Rating: 
Summary: Far superior to the Gwyneth version
Review: I reviewed the Gwyneth version and stated my antipathy to Ms. Paltrow there. I just don't like her, really, and found her sadly unconvincing as the high-spirited, myschievious, and slightly smug Emma.
Kate Beckinsale, on the other hand, was totally believable and pretty enough to make us believe that she had reason to be smug.
I just found that this version had a spirit the other one lacks. Mark Strong as Mr. Knightley was perfect, I found him incredibly sexy without being so handsome that you couldn't understand why Emma had never even thought of him "that way". He was a MAN in a way the other Emma's Knightley, while very handsome, just wasn't. And Mr. Knightley was quite a man in the book as well.
All in all, I found this version delightful, and have watched it many times.
Rating: 
Summary: Jane Austen's Emma - DVD
Review: My wife and I enjoyed this on A&E and bought a copy on VHS as soon as it became available. The production is extremely well done and is true in spirit to the novel. Our tape is now worn out and it seemed like a good idea to pick it up on DVD. This transfer, unfortunately, is extremely pale. Lit backgrounds and outdoor scenes are washed out and do not balance well with foreground detail. It's a shame.
Rating: 
Summary: A sweet, engaging piece....
Review: Being that I have never read the book "Emma"...I cannot say if this film lives up to the standards that I am led to believe of the novel. Regardless..I found this to be a very charming story.
I adored the characters ...Mr Knightly was sooo gorgeous and Mrs Bates with her constant ramblings was a treat. I also found it fun to see Kate Beckinsdale before she became wildly famous.
This was really a fun way to spend a few hours and I would definitely recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Favorite Jane Austen adaptation
Review: The 1980's and 1990's produced a number of outstanding movie and TV productions of books by Jane Austen, but this is my favorite adaptation of any Jane Austen novel. All of the main characters are appealing and well cast. The story line from the novel, and the dialogue from the novel, are followed closely. The generally upbeat tone of the book, which is much of its charm, is preserved. It's hard to say how this was all accomplished in a 2-hour movie, while in the case of other productions of other Jane Austen novels, a mini-series did not seem enough to do the book justice. I saw this production of Emma with minor expectations, having heard nothing about it. Evidently the abundance of Jane Austen adaptations - including 3 or 4 of Emma alone within the span of a few years - kept this one from becoming well known. It would be nice to see this one released to theatres again should there be a return of the same type of interest in Jane Austen productions that was seen in the 1990's.
Rating:
Summary: Very Best Adaptation!
Review: Please watch THIS adaptation.Do _not_ taint your minds with the insipid version with G.P. Although she is a very lovely actress in many other movies, she is leagues behind Kate Beckinsale's "Emma". Beckinsale is Emma to perfection. And Mark Strong as Mr. Knightley is right on as well. I had this one to begin with and rented the Hollywood version with Paltrow and almost couldn't get through it. If you have the slightest regard for staying closer to the text of Jane Austen, stick with this adaptation. It is fabulous! I haven't seen Beckinsale do as well in any of her other roles, but she is amazing in this one.
Rating:
Summary: lovely adaptation of Jane Austen's classic
Review: This is a wonderful adaptation, with a marvelous script and a superb cast. I've seen other versions of this novel brought to the screen that did not capture the relationships nearly so well. Frank Churchill's double entendres, as well as other characterizations and events, are realized more visually; servants and townspeople are seen going about their business; scenes take place outdoors and in the town. This version really fleshes out the written word and makes Austen -- the ultimate drawing room author -- cinematic, beginning with the marriage of Mr. Weston and Miss Taylor and including Emma's actualized fantasies and daydreams. The only disappointments here are the paltry dvd features: a paragraph about Jane Austen, a list of four A&E web sites, and optional English subtitles. That's it. No cast info, no commentaries, no interviews .... let alone any kind of scholarship from people who have obviously made an authentic commitment to create high quality interpretations of British and American literature. Normally I would demote this item to 4 stars based on the pathetic extras, but this adaptation is to Emma what Merchant-Ivory are to E.M. Forster. This is a brilliant, beautiful rendition of a novel dear to the hearts of many. One must believe that our Miss Jane would approve. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Clueless in Old England
Review: This movie (like the modern version called "Clueless" several years ago)was made from the book by the same title and remains pretty true to the book. It is extremely well done and has an excellant cast. There are many times in the book when Emma sits and daydreams about her schemes. These are handled wonderfully in the movie and make her actions much easier to understand. The story concerns a young woman of good (and wealthy) family in England in the early 1800's who spends her time making matches among her friends and manages to mess everything up thoroughly before she's finished. It all works out in the end and the telling of it is a delight. Her father, a hypochondriac in the extreme, is also a delight. The scene where he tells an elderly lady at great length that an egg will not harm her, yet won't give it to her to eat, is especially well done. Action lovers will not like this, but if you are a Jane Austin fan or like movies about old English society, you'll love it.
