Worth consuming, but luckily I caught an uncut version on TV—I wouldn’t spend money on it. It was fine, technically, but felt tremendously abbreviated. I haven’t read the book yet, so I suppose that will have to follow, but judging from Austen’s other work I would imagine that this is not doing it justice.

For some reason, Mansfield Park really interested me and stood out from the other Jane Austen books – although I knew nothing at all about it. So I bought the book, and tried to find the DVD in some places (my faithful amazon.ca did not carry it, so I waited until our Canadian dollar was on par with the American to get it on amazon.com) and finally settled on a nice Friday night to watch it with the ultimate best friend (and also co-Jane Austen fan in Chef).

The movie was excellent. I really, really enjoyed it. The actors were great, the characters too, the settings were beautiful. The story really got me; I didn’t know which guy to root for Fanny to get with (altough in the end she gets with my favorite ;)). I followed every one of her changes of heart and really felt it with her. Now, I know some people say that it’s a poor adaptation, but I actually had not read the book yet (certainly plan to do so, but I need to finish another boring book before and it’s taking me ages). But I take these comments with a grain of salt since many Austenites will always find fault in any adaptation!

The DVD was nice, not perfect, but okay. The picture quality was nice on my big-screen TV. The bonus are few but interesting (and there’s a commentary – I don’t usually listen to them, but I know that for some people it’s the ultimate bonus!). The cover (and thus the poster) is very pretty!

All in all, a buy I am very glad to have made. It was cheap, too! I will certainly watch it again with pleasure, and can’t wait to start the book :)

i put off watching this movie because when i saw the preview originally i wasn’t an Austen fan and the movie looked dumb (they were playing up the sexual innuendo aspect). Since then i’ve watched and read Pride and Prejudice and found a new appreciation for Austen (whom i had tried to read in junior high and failed). i finally gave in and rented this and can understand why this would be Austen’s favorite book that she authored. i understand her methods more now, how she uses sharp wit to prove a point and keeps the two people (who the reader know are meant to be together) apart as long as possible (amping up the tension). i have a feeling that as soon as i finish reading Emma that Mansfield Park will be next on my reading list.