Rating: 
Summary: Well Adapted, Though Not The Best Austen Movie Going
Review: One could make an argument that PERSUASION is Jane Austen's best book, and her fans (including me!) usually have their own ideas of how best to adapt her work. This adaptation is not as well done as Thompson's SENSE & SENSIBILITY, or the perfect A&E version of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. However, it is well done, and respectful of the original work. A lot of the book takes place in Anne Elliot's head, so the screenwriters had to supply a good deal of the dialogue--there was no way around that. My biggest complaint is that the casting seemed off in the case of Anne and Frederick. They are both well-known, talented actors, but considering that Anne is supposed to be 27 and Frederick 35 they seemed...too mature. But over-all, I recommend it as a good film!
Rating: 
Summary: The best of all the Austen films
Review: This sweet and less well-known film is the very best of all the Austen re-creations done in the last ten years. Unlike Sense and Sensibility, which introduced 20th-century comic schtick that would have appalled Jane Austen and any other person of her era, Persuasion moves at a slower and more subtle pace. The casting is perfect and nothing is prettified--this is the real Regency period, not a fantasy coloring book. Absolutely outstanding--one of the best evocations of a book on screen ever done, second only to Howards End.
Rating:
Summary: Persuasion
Review: This is a masterpiece is subtlety. When I first watched it, I was bored and very nearly turned it off without watching it through to the end. But stick with it, it's well worth it. It's the story of a young woman who, at the urging of her family and a close family friend, spurned the love of her life. 8 years later she's still regretting it when he reappears in her life. Resigned to a life of spinsterhood by her family, she becomes nearly invisable to those around her while her former love is exhaulted for his prowess in the intervening years. Now highly eligible, Anne must watch as he seemingly courts others while her heart breaks again. But all is not as it seems in this slow moving drama. And when the twist of another suitor turns the tables, who is it that is really the broken hearted one? Anne? Or her beloved Captain Wentworth? And who is this Mr Elliot that suddenly shows such interest? Stick with it through the end. Then watch it again. You'll fall in love over and over again. A brilliant piece that makes your heart sigh at the end. I give it my highest rating.
Rating: 
Summary: I may be overly critical, but...
Review: I was thouroughly dissapointed with this film. I had very high hopes going into it, especially after reading so many glowing reviews. Jane Austen is my all-time favorite author and Sense and Sensibility is my all-time favorite film. As I excitedly opened the box and popped the DVD into my machine I was all a flutter, but as the movie progressed my enthusiasm quickly diminished, and until the terribly wrong ending I still had hopes that it could redeem itself.
I must admit that the acting was good, but the casting (Anne's father being an exception) was all wrong to me. It seems like they took a crop of well-known, critically-acclaimed British actors and made them fit into the parts, whether they looked and felt right for them or not. It may be that I'm used to hollywoody pretty people, so I probably could have excused this point if it weren't for the fact that the score was dissapointing and the adaptation was terribly wrong. Why is it that screenwriters feel they have to make the characters say and do things that Austen would never have made them say and do in order to relate to present-day audiences? This was a big problem in the recent Mansfield Park as well. The screenwriter remained faithful to the book in parts where it caused the film to drag and deviated when a faithful adaptiation would've shone. The ending was the worst example of this, though I will not elaborate for those who are planning to see it.
As I said, Sense and Sensibility is my favorite film of all time, and unarguably the perfect Jane Austen adaptation. If only Emma Thompson would write all of Austen's novels! Although she didn't copy the novel exactly, one would never know it. It deviates from the text but still remains faithful to Austen's style and spirit. Not once do the characters kiss or embrace, but it is still extremely moving and completely romantic, not to mention beautifully directed by Ang Lee. I highly recommend Sense and Sensibility on DVD if one is looking for an Austen fix.
Persuasion, on the other hand, was very painful for me, especially as it is my favorite of Austen's novels. It nearly destroyed the novel for me. I still have to concentrate very hard to picture the characters as I originally envisioned them. I wish I had never seen it. It also has made me reluctant to see other film adaptations of her work. I am itching to watch the BBC/A&E miniseries of Pride and Prejudice, but I am afraid that it will be just as bad, despite all the good reviews I see. I relied too heavily on the good reviews I read for Persuasion.
I may be too critical, or maybe just crazy. So far I am the only one I know who disliked it so much. Still, I dissuaded my mom seriously from watching this movie and I would caution others to watch at your own risk. You may think it is wonderful, but I didn't.
