Jane Austens Emma is an adaptation of the 1815 novel of the same name. It was adapted for the British television network ITV in 1996, directed by Diarmuid Lawrence and dramatised by Andrew Davies, the same year as Miramaxs film adaptation of Emma starring Gwyneth Paltrow. This production of Emma stars Kate Beckinsale as the titular character, and also features Samantha Morton as Harriet Smith and Mark Strong as Mr. Knightley. Davies had recently adapted another Austen novel as the successful 1995 television serial Pride and Prejudice for BBC when he proposed to adapt the novel Emma for the network. BBC had already made such an agreement with another screenwriter however, leading Davies to approach ITV. Emma received generally positive reviews from critics, who believed it to be superior to the 1996 Miramax film. Most focused on Beckinsales performance as a positive highlight. Andrew Davies adapted Jane Austens 1815 novel Emma for television. Previously, he was the screenwriter for the successful 1995 BBC TV serial Pride and Prejudice starring Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth. Davies offered to adapt Emma for the BBC, but it had already commissioned Sandy Welch as screenwriter. Michael Wearing, BBC head of drama serials, stated It was a very, very difficult situation. I had already commissioned Sandy Welch, one of our BBC writers, to do Emma. We really were in a fix. In response, Davies and his team successfully made an offer to BBCs rival, ITV. Pride and Prejudices entire production team reportedly joined Davies when he began adapting Emma. It was his second adaptation of an Austen novel. The production reportedly cost £2.5 million, and was shot during the summer of 1996. Film critics have studied Emma for its depiction of class. In a contribution for the 2007 book Literary Intermediality: The Transit of Literature Through the Media Circuit, Lydia Martin noted that unlike the 1996 theatrical film starring Paltrow, Davies Emma displays a realistic, or even naturalistic, approach by focusing on the lower classes in which Jane Austen never really took any interest.[4] Indeed, adds Carole Dole, reminders of Highburys class divisions are scattered throughout the production. Davies provides social context with fleeting scenes of the lower classes in a neutral, educational way – unlike the 1995 film Persuasion, Emma does not encourage viewers to identify with the servants
Posted on: Mon, 21 Apr 2014 06:02:14 +0000
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