Rating: 
Summary: I don't know why this is even called "Mansfield Park"
Review: Yes, it borrows the basic plot outline, characters, and place names from the book, but that's about it. Almost no one is recognizable as a character I knew from the book. Instead of being a woman who is in almost every other way almost a slave to others (making her moral strength all the more remarkable), Fanny comes across as an independent, opinionated modern woman. Perhaps Rozema invented a subplot involving slaves in the family holdings in the Caribbean because she knew that someone in the story should be powerless, but she couldn't bear for it to be her main character? The device of suddenly freezing the action seemed like a desperate afterthought - it happens too late in the movie to work as a recurring device. I saw this over a year ago and frankly I don't remember much more about it.
Rating: 
Summary: Such a Wonderful Movie!
Review: I didn't read the book so I guess I enjoyed it more. I can't believe that people gave such bad reviews for MANSFIELD PARK because it was really captivating. The dialogue drew me in and the characters were so interesting. Especially that brother and sister. I forgot the brother's name but I remember the sister's name was Mary. I liked Fanny Price because of her sharp wit and I remember this line from the video. Susie, Fanny's sister said that "Your tongue is as sharp as a gullitine." I agree, although I wish that Fanny would stand up more for herself because she was pushed around by Mrs. Norris. It was sort of confusing and I got the characters mixed up, but other than that, I really enjoyed the video. I recommend that people should watch the video and then read the book because the book seems to destroy the fun of the video. I think I would read the book and compare the two and who know's? Maybe after reading "the real version," I would find this video to be garbage. But for the present, I think everyone should watch the video of Mansfield Park because it was simply delightful!
Rating: 
Summary: Almost makes it
Review: This version of the story is very well concieved and acted -- but set in the wrong place, perhaps. Unfortunately it is not as beautiful of a period piece as I have come to expect since nowadays there are so many exquisite productions to compare it to. The references to the social situation and slavery are very well integrated and I think it's about time someone allowed this aspect to come out of these stories, since Jane Austen does give--albeit hidden--allusions to these issues in the parlor conversation. On the other hand, the excuses given to the oldest son of a spoiled aristocratic family are a bit much. In her books, Jane Austen doesn't judge her characters as much as the screenwriters appear to. In addition, I could not give it 5 stars because I don't completely believe in the actors -- that they really understand the period or even their parts. It is truly a modern re-telling that perhaps might have been better put into a modern setting. I'm keeping my BBC version for now (it's much more like the book).
Rating: 
Summary: Not worth the time for a true Jane Austen experience
Review: I was thoroghly disgusted with this movie and the completely untrue portayal of the main character, Fanny Price. The director of this movie only used the original storyline as a beginning point to form a twisted tangential plot filled with characters sharing the same names as the characters in the book, but with completely different morals and purposes. The acting was very good, but the content was offensive. This horrible remake of an originally uplifting and moral story belongs in the very popular class of movies that draw viewers using sex and lurid topics as a hook. It is unfortunate that a writer as talented and intelligent as Jane Austen should have her works twisted and mangled in such a grotesque fashion.
Rating:
Summary: Mansfield Park - The Dark Side
Review: This video was a great disappointment for one who has read and re-read all of Jane Austen's works over several decades and obtained this video after having worn out the 1986 two-volume BBC-CBS FOX video version. This newer video version insinuates evil-with-intent in most of the characters rather than seeing them through the eyes of Jane Austen's modest Fanny. Perhaps this appeals to those who delight in violence, in believing the worst in everyone and every society. For me, however, one viewing was one too many.
Rating:
Summary: A Note To Strict Jane Austen Fans!
Review: I've read some of the reviews here and I cannot believe how much people missed out on the point of the movie and became so nit picky. I believe that Rozema's point was to take Jane Austen's life and intermix it with the one novel that was close to her actual experiences. Yes, it does stray fromt the original novel, but I don not see why that has to be a bad thing.
As for the slavery and adultery issues, some reviewers are talking as if it never happened back then. It did. Jane Austen just couldn't write about it as explicitly. I think it adds credibility to the times the story is told in, not leading people to believe that everything was light-hearted and romantic. These people did earn their living from slavery and Ms. Rozema did an admirable and brave thing to bring that up. No, it isn't resolved at the end completely, but then slavery wasn't abolished until after the time period of the movie, so it's not that big of a deal.
Bottom Line: the movie was well done. Frances O'Connor, Jonny Lee Miller, and the rest of the cast do an outstanding job. The movie should be taken as being "inspired" by Jane Austen's "Mansfield Park", not as a page by page copy. A movie never beats reading the book, whether it does follow it strictly or not, so the two should be able to stand on their own. Both are interesting and important works of art.
Rating:
Summary: An Awesome Story!
Review: Ever since I first placed the video in my VCR, I have been attached completely. Fanny Price is a beautiful and rich character, a humble girl who many women can relate to. The music is beutiful, while the cinamentograhpy was absolutly supurb. No, it does not follow the same exact story line of Jane Austen's amazing Mansfiled Park, yet is a great companion with 1996's Emma!
Rating:
Summary: Forget the book, just watch the movie.
Review: (...) The book is the least enjoyable of the Austen collection, and the Fanny of the page is the most simpering, morally superior holier-than-thou and generally despicable of Austen's heroines. The film, on the other hand, takes the basic plotline and infuses it with a lot more energy, some interesting sub-plots (some admittedly irrelevant) and a healthy dose of social conscience. (...)
Rating:
Summary: If you like Jane Austen then DON'T buy this movie!
Review: This movie was untrue to the book in many ways. First, the story line is quite different. Second, the personality of Fanny (not to mention many of the other characters) is extraordinarily different. While the book's Fanny was a moral stalwart; the movie makes her wild in a modern way that would have been totally innappropriate for the time. Also, this move tries to move beyond the books storyline and into other issues. For example, the eldest brother isn't bad due to laziness or irresponsibility, instead he is just rebelling against his fathers treatment of slaves. Slavery is another area the film tries to address (in a historically inaacuarate way), but it is a poor forum for this - Amistad (which I consider to be a fantastic film) is the type of film where these issues are best put forth. The magic of Jane Austen was that she was so good with interpersonal relationships, and in fact her works are so timeless because they focused on individuals and their actions and NOT the weighty issues of the day. Evidence in this can be seen in how the Napoleonic wars are basically ignored in her writings with the exception of having soldiers around. This movie tries to incorporate themes from beyond on the interpersonal relationship, which in turn just detracts from the plot. There are people who will like this movie, but they will NOT be the people who liked the book.
Rating:
Summary: What a travesty!
Review: Well, to say I was disappointed with this is an understatement. I cannot believe how unfaithful it is to the book. Fanny's relationships are completely changed - as is Fanny herself!
I don't know why the director didn't simply write a new story, she obviously didn't like the one by Jane Austen; she changed major portions of plot and invented much of it.
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