Rating: 
Summary: Ravishingly subtle performance!
Review: A brilliant, compelling production. The designers chose to use a bleached-looking color scheme to keep everything pointing back to the sea, from whence Captain Wentworth returns. Fabulous performance by Sophie Thompson as Anne's petulant sister, Mary.
Rating:
Summary: I was persuaded...
Review: I happened upon this wonderful adaptation of "Persuasion" while
...I stopped and watched...at the end I wanted to see it again because I wanted to understand what was going on much better. I have watched it over and over again enjoying it ever so much each time, seeing and understanding what was said and what was going on...To appreciate this wonderful love story you have to watch it more than once. So much is lost in looks, glances, words spoken and in plot if viewed only once and without patience and the subtitles to help with the English accents. I enjoyed all the actors involved from dear,sweet lamenting Anne, our evolving heroine to the charming,stirring Captain Wentworth's reawakening love for her; the fun Admiral Croft and wife Sophie; the funny quirks and interaction between sister Mary, her husband and his family;the self-absorbed snobbery of Anne's father and sister;the subplots of Mr. Elliot, Mrs. Clay, Mrs Smith, Captain Hargrove and Bennick, and the wonderful sailing off into the sunset ending....one of my favorite movies to watch over again.
Rating:
Summary: Persuasion (1995 version)
Review: I just kept my video on while doing some desk chores beside the television, when I found myself coming to be involved in the movie on the screen. I put my deskwork aside and began seriously watching the very beautiful portrayal of things English of some 200 years ago.
The heroine, played by Amanda Root, didn't appear so attractive in the beginning. I found her rather homely at first. By and by, however, she began to look attractive and even beautiful as the picture evolved.
It is indeed as excellent a period picture as Sense and Sensibility of 1996.
Rating:
Summary: Persuading, Indeed!
Review: Who could fail to be moved by this subtle adaptation of Jane Austen's "Persuasion"? Of all the Jane Austen features of the last six years or so, this is my personal favorite; in fact, it's one of my ten most favorite movies. It has an intimate feel to it that the other films, good though they are, lack. A wonderful example of this is the scene at the Great House, where the characters are assembled for a dinner given by the Musgroves. The flickering of the candles and the low ceilings convey a gathering where good conversation among genial people flourishes, somewhat reminiscent of "Babette's Feast". "Persuasion" concerns Anne Elliot and her lost love, Captain Wentworth. Eight years before the start of the picture, she had refused his marriage proposal, having been persuaded by a family friend that it would be an unsuitable match. Anne, you see, is the daughter of a baronet, while Edward is of no particular lineage. During these years, she has lost both her spirits and her looks, we are told. Then, chance brings Edward back into her life, but as the suitor of a family friend, a much younger woman who is quite vivacious--and he bears a grudge against Anne for her lack of personal conviction. Like all Jane Austen novels, the story then hinges upon whether a hopeless romantic situation can be brought round to our satisfaction. "Persuasion" is the sort of film you can watch again and again, just as if you were visiting with an old friend. Try it out for yourself, and I'm sure you'll be persuaded to agree with me!
Rating: 
Summary: Good viewing
Review: I love all things Jane Austen so enjoyed this movie but the main characters were so sedate that it would be hard to get into I think if you had not already read the book and seen the 70's version of Persuasion which was much more developed and more alive. If you like period pieces and Jane Austen in particular it's worth owning but don't worry about getting too emotional or stirred up by this film, you won't.
Rating: 
Summary: Wuthering Heights and Fellini, meet the Pillsbury Doughboy
Review: First let me state the obvious: I am a fan of Jane Austen, and have been for 30 years. Secondly, let me state that the first viewing of this adaptation had all the charm of an impacted wisdom tooth. Unless you are well acquainted with the story, you will be monumentally confused the first time you see it. This is not a film you can go into blind, because it won't give you any help with what is going on. Oh how the British love the device of implication and assumed history. Neither will be much help in understanding this. The people that I watched this with found it extremely confusing and discordant, and I did too, even though I have read the book many times over the years. Most of my audience kept complaining that the people looked too British. If ever there were a cast of singularly unattractive people, this is it. Anne Elliot looks not so much faded, as enbalmed and brought back from the dead for this performance and I found Frederick Wentworth podgy, buck toothed and very unappealing. And those were his good points. This film is chock full of people who seem able to vent with great abandon unless honesty would clear everything up in two seconds flat. At which times they look tortured and constipated. The director and writer also saw fit to change things from the book, and none of the adaptations were an improvement.
Having slammed their physical appearance, I must say that the people in Hollywood would have cast actors with physical appeal and no substance. The British cast on the basis of talent, and even if the actors are not particularly handsome, they grow on you. I can not think of one person who did not do a very good job, and although I found Anne and Frederick's tortured looks, gaping, gawking, and inability to communicate, extremely irritating, I am inclined to blame the director more than the actors. Captain Benwick was very good, but he reminded me of the Pillsbury Doughboy playing dress-up. Anne's eldest sister, Elizabeth, was shrill, annoying and petulantly unattractive. In short, perfect for the part. The murkiness and evocative moods, reminded me of Wuthering Heights meets Frederico Fellini. Brooding and bizarre.
