Memorial Day

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Review: Emma (1997)

This was the first version of Emma that I saw. It was on Masterpiece: Classic one weekend a couple of years ago, so my mom and I sat down to watch it.

Poster/Box Art


Synopsis
Synopsis taken from Emma (2009) Review

"Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich" is a woman living in the English town of Highbury with her father. After making a match that lead to the marriage of her governness, Miss Taylor, and Mr. Weston, Emma (Kate Beckinsale) had fancied herself to have a knack for matchmaking. She is determined to make a match between Mr. Elton, the local vicar, and Harriet Smith (Samantha Morton), much to the chagrin of her father and her brother-in-law, Mr. Knightly (Mark Strong).

Characters

Both Kate Beckinsale and Mark Strong are fairly well known, but you might recognize some of the cast in Emma. Samantha Bond (Mrs. Weston) was in one episode of Downton Abbey and Lark Rise to Candleford and was also in Mansfield Park (1983). Samantha Morton (Harriet Smith) was in Jane Eyre (1997). Olivia Williams (Jane Fairfax) was also in Miss Austen Regrets. Lucy Robinson (Mrs. Elton) was also in Pride and Prejudice (1995). And I believe Raymond Coulthard (Frank Churchill) was also in He Knew He Was Right.

Emma Woodhouse with Frank Churchill (Left)
and Mr. Knightley (Right)

Kate Beckinsale was okay as Emma (though not my favorite as Emma and even though I thought her imaginings were getting to be too much), but to me, Mark Strong is not Mr. Knightley. He seemed to be always yelling whenever he got upset, like he was going to throw a chair or something. I mean, was it really like Mr. Knightley to start yelling when he heard that Frank Churchill went to London to get his hair cut? I could see Mr. Knightley making a sarcastic remark about it, but to actually start yelling?

I didn't particularly care for Samantha Morton's Harriet. In the book, she is supposed to be a pretty looking girl, and I don't think that she was pretty enough. Olivia WIlliams's Jane Fairfax I liked. She was elegant and pretty, as she is in the book. I particularly disliked Frank Churchill in here, though. He just seemed too full of himself and he really irritated me (well, more than Frank Churchill usually does).I also thought that Miss Bates was too old. When I picture Miss Bates, I see someone in her late 30's or in her 40's; this Miss Bates could have been in her mid fifties or later.

Some of the acting I thought was forced and not "real". It just seemed like some of the lines were just said... It seemed like there were some spots where there could have been a little more emotion or if an emotion was expressed, it came out fake.

Jane Fairfax (Background) and Harriet Smith (Left Foreground)
and Emma Woodhouse (Right Foreground)

Scenery

There are some nice outdoor scenes, but I thought that some of the overtones were a little dark for Emma. Emma is a light-hearted story, so the scenes ought to be light and vivid, but the scenes were dark. Scenes take place outside either in Highbury, out on the country roads, or outside of Hartfield or Donwell Abbey, or inside the different homes of the characters.

Costumes

Some of the costumes I liked, others not so much. I never really liked the extra high neckline, so when Harriet had a white dress with a really high neckline, I didn't like that dress. I also thought that they over-did some of the neck kerchief frills: the ones without the frills were much better. The rest of the gowns, overall, I thought were good.

Harriet and Mr. Elton married?! One of Emma's many
imaginings...

Music
Some of the music is very light and bouncy (like the theme song and dance numbers), but there were times during Emma's imaginings that the music got very serious and completely unlike the tone of Emma. Overall, the music is kind of a hit and miss.

Overall: 3/5
I didn't completely hate this version of Emma, but I much prefer the 2009 miniseries to this version. The acting wasn't the best and the scenery could have been a lot lighter and more fitting to the tone that the book had. If you don't have too much time to spare and want to watch a version of Emma, this version or the Gwyneth Paltrow version are both okay, but if you really want a good sense of Emma and have the time to spare, watch the 2009 miniseries.

Emma is available on DVD. It runs for 107 minutes.

Tournament: Round 4

Round 4 voting has just opened! There is only one poll. Vote for your favorite hero out of the remaining heroes:

• John Thornton (North and South)
• Fitzwilliam Darcy (Pride and Prejudice)
• Arthur Clennam (Little Dorrit)
• George Knightley (Emma)
• Captain Frederick Wentworth (Persuasion)

The top four heroes will move on to the fifth round! The hero with the least votes will be eliminated. Go and vote for your favorite!

Tournament: Round 3 Results

Voting for Round 3 has closed! Here are the results! Winners are bolded.