Rating:
Summary: Superbly Done
Review: Simply well coordinated,perfectly casted,well acted,as dignified as the book.It`s a five stars all around. Job well done!!!
Rating:
Summary: Delightful
Review: I first bought this title on VHS and enjoyed it very much except for the audio quality. When I saw it in DVD it was an easy decision to add this to a collection worth archiving. The DVD is far superior in audio quality to the VHS. One can actually understand the rapid style of speech and the words are far clearer in the important moments where the plot line is revealed. It is a sweet story of a "spinster" who is forced to bypass two offers of marriage by an interferring socialite neighbor who has placed herself in the advisor role since the death of the girl's mother. Ann Elliott is pale, withdrawn and very sad as she watches her life pass her by, lost in regrets over refusing the hand of a man she truly loved. The socialite wants her to marry a cousin who has another agenda entirely. The story unfolds as her lost love, Captain Wentworth, reappears in her life and one watches a very gifted actress, who is a member of the Royal Shakespearean Theater in England, literally come to life again as she reawakens to the love lost and the promise to regain it. Watching her transform from drab to glowing is simply wonderful in this engaging story of the eternal quest for love and being loved.
Rating:
Summary: a pearl of a film
Review: in four words... i love this film.
i stumbled across it recommended by a friend because"you like that sort of thing" i was intrigued.
i didnt know the story. i hadnt read the book.and i didnt know any of the stars. but slowly the magic of this wonderful film drew me in. i have since read the book, watched it tens of times and can only say it is the most excellent of productions. it follows the book closeley. the casting is excellent, the acting wonderful, the costumes and sets beautiful, the music-ah the music-carries you through the film joining the scenes seamlessly.
i know this film so well now i almost havnt the words to say how absolutely fine i find this production. if you like period drama you must buy this. it doesnt come any better.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely wonderful
Review: The first time I watched this on the BBC I was bored. I'm a guy and romantic stories don't usually excite me much if at all - I'd never had an single interest in Austen until I saw the BBC 1995 edition of Pride and Prejudice - I only watched an episode by accident and by the end I was hooked, I went out and bought the video and I absolutely loved it, and it's still my favourite costume drama. I loved the film of Sense and Sensibility too and when I came to watch this I was expecting something of the same -and I was disappointed. However, the ending had me hooked, and I watched the entire film again. And again. And again - and I've watched it dozens of times and I have to say it's absolutely wonderful. Its also incredibly subtle - and this is the reason why this film is so underrated, much like Austen's books were for almost a century. Once you get a grip on what the drama is about, you'll be spellbound by the breathtaking subtlety of the characters actions and motivations, the agony of Anne Elliot as she not only has to meet the long lost love of her life but listen to his attractiveness and flirting with the Musgrove girls and the pain that she suffers as a result - the dinner scene is perfect in this, and when Wentworth says "I had no wife in the year (18)06", and the camera cuts to Anne's face. Whilst "Pride & Prejudice" and "Sense and Sensiblity" are immediate, in your face drama, this is subtle and understated, but equally as powerful and dramatic. Those drama's are fine to watch a few times, but quickly lose their charm, whereas this one only increases with enjoyment the more times you watch it, and the more times you watch it the more you understand and the more you see in it - and the more amazing it becomes. Not because of the romantic side (hey, I'm a guy, what did you expect?) but because of the wonderful sensitivity and incredible intelligence of Austen's drama. This really ought to among Amazon's Essential list of videos.
Rating:
Summary: A fine film
Review: The first time I watched this film, I had trouble following the story and catching the words that were so often mumbled. However, when I reached the end, I immediately rewound the tape and watched the first half a second time in order to better appreciate the fine production and story that this is. This movie lead me to read the book, and am delighted that the movie contains so many direct quotes, and depicts the book's characters so well. This movie also lead me to other movies in which Fiona Shaw acted. I found her characterization of Mrs. Croft captivating.
Rating:
Summary: the BEST austen adaptation i've ever seen
Review: "Persuasion" is fantastic -- you won't find a finer Austen adaptation, or a truer film, or a more romantic love story. The characterization is uniformly superb -- Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds are absolutely perfect as the leads, and the supporting cast is equally excellent, with Sophie Thompson turning in a great performance as Mary Elliot. Of especial note, though, is the actress who played her mother-in-law, Mrs. Musgrove -- she was an absolute *delight*, and I wish I knew her name. She captured the role beautifully. Wonderful wonderful wonderful.
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