Sense and Sensibility- 1995 vs 2008

Sense and Sensibility 1995

Having watched both versions of Sense and Sensibility recently, I feel the time is right for a post comparing and contrasting the two versions (does that sound like an English Lit class?-sorry!).

One version I like and the other version I love. Can you already tell which is which?

Sense and Sensibility 2008

The 2008 BBC miniseries with screenplay by Andrew Davies and directed by John Alexander is an excellent treatment of Jane Austen's first published novel. I adore Andrew Davies and I did not envy him the task of following Emma Thompson's Oscar winning screenplay. When he took on the job, he decided to go back to the book and pull out plot points that ET had been forced to omit in her shorter version.

Willoughby and Marianne

The dramatization of the seduction scene, the restoration of the elder Steele sister (comic gold, I tell you) and the dueling scene really do add to the meat of this version. There is also no doubt that the scene at Allenham with Willoughby and Marianne is sizzling with sexual tension and greatly adds to Marianne's story.

OK, little Henry Dashwood was hilarious

There are lots of things about this version that I truly enjoy. The young actors are amazing and the locations gorgeous and appropriately bleak.  To paraphrase Elinor, "I do not attempt to deny that I think very highly of it -- that I greatly esteem, that I like it."

However, I think you have guessed by now that the version I truly adore is the 1995 Emma Thompson/Ang Lee masterpiece. I just popped it in my DVD player and the first strains of music go straight to my heart!

Oh, the hats of Sense and Sensibility!

There is no doubt that the genius and humour of Emma Thompson's script is at the heart of what makes this version great. She changed so much of Jane Austen's dialogue and yet because she does it so well, we not only forgive her but we begin to look for her lines in the book!

Oh, the scenery and the cinematography!

Ang Lee's direction is also heartbreakingly artistic. How a Taiwanese man was able to interpret the intentions of a 200 year old story by an English lady is a mystery, but there it is!

But the music!

The original score of Sense and Sensibility is some of the most sublime music ever composed. Was there ever a film so enhanced and elevated by it's music? Both the background music and the piano compositions played by Marianne...sigh!

And if I start waxing poetic about the superb acting in this film by some of England's finest thespians this post will go on forever.

OK, time for my readers to weigh in. What do you like or dislike about each of these two versions? Don't hold back!

P.S. I have also recently compared TV/film adaptations of Pride and Prejudice if you would like to join that discussion too!