Rating: 
Summary: The Perfect Emma!
Review: I have to say that I love Jane Austen's book "Emma". I like it much better then her other works like Pride & Prejudice. So I'm glad that A&E did a version of "Emma" since they do such a good job at making great movies.
Anyway, this adaption of Emma is perfect! Much better then the Gwyneth Paltrow version.
Kate Beckinsale IS Emma. She was nice yet had that snotty air about her that Emma is suppost to have. Paltrow's Emma was to goody-goody. I thought the point of Emma was that she was a sort of a brat.
I love Mark Strong as Knightly. He was just PERFECT! I think Jeremy Northam did very well as Knightly in the GP's version of Emma but he looked to young. And I missed the scolding that Strong's Knightly did to Emma. JN's Knightly was to soft.
Raymond Coulthard is great as Frank Churchill. He's handsome and very charming. I can see why Emma found him pleasing. Ewan MaGregor who played Churchill in other version didn't seem to be right to play the part. And what was with his hair??? That's NOT cute!
I'm so glad that A&E did the whole Frank Churchill/Jane Fairfax thing that they DIDN'T show in the GP version. Take my advise and buy this version. If you are a TRUE Jane Austen lover, you won't be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Best of the best
Review: Not only is this a superior version of Emma, but in my opinion, the best Austen adaptation yet. I enjoy them all, for their own distinct reasons, but this pleases over the broadest spectrum. Kate Beckinsale is alarmingly good, Mark Strong exudes strength and clear moral imperative as Knightley, Samantha Morton is perfectly mannered as Ms. Smith, and so on and so forth. The Westons are interesting and integral to the story, there's more to the Fairfax/Churchill dynamic, the Boxhill incident is skillfully and realistically presented--of course, all the parts have been perfectly cast. This whole production exudes quality and insight into the novel. Persuasion is stark and gritty, Emma (with Gwyneth) a charming romantic comedy, Pride and Prejudice (with Ehle) masterful, and Sense and Sensibility a meditative wonder, but only here have I found the perfect blend of realism, comedy, drama, period setting, authenticity, romance, and brevity--in fact, I would go so far as to call it action-packed. This is not to be missed.
Rating: 
Summary: I am only just a bit diverted ....
Review: This was my first experience with a film of a beloved Jane Austen novel. While this retelling of "Emma" was true to Jane Austen's book, I did not at all enjoy the casting, nor the acting of the two main characters. I did very much enjoy the portrayals of Harriet, Jane Fairfax, and Emma's father. That being said, I was most disappointed in the portrayals of both Emma and Mr Knightly. Kate Beckinsale creates a smug and immature Emma, thoroughly lacking in the "real" Emma's decorum and chic-ness so evident in the book even prior to her self-realization. I also feel that her appearance was just too childlike to be credible. Mark Strong's Mr Knightly was stern and wooden. I sensed no attraction between the two whatsoever!
Rating: 
Summary: Enjoy the film(s) - whether you have read the book or not
Review: How interesting to have two films based on the same novel be released within months of each other! "Emma" is considered by many to be Jane Austen's finest work and has a level of complexity that is more suited to a mini-series than a mere movie of two or three hours. I don't know how the screenwriters and directors decided on what to keep, what to cut, and what to re-work, but the two film versions are different enough that I didn't mind seeing them both. I do, however, greatly prefer the one with Kate Bickensale as the title character, which was originally aired on the cable channel A&E. It is a more faithful adaptation of the novel and has a more structured and cohesive storyline. Bickensale's interpretation of Emma has been criticized for being "too dark," but I believe her Emma is a more accurate portrayal of the novel's heroine than Gwyneth Paltrow's is in the other "Emma." In fact, all the characters (e.g., Jane Fairfax, Frank Churchill)in this version are handle with more care and detail, and that is enough to make this "Emma" a more satisfying experience for me.
Rating:
Summary: Thoughts on Emma
Review: This is a production which is enjoyable to watch if not entirely memorable after the fact. I personally think Kate Beckinsale makes the perfect Emma. (I find it hard to imagine Gwyneth Paltrow in the same role, but I'm curious to see that production as well.) Raymond Coulthard is also perfectly cast as Frank Churchill, the quintessential Jane Austen deceptive young cad (and I mean that as a compliment!). Mr Knightley, the eventual romantic interest for Emma, is played by Mark Strong, who does a very good job in the role although I must admit I had trouble seeing him as a romantic lead. Samantha Morton is very appealing as Emma's shy friend, Harriet. All in all, I give this production four stars. Although it is nowhere near as compelling as the Pride and Prejudice with Colin Firth, or the Sense and Sensibility with Emma Thompson, it's still a well done film adaptation of a Jane Austen book - and that's not easy. :)
Rating:
Summary: Wonderfully Entertaining!