Poll 1

Sir Percy Blakeney (The Scarlet Pimpernel) -- 25 votes

John Thornton (North and South) -- 51 votes

Poll 2

Colonel Brandon (Sense and Sensibility) -- 27 votes

Fitzwilliam Darcy (Pride and Prejudice) -- 57 votes

Poll 3

Arthur Clennam (Little Dorrit) -- 38 votes

Edward Ferrars (Sense and Sensibility) -- 34 votes

Poll 4

George Knightley (Emma) -- 56 votes

Gilbert Blythe (Anne of Green Gables) -- 24 votes

Poll 5

Henry Tilney (Northanger Abbey) -- 36 votes

Captain Frederick Wentworth (Persuasion) -- 37 votes

Thank you everyone for voting! Round 4 will be up shortly!

Last day to vote in Round 3

This is your last day to vote in Round 3 of The Period Drama Hero Tournament! If you haven't voted yet, do so now!

Working on Some Big Changes!

I've been busy the past few days working on some changes to Elegance of Fashion. I've felt for a while now that I needed to change up Elegance of Fashion a little bit. Don't worry, I'm not changing anything in the way my blog is run: there are still going to be reviews, tournaments, banners, etc. I'm just trying to make everything look nicer and neater. I'm planning on some awesome changes, so stay tuned for some exciting new things! I'll announce when I'm going to release these changes.

Tournament: Voting Progress

The voting is about half way done. Here is how everyone has voted so far! Leaders are underlined.

Poll 1

Sir Percy Blakeney (The Scarlet Pimpernel) -- 21 votes

John Thornton (North and South) -- 39 votes

Poll 2

Colonel Brandon (Sense and Sensibility) -- 20 votes

Fitzwilliam Darcy (Pride and Prejudice) -- 45 votes

Poll 3

Arthur Clennam (Little Dorrit) -- 27 votes

Edward Ferrars (Sense and Sensibility) -- 30 votes

Poll 4

George Knightley (Emma) -- 44 votes

Gilbert Blythe (Anne of Green Gables) 20 votes

Poll 5

Henry Tilney (Northanger Abbey) -- 27 votes

Captain Frederick Wentworth (Persuasion) -- 31 votes

You only have three more days left to vote! If you haven't voted yet, do so now!

Review: Miss Austen Regrets

I had heard about this a while ago, but I didn't watch it until yesterday. I know only a little bit about Jane Austen's life, and I hadn't really seen a biopic of Jane Austen (excepting a couple of scenes from Becoming Jane), so this would be the first movie about Jane Austen that I have seen all the way through.

Poster

Synopsis
Miss Austen Regrets chronicles the later life of Jane Austen and her relationship with her niece, Fanny Austen-Knight. Jane councils Fanny on her choice of husband while Fanny tries to get the romantic side of Jane out.

Characters
There are a couple of actors/actresses that you may recognize in Miss Austen Regrets. Olivia Williams (Jane Austen) was seen in Emma (1997) as Jane Fairfax. Hugh Bonneville (Rev. Brook Bridges) was seen in Daniel Deronda as Mr. Grandcourt and also in Downton Abbey as Robert Crawley, Lord of Grantham. Phyllida Law (Mrs. Austen) was also seen in Emma (1996) as Mrs. Bates and is also known as the mother of actresses Emma Thompson and Sophie Thompson. Greta Scacchi (Cassandra Austen) was seen in Emma (1996) as Mrs. Weston.

Jane at an evening with her friends. She seemed to have
been holding a glass of wine through at least half of the movie.

I really didn't like the way Jane Austen was portrayed in here. I know only a little about Jane Austen's life (I haven't actually read the letters that she has written to her sister, Cassandra, or to Fanny), but I never pictured her as someone who indulged too much in wine, flirted with nearly any man in her path, or was constantly in ill-humor. It seemed that some of the characteristics that she had in this movie were what she condemned in her novels: the real Jane Austen ridiculed the flirtatious behaviors of Lydia Bennet in Pride and Prejudice and of Isabella Thorpe in Northanger Abbey and would have most likely have looked down upon women walking around at night, drinking wine, and looking into windows from bushes outside. Her sour attitude in here could almost resemble Mary Bennet's in Pride and Prejudice. The screenplay writers and producers were probably trying to make her appear more human, but there are other ways of doing that and keeping her in "sync" with what she wrote and believed. I'm not convinced in this portrayal of Jane Austen

The whole story focused more on Jane's relationship with Fanny, her niece, rather than Cassandra, her sister. I would have liked to see more of Cassandra in this movie; she was in there for a couple of scenes, but not nearly as many as she should have. I didn't like how the Jane/Fanny relationship was portrayed: it seemed like they were reduced to a couple of giggling girls: I really couldn't take either one of them seriously after a while, especially Fanny. Fanny seemed overly romantic and emotional where it got to the point that it was just irritating.

