When Henry Dashwood dies unexpectedly, his estate must pass on by law to his son from his first marriage, John and wife Fanny. But these circumstances leave Mr. Dashwood's current wife, and daughters Elinor, Marianne and Margaret, without a home and with barely enough money to live on. Though John and Fanny inherit the family's .. Read more
| Starring | Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant |
|---|---|
| Director | Ang Lee |
| Genres | Drama |
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When Henry Dashwood dies unexpectedly, his estate must pass on by law to his son from his first marriage, John and wife Fanny. But these circumstances leave Mr. Dashwood's current wife, and daughters Elinor, Marianne and Margaret, without a home and with barely enough money to live on. Though John and Fanny inherit the family's vast estate, it is Fanny's shy, charming brother Edward who captures Elinor's heart. But before Elinor and Edward have a chance to express their tentative feelings for each other, Fanny contrives an excuse to send Edward off to London. Marianne, meanwhile, becomes swept up in a passionate affair with the dashing Willoughby, a very public romance conducted with so little prudence by Marianne that it earns her sister's disapproval. As Elinor and Marianne struggle to find romantic fulfillment in a society obsessed with financial and social status, they must learn to mix sense with sensibility in their dealings with both money and men.
| Starring | Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant, Greg Wise, Hugh Laurie, Robert Hardy |
|---|---|
| Director | Ang Lee |
| Studio | SONY PICTURES HOME ENTERTAINMENT |
| Run time | DVD: 2 hrs 11 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Drama |
| Language | English |
| Dubbed | Italian, Spanish |
| Subtitles | Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish |
| Released | DVD: 09 Sep 2002 Production year: 1995 |
| Format | DVD |
A high-spirited romance that is a joy to watch; Emma Thompson's casting as Elinor (who is a 19-year-old in the book) slightly undermines Austen's intent, but does not reduce the pleasure the film provides.
This is essentially an Emma Thompson film; she wrote the script and plays one of the key characters. She does look a little old for the part whereas Kate Winslet looks just right. However, Emma Thompson has a fine touch with the dialogue and, anyway, she is a good actress with one of the friendliest faces in movies. Alan Rickman is simply excellent; he improves virtually any movie he's in. Hugh Grant is good without making a lasting impression - he's only on screen a short time compared to the others. The locations are good and overall you are likely to enjoy this film.
I rented this to watch with my two daughters (10 and 11) as we all enjoyed Pride and Predjudice so much. There is nothing unsuitable for that age in this film. I did worry that they'd go all squeamish on me when Marianne had her arm bled by the physician, but no, they just wanted to know why she was having it done. In fact, they questioned many things during the film and I feel they learned a lot about 'the olden days'. The costumes and settings in this film are fabulous and the only thing I would change is Hugh Grant's usual bumbling and stammering. Oh, and I wish I lived in a 'snug little cottage (!!)' like that and only had to pay ?500 rent a year!
Kate Winslet's Oscar-winning performance in The Reader has stifled the actress' inner wild child - because she feels pressure to "look composed" as she climbs the ranks in Hollywood. The actress had been without an Oscar win since her first nominations for Sense and Sensibility in 1996 and Titanic in 1998, until taking home the statuette for Best Actress earlier this year (Feb09). And the 33 year old admits she feels she's now forced to live up to an impossible standard, and can't be true to... Read more