A blogger in her own right, Carrie has complied a series of observations regarding the numerous silver screen/small screen adaptations of three classics of English literature considered to be the most romantic; Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre and her sister Emily's one and only completed book Wuthering Heights.
When it comes to P&P, it was a book that Carrie grew to appreciate due to the film versions. As much as she approves of the 1995 miniseries with Colin Firth, Carrie also enjoys the merits of many of the modern updates such as Bride and Prejudice, Lost in Austen and The Lizzie Bennet Diaries with it's strong emphasis on the sisterly bonds between the Bennet girls.
For sheer romantic bliss,however, she does adore Keira Knightley and Matthew McFadeyn's rendition of Lizzy and Darcy in the 1995 big screen version of P&P(and who can blame her? Like her, I totally love that walking in the mist scene,even if it's not what Austen wrote):
Naturally, she has high expectations for any adaptation of Jane Eyre, with the 1943 Orson Welles/Joan Fontaine film being the set standard for most fans. Her utmost favorite,however, is the 2006 Masterpiece classic miniseries,with Toby Stephens as Rochester and Ruth Stephens playing Jane and she even gives credit to the 1970 take on it with George C. Scott and Susannah York.:
She does have respect for certain depictions of the story such as the well known Laurence Olivier/Merle Oberon pairing and considers the worst of the lot to be the modernized MTV version,the kind "they make you watch in hell"-I haven't seen that one but her description certainly sounds right about that!
The one adaptation that Carrie feels gets the most important aspects of WH right is the 1998 BBC TV version,starring Orla Brady and Tom Cavanah. The main element that satistifes her is not just Heathcliff and Cathy but rather the love connection between Hareton and the next generation Cathy(aka "Cathy 2.0"), who are being made to pay for the sins of their elders yet who find together the true and lasting meaning of love that has eluded those who came before them:
Other features of this ebook include bios of the original authors,trivia regarding them and their film adaptations and even a musical playlist. Pride,Prejudice & Popcorn is the first release in the new ebook series of pop culture themed essay collections from HarlequinPop! and it's certainly gotten off on a good foot with this delightful download.
Not only do you get an engaging set of insights into these very well known books and films, you also have excellent suggestions for your viewing pleasure(thank you,Carrie,for making sure the movies mentioned here are readily available either online or rental). I have quite a few Bronte themed flicks to add to my Netflix queue after reading this book and if you've think you have seen everything in either Austen or the sisters B, you may want to reconsider that notion.
Pride,Prejudice and Popcorn is now available at many online retailers and if you're in need of some heartwarming romance during this season of intense cold, there are plenty of sweet selections that this entertaining ebook can offer you:
Not much of a comment, I know, but I just wanted to tell you that I will be reading Persuasion soon. I've never read it before, and it'll be my first such novel since college, at least.
ReplyDeleteIt has been a very long time (I probably need to reread every Austen and Bronte sisters work I covered before), but I look forward to it immensely.
Persuasion was the first Jane Austen novel that I ever read(and highly recommend the 1995 film version with Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds)and it was a game changer for me.
ReplyDeleteAm interested to hear your thoughts on it when you do tackle it.