to "Love and Friendship" from
2016 with Kate Beckinsale.
I've spoken about this before in "Movies that are
nothing like their book."
So Love and Friendship is not the real title of the story.
It's actually Lady Susan is what they were adapting
for the screen there.
So like I talk about my video on "How not to marry Mr.
Wickham," Lady Susan is a masterpiece of Jane Austen
examining how people can manipulate and rewrite
other people's realities.
And I feel like that was just totally lost on the
adapters of Lady Susan.
They just turned it into a complete farce.
And yeah, it's not my favorite.
Okay.
So for this next one at number 11, everybody, please don't kill
me in the comments over this.
It's Sense and Sensibility 1995.
Yes.
The one with Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet.
I don't know if there's words to express for myself of how much
I don't like this adaptation.
So I first saw it, of course, as a kid.
And I disliked it so much, that I put off reading Sense
and Sensibility for years.
Because I'm like, "I hated the movie.
Why would I read the book."
Of course, that is never a good reason not to read the book because
the book can be infinitely better.
Which is obviously.
But I just really dislike it.
And I think as an adult now, looking at what I dislike about
it is it doesn't capture the book.
Emma Thompson is acting like Emma Thompson.
Hugh Grant is acting like Hugh Grant.
It's like 1990 stars, just put in period costume
acting like themselves.
They're not portraying the characters Austen wrote, and I
think that's a huge hit against Sense and Sensibility 1995.
In the number 10 spot.
We have Emma from 1996, the one with Gwyneth Paltrow.
Thankfully, I had read Emma before I saw the movie.
And so from the point I saw the movie, I was like, "This doesn't
really capture Emma for me."
And I was like a little kid when I read Emma and I still
was like, "This is not Emma."
So also another true confession that's going to get me
canceled in this video.
I really dislike the 1990s Little Women too, for the same reason.
Little Women was my favorite book when I was like 12 and 13 and
the nineties Little Women just does not capture Little Women.
And I feel like the same thing with the Little Women, Emma,
and the Sense and Sensibility, which is the casting.
I think they were casting these really big stars at
the time and they just were not capturing the characters.
They were not capturing the book.
That, and there's like this weird nineties aesthetic feel
happening that just doesn't jive well with the time period
or with how I see the stories.
And so I feel like that's why I just dislike all three of those.
But number nine is Mansfield Park 2007.
So I've never seen the movie version of Mansfield Park that came
out in like, I think 1999, just because I heard it has some, you
know, objectionable content in it.
But the 2007 mini series with Billy Piper, you
know, the girl off of Dr.
Who I think is what she's most famous for.
I feel like nobody's seen this thing.
Whenever I mention it, people were like, "What?"
like in real life.
But I'm like, "Yeah, the 2007 Mansfield Park."
It's not great.
It's okay in some aspects.
I feel like one of the problems is they simplified
way too much stuff.
Like they don't even have my favorite part of the book, which
is when Fanny has to go back and stay with her, her birth family for
awhile and the discovers it's not all sunshine and roses back home.
They totally left that out.
I feel like the casting could also be better especially of Fanny.
Like I love Billy Piper, but she's just not Fanny.
And I think that just, just skewed the entire miniseries for me.
So I really do think we just really, really
need a better version of Mansfield Park to come out.
Up next, in eighth place I have Persuasion from the
nineties and in seventh place, I have Persuasion from 2007.
So both Persuasions are back to back.
I do like the 2007 one slightly more than the nineties one.
But again, we just do not have the definitive version
of Persuasion yet, I think.
And the Persuasions coming out on Netflix next month, I hear.
And so I'm like really excited for it, but I'm
also super anxious about it.
It's supposed to be like witty and modern and I'm
like, how modern are we going?
Are we going modern to the point that they're
like killing the story?
Or is it going to be enjoyable?
So let's all hope the persuasion Netflix will
come through for us here.
So up at number six is Emma 2020.
I know this is totally shocking and unforeseen that
it was this high on the list.
As I talk about in my review of this movie, I don't think they
captured the heart of Emma or the story, but they did a lot of
things really well movie wise.
I think they did really well on storytelling, the costumes and
the cinematography is amazing.
I think they did well on many aspects, which is why
it's ranking this high.
Is it the heart and soul of Emma though?