Review: I'll make this short and to the point since that is all the time I have: It is a wonderfully portrayed story of the novel EMMA. The charcters were portrayed brillantly by the actors chosen for their parts. This version far outshines GP's version. It is more real and certainly more beliveable than the silly "Emma" portrayed by GP.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent version of Emma
Review: I was thrilled when the Gwenyth Paltrow version of "Emma" came out. After all, I knew from reading the book that it was a great story and I was one of those Austenites reveling in the rich array of Austen adaptations in the mid to late 90's. When my husband bought me this version, my first thought was, "Emma doesn't look gorgeous." She was supposed to be breathtakingly so. But as soon as I stopped looking at the cover and popped the movie into the VCR, I was hooked. Not only hooked, but this version became by far my favorite. For one thing, it is much truer to the book -- it baffled me that the screenwriters of the Paltrow version had the chutzpah to think they could improve on Jane Austen. This major flaw somehow slipped past me during my adaptation-induced euphoria and became apparent to me only after I watched it again after viewing the A&E. The A&E version remains wonderfully faithful to the book in every possible way. And somehow, although much had to be cut out, you never get that feeling of choppiness that inevitably comes with the adaptation territory. There is genuine inventiveness in shortening the story while keeping true to the storyline. The story moves quickly, but doesn't feel rushed or cut up and pasted. Some of the characters in the Gwenyth Paltrow version at times seem either ill-cast or two-dimensional. Jane Fairfax is supposed to be reserved but generally liked and admired. Emma doesn't like her, but that is simply because Emma is still maturing. In the A&E version, you can see why Emma dislikes her, but also why Jane is generally liked: elegant, talented and yes, rather reserved, but there is nothing in her personality that would generally give cause to complaint. Jane, in the Paltrow version, looks sneaky and suspicious, as if she's just committed a crime she's trying to hide. Another casting question mark is Harriet Smith. She is supposed to be very pretty, but doesn't strike you that way at all in the Paltrow version. The actress was also forced into scenes Jane Austen never put her in which end up being gratuitously comical. How hysterical!: now Harriet is freaking out! Now she's freaking out so badly she's falling over! Now she's posing for her portrait dressed in a ridiculous outfit and looking confused! Samantha Morton, A&E's Harriet, is exactly as I pictured her: attractive, innocent, naive and because these screenwriters had more respect for the book, she is always placed exactly where Austen meant her to be. Sophie Thompson is a wonderful actress and does a humorous, if somewhat two-dimensional portrayal of the chattery Miss Bates in the Paltrow version. But just putting some spectacles on her face and tying up her hair in a bun can't hide the fact that she's way too young for the part. The Paltrow version also has her erroneously snubbing Emma after the infamously rude comment on Box Hill. Miss Bates was much more gracious and forgiving than that, a fact well portrayed by the more accurage A&E version, whose Miss Bates is perfectly cast and who gives a wonderful performance. Who is the superior Emma? My opinion is Kate Beckensale. My husband, a Jane Austen fan by marriage, would vote for Paltrow. Paltrow does bring a certain ditziness to the character which is in keeping with the book, given the storyline. Beckensale comes off more sure of herself, but Emma was quite headstrong in her wrong-headness, so both are valid Emma's in their different portrayals. And Ms. Beckensale must have just been having a bad-face day when she posed for the video jacket picture -- she's just as gorgeous as you would want an Emma to be! One very nice touch, not in the book, mind you, but nice all the same is the ending: a supper/engagement party/dance at Mr. Knightly's. All the major players are there and it wraps up the story very well.
Rating:
Summary: It could be so good...
Review: Although this adaptation (one of three) of Jane Austen's novel is faithful to the plot and general mood of the book, it is not the best of the filmed versions. It could be, but for the central character. While Gwyneth Paltrow made Emma a generally nice person who was just a little inexeperienced and meddlesome, Kate Beckinsale makes the character genuinely hateful. Emma is mean; she is a snob; she is not someone you would want to know. She is also remarkably cold. Mark Strong as Mr. Knightely does a good job. He is closer to the right age than Jeremy Northam, and although he appears to be constantly angry, it would be difficult not to shout at this Emma whenever you saw her. Samantha Morton is a far superior Harriet Smith to Toni Collette's bumbling idiot, and Olivia Williams brings a lot of depth to Jane Fairfax. Generally, this is a very well done adaptation, but Beckinsale is seriously miscast, and it mars the whole picture.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoy the film(s) - whether you have read the book or not
Review: How interesting to have two films based on the same novel be released within months of each other! "Emma" is considered by many to be Jane Austen's finest work and has a level of complexity that is more suited to a mini-series than a mere movie of two or three hours. I don't know how the screenwriters and directors decided on what to keep, what to cut, and what to re-work, but the two film versions are different enough that I didn't mind seeing them both. I do, however, greatly prefer the one with Kate Bickensale as the title character, which was originally aired on the cable channel A&E. It is a more faithful adaptation of the novel and has a more structured and cohesive storyline. Bickensale's interpretation of Emma has been criticized for being "too dark," but I believe her Emma is a more accurate portrayal of the novel's heroine than Gwyneth Paltrow's is in the other "Emma." In fact, all the characters (e.g., Jane Fairfax, Frank Churchill)in this version are handle with more care and detail, and that is enough to make this "Emma" a more satisfying experience for me.
Rating:
Summary: Did not Emma
Review: I enjoyed all the characters except the main character. She came across as mean spirited, bigoted, immature and self-centered. There was nothing "heroic" about this heroine. The ending was nice but not sufficiently developed. After seeing (and thoroughly enjoying Pride and Prejudice), my expectations were great. I was disappointed -- not so much with the adaptation but with the character development. There was little that was likable about this characer. Maybe if this was a 2 dvd set as was Pride and Prejudice, the more positive characteristics of Emma would have been better developed and exhibited. This was a pale "copy" of Pride and Prejudice or even Sense and Sensabilty. Now, I'll be forced to view GP's version.
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