Jane (foreground) with Fanny and Cassandra in the background.

Scenery
The scenery was nice. The outdoor scenes look lovely, and the indoor scenes in the houses were nice too. There was one scene that had a blue overtone when Jane Austen was running through London: I didn't like that they had the blue overtone. But Miss Austen Regrets does afford some nice views of the English countryside.

Costumes

Fanny and Jane traveling. Here Jane is wearing the turban
that she wears for a good portion of the movie.

I liked the costumes. I noticed that Jane had more bold colors than Fanny, who wore mostly white and lighter colors. I think that in the Regency Era, older women wore more bolder colors, while younger women wore lighter colors. Jane's gowns were very nice. Her dresses consisted mostly of jumpers with gauze sleeves. I wasn't particularly fond of a turban (I think it was a turban) that Jane wore for a lot of the movie. Overall, this movie could give many costumers an idea of what style of Regency dresses they would like to make.


Overall:1.5/5
I'll admit the costume and scenery were nice, and the music was quite tolerable enough (though it really didn't stick with me long enough), but I am not convince with this portrayal of Jane Austen. If seemed as if she had the bad qualities of her characters that she created. If a movie can't get the main character right, it doesn't have a good chance of succeeding.

Miss Austen Regrets is available with the DVD version of Sense and Sensibility (2008). It runs for 90 minutes.

Jessie J wearing Felder-Felder - Nylon Magazine July issue

Jessie J wearing COCO DRESS TWIST, by Felder-Felder / black leather bustier with b+w leather twist in front, black power-net and black organza skirt. 

LOOK 22 - Spring/Summer 2011

www.felderfelder.com

Tournament: Round 3 and Wild Card Winner

First, I'd like to start with the wild card. The poll has closed and the Wild Card is... Arthur Clennam (Little Dorrit).

And now for Round 3. Here are the polls:

Poll 1

Sir Percy Blakeney (The Scarlet Pimpernel)

John Thornton (North and South)

Poll 2

Colonel Brandon (Sense and Sensibility)

Fitzwilliam Darcy (Pride and Prejudice)

Poll 3

Arthur Clennam (Little Dorrit)

Edward Ferrars (Sense and Sensibility)

Poll 4

George Knightley (Emma)

Gilbert Blythe (Anne of Green Gables)

Poll 5

Henry Tilney (Northanger Abbey)

Captain Frederick Wentworth (Persuasion)

There are the polls! Go out and vote! You only have one week!

Another Banner

Just made this banner. This was suggested by Tasha from History Back in Time.

Also, make sure you vote in the Wild Card round of The Period Drama Hero Tournament! There are only a few more hours left to vote!

Banner!

Another banner!

This was suggested by Melody at Regency Delight~Jane Austen etc.

What do you think?

Felder Felder's Take on Sisterly Fashion

Full article with video here: Felder Felder's Take on Sisterly Fashion

www.felderfelder.com

Tournament: Wild Card Poll!

Before Round 3 begins, we need to decide a wild card. The Wild Card will be a hero that has already been eliminated: he will be brought back to compete. This poll will last only three days. Here are the heroes that you can vote for (you can also select more than one!):