No.
Okay.
Now we're getting into some serious territory.
We're in the top five here.
And number five is Pride and Prejudice.
2005.
Yes, the one with Kiera Knightley.
So I don't think I have a lot to say about this because I've
already spoken about 2005 Pride and Prejudice in so many other videos.
I do think they did a lot of things really well.
And especially for compressing the entire book down into a two hour
movie, they still maintained a lot of accuracy and captured a lot of
the spirit of the story that way.
So what will be number four?
Well, if you guessed Northanger Abbey, 2007, you would be right!
Yes.
This is the one with JJ Field and Felicity Jones.
I think what I really love about Northanger Abbey is they captured
the spirit of the book amazingly.
And that's hard to do with Northanger Abbey because you have
to help the audience understand not only Northanger Abbey, but also
the books that Catherine Morland is reading and her imagination.
And I think they just did a fantastic job of it.
Did they deviate from the book?
Yes, they did.
And I feel like there's a few aspects where they really
deviated that could've changed the message of the book a little
bit or made it more romantic in some ways I think, than it was.
But I really think they captured the spirit and the heart of
Northanger Abbey and made it understandable to modern audiences.
And of course, years later, my crush on JJ Field has not stopped.
And it stars JJ field and Felicity Jones.
And I love this adaptation of Northanger Abbey.
It's incredibly done.
It catches the spirit of the book very, very well.
And . Of course it has JJ Field in it, and he's super cute.
So you should go watch it.
Okay.
At number three is my definitive choice for
Emma, which is Emma 2009.
I love Emma 2009 so much.
When I first saw it, I was like, "Finally, this is the book I read.
This is the story."
And the spirit of Emma I think so well captured.
I feel like the casting was really well done.
The acting is amazing and the whole way they approach the
story really worked for me.
Okay, what is number two?
This is my second favorite Jane Austen adaptation of all time.
And it has to be Sense and Sensibility 2008.
I love this version of Sense and Sensibility.
I feel like it really does capture so much of the book.
Okay.
I know it's not in the book that their a cottage is by the
ocean, but just aesthetically.
It's amazing in the adaptation.
Of course, it's a mini series.
You have a lot longer for the story to play out.
And I feel like the casting was really spot on and the
actors were able to play the characters Jane Austen wrote.
Something interesting thing about something sensibility 2008 is
that it has the same screen writer as the number one mini series on
this list, which I'm sure you guys have all figured out by now and
that is Pride and Prejudice 1995.
Is it totally cliche that it's in the number one spot?
Yes.
Yes it is.
But this is still my reality.
I'm just the cliched human being.
There's nothing really much to say about Pride and Prejudice.
1995, that has not already been said.
Its praises and amazing qualities are well-known
throughout the Austen world.
So I don't know how I can add upon that anything.
So I do think one thing about nineties Austen adaptations,
and even Little Women, if we're gonna throw that in there, is
a lot of people, I feel like, like them, because they're
nostalgic, they're attached to it.
That's what they grew up with.
That's what they're comfortable with.
Like when I talked to my friends about their love of Little Women
from the nineties, it's like, "This is my childhood right here.
Like, nothing can be as good as this because this was
what we had in the nineties."
And so sometimes I kind of wonder, it's like, "Okay,
when you're analyzing these movies, are you just doing
this for a nostalgi viewpoint or are you actually judging
them based on their qualities?
Of the movie or the adaptation?"
And I genuinely don't think that I like 1995 Pride and
Prejudice just for the nostalgia.
Also, I think comparing it to other adaptations, it does it
just has amazing sterling classic qualities to it other than
just being what I grew up with.
That's my 2 cents on that.
I hope I didn't offend anyone.
Let me know in the comments down below, what are your
favorite Jane Austen adaptations and which books do you think
deserve a new adaptation?
And one that 's just a really good?
Like, I think Persuasion needs a good one.
Hopefully Netflix's will be good.
Also Mansfield Park definitely needs a new adaptation.
We just don't have a great Mansfield Park out.
Anyway, let me know in the comments down below and keep having an
awesome day because you're awesome.
Bye!
And I also, I mean, JJ Field has like one of the best
voices ever, and it's not just his awesome British accent.
I mean, I just love his voice and he's just cute.
So go watch Northanger Abbey.