Rating:
Summary: Fine adaptation of the Austen novel!
Review: Kate Beckinsale's interpretation of the wealthy young lady who finds that matchmaking doesn't always go as one planned and winds up finding love right under her nose is delightful to watch. Mark Strong plays Mr. Knightley, the slightly unconventional landowner who goes from lecturing Emma to loving her (or perhaps it was both at the same time) in a convincing, reserved fashion. The film contains most, if not all, of the plot elements of the novel. Unfortunately, to make it fit in an hour and forty minutes or so, there isn't always as much flesh on those bones as one would like, and parts of the plot are hurried over quickly. One would wish that they had done as they did with the A&E Pride and Prejudice and made this a two-part, four-hour film. Some of the cuts are ill-made. After considerable discussion (in novel and film) of Harriet's illegitimate origins, the film never clears it up as the book does. And, on an opposite note, the romance between Frank Churchill and Jane Fairfax is made too blatant. The outcome will hardly be a surprise to the watcher, even the watcher unfamiliar with the book. Granted, Austen has very little use for the lower classes in her books--a servant is never given life, he merely serves to announce a visitor or carry a message. That's not criticism, that is simply how it is. But scenes of the lower classes gawking as our more wealthy characters ride through Highbury--or servants gasping as they carry heavy boxes into a house or up a hill--are interesting the first time to set forth the boundaries of Austen's world and indulge in a little commentary on same. But the fourth time, as servants gasp as they trundle boxes down Box Hill or move pads to cushion the knees of the gentry strawberry pickers at Donwell Abbey--well, enough already. We got your point. Don't belabor it (pun intended). Still, great to watch. The scenery is flawless, and the acting excellent.
Rating:
Summary: Emma As You Wish
Review: Finally having watched all 3 "Emma", I am quite sure that all 3 versions have had qualities that one might hope to find in movies in differnet time and mind setting:
Gwyneth Paltrow's Emma is more humoruos/comical quite excellent for a good laugh--Jeremy Northam and Gwyneth Paltrow make a perfect charming couple--. NOw for JA's Emma, it is much more a drama than a comedy and I found intense and strong chemistery between Mark Strong and Kate Beckinsale. Both couples in both "Emma" carry the show perfectly well. All other characters in JA's Emma show more deep of emotions, if you wish.
It is just up to your mood and what you are looking for any particular time while you are watching Emma: So; take your pick accordingly(I myself planning to get both Emma, they both are really charming and interesting in their own way; no need to say I ma a fanatic of JA's work on TV and big screen)
But I have one strong recommendation for "Emma" lovers: go and rent(if you haven't done yet) "Emma" of 1972 BBC version on Video.
Doran Goodwin is the best and most charming Emma I have watched by now. Together with John Carson who brought an excellent Mr. Knightley on TV, Ms. Goodwin's Emma is more succesfull than others IMO; I wish we could have 1972 Emma on DVD too, any chance?
Rating: 
Summary: Good but for the main characters
Review: I thought that this adaptation showed much better the stories of the supporting characters -- most especially the Jane/Frank storyline which was quite engaging. (To a certain degree, I wish they had been the lead characters in this adaptation.) I also thought Mr. Woodhouse was a lot of fun and his characterization right on the money with the book. Also very good was the portrayal of Miss Bates. That being said, my problem with this adaptation (and it's a big one) is that I didn't particularly care for the way Emma and Mr. Knightley were played/characterized in this one. Perhaps it's the writing and perhaps its the actors (but really, Beckinsale was so good in Cold Comfort Farm, so why couldn't she have pulled this one off?), however, I just didn't very much care for the way the lead characters were portrayed. First of all, as annoying as Emma can be in the book, I always liked her (even if I didn't approve of what she was doing). In this adaptation, I just didn't LIKE Emma. She was too snooty, too spoiled and seemed much too selfish. As for Mr. Knightley, he was always the embodiment of a perfect gentleman to me. Even though he was the only who would find fault with Emma and tell her so, he was graciousness and politeness itself to everybody else. Here, his scolding of Emma was just too heated and beyond anything I would call gentlemanly and to the extent he did it in front of everyone else (as in one scene), would definitely not be gracious nor polite. Anyway, I own practically all the recent Jane Austen adaptations (A&E's -Pride and Prejudice (the best IMO), Sense & Sensibility, Emma and Mansfield Park, and this adaptation may be the only one I will not buy because I just can't see myself deciding to see it again and again like the others. Don't get me wrong, it has some good points (especially the supporting characters), but I don't really come away from it with the feeling that I want to know more about what happens to the main characters after the movie is finished.
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