Michael Brooks Amanda Root is perfection along with the rest of the cast in a very faithful looking version of this Jane Austen opus. Lighting in particular is natural - apparent use of candles in a dining room scene, in another there appears to be only the natural light coming into the particular room. This gives the viewer the feeling of the lighting of the period. Costuming and makeup are not overdone to make the production look too glamorous with the performances more than making up. I can watch this again and again! Only one beef: the aspect ratio of the DVD is obviously from a VHS master and is 4:3 (screen ratio of 1.37:1) so is cropped off at the sides, as the title is right at the bottom of the frame indicating that a full frame negative has not been used for this DVD release. Certain shots are telling with obvious chopping off of actors and items and doesn't look like an ideal frame composition. Time for an update! The cinematic release ratio was 1.85:1 (widescreen ratio) and all TV's since around 2002 of course are close to this (1.77:1 or 16:9)

phd_travel Firstly the good points. Beautifully filmed with authentic on location shooting in Bath and the countryside. The village scenes are straight out of an 18th Century painting. Simple and effective use of piano music as a score.The great fault is the casting of the leads. Cirian Hinds is the least romantic looking actor. He has such a fierce forbidding face suitable for character roles but totally wrong for a man in love. Amanda Root is just too plain. I know she is supposed to be bordering on old maid but she is just so insipid looking no one could carry a torch for her. There is no chemistry between them.What a waste of a good production. I don't recommend you watch this or it will spoil your image of the story.

marspeach The 1995 Persuasion movie is not only my favorite adaptation of that particular book, it's one of my top five Jane Austen adaptations. And one of my favorite period movies. And just one of my favorite movies! It's just that good. The cast is excellent. I love the look and feel of realism it has too, similar to the 2005 Pride and Prejudice and Bright Star movies- realistic lighting, no makeup, messy hair, etc.Every adaptation has its flaws, and I guess I should just get them out of the way beforehand. This film contains one big historical error! The sailors often go about in their naval uniforms. While this looks really nice on screen, it is actually not accurate. As we know from Mansfield Park, these uniforms could only be seen while the officers were on duty. Probably most casual viewers wouldn't know this and it's cool to see them though. Another issue that doesn't really bother me in particular is the somewhat lacking exposition. I feel a little bit, that this movie was written with book fans in mind. If you weren't already familiar with the story, you might find it a bit confusing, especially in the beginning, what was going on between Anne and Wentworth. As I said, I had no problem following anything but since I had already read the book that doesn't really mean much.The casting is admittedly not perfect. Many of the actors are a bit too old, but nothing jarring like in 1971. Their brilliant performances more than made up for this- with one big exception- Phoebe Nicholls as Elizabeth Elliot was way over the top.Both the canceled and actual ending of the book were used. Some liked the addition, but I could take it or leave it, personally. Some of the other changes from the book may have worked as just a movie, but were lacking for me as an adaptation. Actually, I can say that about pretty much everything- there's nearly nothing in this movie that I don't like as just a movie.Before I say again how much I love this movie (I ended up rewatching it 3 times!), I remembered another scene that bothered me. Anne is taken to Upper Cross in a farmer's cart instead of Lady Russell's carriage. Really? That was stretching it quite a bit. I know Sir Walter doesn't pay much attention to her, but he would never allow his daughter to be seen traveling in that way! And Lady Russell would never have allowed it! She couldn't spare her carriage to go 3 miles away?? All in all, admittedly, this movie is not perfect. But it's still a darn good movie and it's the closest to perfection any of the adaptations of Persuasion have gotten so far.

Amy Adler Ann (Amanda Root) is the daughter of a spendthrift aristocrat (Corin Redgrave). When funds run low, the family is forced to vacate their stately mansion, rent the house to a retired Navy admiral, and move to smaller quarters in Bath. Ann's sister and father run off blithely, leaving Ann to tie up the loose ends of the arrangement. A kind and wealthy neighbor lady offers help but Ann, who once followed the lady's advice in rejecting a worthy man's proposal, confides to the neighbor that she should have accepted the offer. Nevertheless, Ann is impressed by the new tenants of their house and is startled to learn that the admiral's wife is the sister of the man Ann rejected long ago. As Ann trots off to visit another sister (Sophie Thompson) and her two young boys, she runs into her former admirer, Captain Wentworth. Only now, their situations are reversed, for the Captain has gained wealth and reputation while Ann's monetary funding is in decline. And, he ignores Ann for the most part and concentrates his attentions on the pretty younger sisters of Ann's brother in law. Ann, however, soon realizes she still loves him. What's a poor girl to do? This is a very fine movie, lovely to look at and featuring great performances, too. Thompson is an absolute stitch while the the other cast members, including Redgrave and Fiona Shaw, are first rate. Root is a conundrum, giving a very nice, quietly thoughtful performance but she does not have the dazzling appearance of most leading ladies. Perhaps, that is what Austen would have wanted. Costumes and scenery are of the put-your-eye-out variety. The main problem of the film is that it assumes too much, that the viewer is familiar with the book. Instead, the movie watcher is thrown into the Georgian world, without sufficient explanations of what is occurring or why. Most other adaptations of a well-loved book will, subtly, inform the viewer of the reasons behind the action, but not this one. Therefore, one may have to view the film a second time or sit down and read the wonderful book to feel the full impact of the movie's story. But, then again, nevermind. This is a lovely, classy film with an amazing set of characters and situations. Do not let anyone, even this reviewer, persuade you from getting this film tonight. It is totally worthy of much praise.