If you can over-look dentition, physicality, and mood swings, you will like this movie. It has a certain jarring charm, mostly superb acting, interesting wardrobe, and it is unpretentious. It doesn't care whether you like it or not. I did, and although my daughter will not watch it with me, my husband very much enjoyed it, and he has watched it with me more than once. This is the only Persuasion that I could find, and if you can overlook some things, you will find yourself drawn to it again and again. The ending is not what I would have done, nor do people in Austen novels kiss on the streets of Bath. In the book, Anne did not seem as wimpy and irksome as in this. I frequently wanted to slap her. Hard.
Rating:
Summary: Sweet Persuasion
Review: What a wonderful adaptation of Jane Austen's fine novel. The performances bring to life the characters that Jane Austen's words inspired. Amanda Root's performance as the long-suffering Anne Elliott is perfectly understated. Her transformation from 'one who has lost her bloom' into one who is able to love again is wonderful to observe. Who cannot fall in love with Ciaran Hinds portrayal of the dashing Captain Wentworth? It is perfection itself. Supporting actor Corin Redgrave obviously relished his role as the ridiculously vain Sir Elliot, and most impressive was Sophie Thompson as Mary Musgrove. After watching her performance as the old maid Miss Bates in the 1996 version of Emma, I appreciate her portrayal of the jealous hypochondriac Mary Musgrove even more. Fiona Shaw & John Woodvine as Sophie and Admiral Croft were a breath of fresh air. Susan Fleetwood is convincing as Lady Russell and honorable mention should go to the actors who portrayed Captain's Harville & Benwick and of course those who portrayed the Musgroves. My only complaint as a Jane Austen purist: I loathe convenient deviations from her original novel and this version fails the novel through it's portrayal and storyline involving Mr. Elliot and Mrs. Smith. I was most particularly grieved by the insertion of an unnecessary scene involving Captain Wentworth offering to quit Kellynch on behalf of Admiral and Mrs. Croft. Despite these two atrocities, I find that the performances make this a must see adaptation.
Rating:
Summary: Sweet Persuasion
Review: What a wonderful adaptation on Jane Austen's fine novel. The performances bring to life the characters that Jane Austen's words inspired. Amanda Root's performance as the long-suffering Anne Elliott is perfectly understated. Her transformation from 'one who has lost her bloom' into one who is able to love again is wonderful to observe. Who cannot fall in love with Ciaran Hinds portrayal of the dashing Captain Wentworth? It is perfection itself. Supporting actor Corin Redgrave obviously relished his role as the ridiculously vain Sir Elliot, and most impressive was Sophie Thompson as Mary Musgrove. After watching her performance as the old maid Miss Bates in the 1996 version of Emma, I appreciate her portrayal of the jealous hypochondriac Mary Musgrove even more. Fiona Shaw & John Woodvine as Sophie and Admiral Croft were a breath of fresh air. Susan Fleetwood is convincing as Lady Russell and honorable mention should go to the actors who portrayed Captain's Harville & Benwick and of course those who portrayed the Musgroves. My only complaint as a Jane Austen purist: I loathe convenient deviations from her original novel and this version fails the novel through it's portrayal and storyline involving Mr. Elliot and Mrs. Smith. I was most particularly grieved by the insertion of an unnecessary scene involving Captain Wentworth offering to quit Kellynch on behalf of Admiral and Mrs. Croft. Despite these two atrocities, I find that the performances make this a must see adaptation.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful adaptation!!
Review: This 1995 adaptation of Jane Austen's novel is subtle and understated and simply superb. Amanda Root is a perfect Anne Elliott; faded and overlooked at the beginning. You can see just how much she's let herself go, even with the stooped stature and limp hair. And you feel the mortification, along with her, when her former fiance, Capt. Wentworth, dashingly played by Ciaran Hinds, sees her in this state.
The movie does move rather slowly, but this is it's power. Even the score of piano music by Chopin conveys how slowly and heavily the time has moved for Anne. And once you see the transformation that occurs, physically, for Anne, it's even easier to understand how re-awakened hope has transformed her spiritually.
One big difference is the director's use of BOTH the endings Austen wrote to illustrate Frederick's dilemma. And the ending is one of the most romantic scenes I've ever watched.
I highly recommend it to devotees of Jane Austens's work.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty much exactly like the book
Review: If you've read Persuasion, and you enjoyed it, you'll like this movie. Persuasion is one of the few Jane Austen novels I read before I saw the movie, and I'm glad I did, because I think the movie may have been a bit slow (I know it was for friends who had not read the book). But I enjoyed this video adaptation, particularly the haunted looks between Amanda Root and Ciaron Hinds (Amanda's eyes reminded me so much of Emily Watson's) and the camera shots of his hands while helping her in the carriage, or her fingers tightening when she was nervous upon their first encounter after 8 years of separation gave a sense of urgency and repressed feelings that I absolutely ate up. The movie isn't as flashy as Sense and Sensibility, but if you're an Austen fan, it's worth checking out.
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