• Alf Arless (Lark Rise to Candleford)
• John Bates (Downton Abbey)
• Adam Bede (Adam Bede)
• Professor Friedrich "Fritz" Bhaer (Little Women)
• Thomas Brown (Lark Rise to Candleford)
• Charles Bingley (Pride and Prejudice)
• Charles Carson (Downton Abbey)
• Sydney Carton (Tale of Two Cities)
• John Chivery (Little Dorrit)
• Arthur Clennam (Little Dorrit)
• Gabriel Cochrane (Lark Rise to Candleford)
• Matthew Crawley (Downton Abbey)
• Robert Crawley (Downton Abbey)
• Daniel Deronda (Daniel Deronda)
• James Dowland (Lark Rise to Candleford)
• Thomas Gibson (He Knew He Was Right)
• Osborne Hamley (Wives and Daughters)
• Roger Hamley (Wives and Daughters)
• Septimas Harding (Barchester Chronicles)
• Dr. Frank Harrison (Cranford)
• Heathcliff (Wuthering Heights)
• Thomas Holbrook (Cranford)
• Sherlock Holmes (Various Stories)
• Will Landislaw (Middlemarch)
• Theodore "Laurie" Laurence (Little Women)
• Silas Marner (Silas Marner)
• Robert Martin (Emma)
• Sir Timothy Midwinter (Lark Rise to Candleford)
• Paul Montague (The Way We Live Now)
• Nicholas Nickleby (Nicholas Nickleby)
• James Percy (The Inheritance)
• Philip "Pip" Pirrip (Great Expectations)
• St. John Rivers (Jane Eyre)
• Edward Rochester (Jane Eyre)
• Hugh Stanbury (He Knew He Was Right)
• Robert Timmins (Lark Rise to Candleford)
• Louis Trevelyan (He Knew He Was Right)
• Oliver Twist (Oliver Twist)
• Sydney (Lark Rise to Candleford)
• Westley (Princess Bride)
• Jack Worthing (The Importance of Being Earnest)

The hero with the most votes will come back into the running. If more than one hero is tied to come back, they will be randomly selected.

Go and vote! You only have three days to vote!

Tournament: Round 2 Results!

Voting for Round 2 has ended! Thank you everyone for voting! Here are the results for Round 2; winners are bolded.

Poll 1

Westley (Princess Bride) -- 18 votes

John Thornton (North and South) -- 38 votes

James Percy (The Inheritance) -- 6 votes

Poll 2

George Knightley (Emma) -- 58 votes

Septimas Harding (The Barchester Chronicles) -- 0 votes

John Chivery (Little Dorrit) -- 6 votes

Poll 3

Arthur Clennam (Little Dorrit) -- 26 votes

Gabriel Cochrane (Lark Rise to Candleford) -- 6 votes

Sir Percy Blakeney (The Scarlet Pimpernel) -- 33 votes

Poll 4

Nicholas Nickelby (Nicholas Nickelby) -- 13 votes

Henry Tilney (Northanger Abbey) -- 40 votes

St. John Rivers (Jane Eyre) -- 6 votes

Poll 5

Captain Frederick Wentworth (Persuasion) -- 31 votes

Theodore "Laurie" Laurence (Little Women) -- 23 votes

Dr. Frank Harrison (Cranford) -- 13 votes

Poll 6

Edward Ferrars (Sense and Sensibility) -- 44 votes

Silas Marner (Silas Marner) -- 7 votes

Robert Timmins (Lark Rise to Candleford) -- 9 votes

Poll 7

Colonel Brandon (Sense and Sensibility) --40 votes

Robert Martin (Emma) -- 14 votes

Philip "Pip" Pirrip (Great Expectations) -- 9 votes

Poll 8

Thomas Holbrook (Cranford) -- 10 votes

Gilbert Blythe (Anne of Green Gables) -- 46 votes

Charles Carson (Downton Abbey) -- 5 votes

Thanks again to everyone for voting. Stay tuned for the wild card poll!

Another Banner!

Made another banner awhile ago! What do you think?

This banner was suggested by Tasha from History Back in Time.

Check Out Character Doubles at Austenitis!

(Thought I posted this before, but I think that when Blogger went down, this post went away, so I'm reposting it).

I always have fun while I watch period dramas picking out actors and actresses that I have seen in other period dramas. Charity U at Austenitis has complied a list (with pictures!) of different actors and actresses with their different characters from different period dramas.

Actor Doubles

Actress Doubles

Some more garments added to "The Pride and Prejudice Wardrobe"

Since I didn't do a review this week, I thought I would do a long-overdue addition to "The Pride and Prejudice Wardrobe". Added are the following:

Elizabeth Bennet's White Summer Gown

Jane Bennet's Grey Pelisse

Jane Bennet's Pink Summer Gown

Mrs. Hurst Blue Morning Gown

Elizabeth Bennet's Summer White Gown

Full Front View: The fabric is partially see through, so a petticoat is required for this dress. There is trim at the bottom of the dress that runs perpendicular to the design of the fabric (more on the fabric design below). The sleeves are 3/4 sleeves.

Front View: The lines of the fabric run vertically on the dress. There is not much of a puff to the sleeve.

Back View: There are four buttons to fasten the back together. The back of the skirt is gathered.

Partial Side View/Front View: The front of the bodice is gathered a little bit.

Jane Bennet's Pink Summer Gown

This dress is seen on Jane when the weather is warm outside.

Full Front View: The bodice is V-necked and has a darker pink trim around the neck line and waist line. The trim along the neck line criss-crosses. The bottom of the dress is a darker pink then the rest of the dress.

Front View: You can see more detail in the trim on the bodice. There is also a decorate (but smaller than the neckline trim) trim along the bottom of the sleeve. There is also a puff to the sleeve.

Back View: Sorry the picture isn't the best. The pink trim along the waistline continues in the back of the dress.

Mrs. Hursts Blue Morning Gown

One of my least favorite gowns in Pride and Prejudice, Mrs. Hurst seems to wear this gown a lot. I don't have a picture of the back of this dress, but you can assume that the back is basically a typical Regency dress back.

Front: The fabric of the dress is light blue with a silver fancy diamond pattern. There are six buttons in the front, but these buttons appear to be decorations. This dress is also accessorized with a lace collar, lace shawl/fichu, and mob cap.

Front/Partial Side View: There's a slight puff to the long sleeve. You can also see a full picture of the lace shawl/fichu.

Jane Bennet's Grey Pelisse/Gown

This grey pelisse (or gown?) of Jane Bennet's can be seen while she is inside Longbourn or outside (which I think is a little unusual since pelisses are usually worn outside). It seems to have some of the qualities of a pelisse (like the buttoned bodice), but it also has some qualities of being a regular gown (it was worn during a meal).

Front View: The front has a buttoned down bodice. There are two buttons going down the bodice, but then at the empire waist, there are two more buttons to hold the dress together. There's also a separate collar that comes out at the neckline.

Details of the collar: There's a lot of fine white embroidery on the collar. The edge is not a straight edge, but has a fancy "zig zag" detailed edge. This picture is also a screenshot from a meal time at Longbourn.

Back: The back resembles a classic pelisse. There is also a puff to the top of the sleeve.

One more day to vote... Information on Wild Card for Tournament... and Some Announcements

First on the list: there's only one more day to vote in Round 2 of "The Period Drama Hero Tournament", if you haven't voted yet, go do so now!

Wild Card: After Round 2, there will be a three day poll to decide the "wild card" for Round 3, which will bring back one hero that has already been eliminated. So if your favorite was voted out in a previous round, this is the opportunity to bring him back! You will be able to select more than one hero (if there are two or more heroes tied for the wild card, I'll randomly select one).

Other Announcements: I hadn't had an opportunity to write a review for this week, so there will be no review tomorrow. The week after, however, there should be a review. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Remember how I mentioned that at the blog Austenitis is doing a series of posts about Period Drama Actor/Actress doubles? Well, Charity U at Austenitis has put up another addition, this time with actresses. If you've seen such period dramas as Emma (2009), North and South, or Wives and Daughters, you will easily recognize the actresses that are presented in the new post. To view it, click here!

Round 2 - Voting Progress

 Here's how the voting progress has been going!

Poll 1

Westley (Princess Bride) -- 15 votes

John Thornton (North and South) -- 28 votes

James Percy (The Inheritance) -- 4 votes

Poll 2

George Knightley (Emma) -- 44 votes

Septimas Harding (The Barchester Chronicles) -- 0 votes

John Chivery (Little Dorrit) -- 4 votes

Poll 3

Arthur Clennam (Little Dorrit) -- 19 votes

Gabriel Cochrane (Lark Rise to Candleford) -- 4 votes

Sir Percy Blakeney (The Scarlet Pimpernel) -- 27 votes

Poll 4

Nicholas Nickelby (Nicholas Nickelby) -- 10 votes

Henry Tilney (Northanger Abbey) -- 31 votes

St. John Rivers (Jane Eyre) -- 4 votes

Poll 5

Captain Frederick Wentworth (Persuasion) -- 23 votes

Theodore "Laurie" Laurence (Little Women) -- 17 votes

Dr. Frank Harrison (Cranford) -- 9 votes

Poll 6

Edward Ferrars (Sense and Sensibility) -- 35 votes

Silas Marner (Silas Marner) -- 4 votes

Robert Timmins (Lark Rise to Candleford) -- 5 votes

Poll 7

Colonel Brandon (Sense and Sensibility) -- 32 votes

Robert Martin (Emma) -- 9 votes

Philip "Pip" Pirrip (Great Expectations) -- 6 votes

Poll 8

Thomas Holbrook (Cranford) -- 7 votes

Gilbert Blythe (Anne of Green Gables) -- 36 votes

Charles Carson (Downton Abbey) -- 3 votes

There are four more days left to vote! If you haven't voted yet, go do so now!