Around here...
We have been watching the great Jane Austen movies.
First we watched Sense and Sensibility.
Katie liked this couple!
They always drive me a bit crazy but Katie thought they were very funny.
I like Colonel Brandon.
Then we watched Pride and Prejudice.
Three hours one night and three the next morning. I was so pleased to notice that Katie understood the formal English language. I know it was hard for me when I started watching these fancy movies :o)
We are different in this way, I have noticed. When I was young I found it troubling if I didn't understand words in books and that would make me decide they were too hard for me. Katie plows thru and if she doesn't get a word, she just keeps reading and she doesn't let it bother her. I'm glad for her. I wish I had someone leading the way for me...but I didn't, so I bloomed late. Which is better than not blooming at all I guess :o)
Btw, Katie liked happy Bingley. Both of my girls have always liked him best.
This is how Mr. Bingley smiles.
This is how Mr. Darcy smiles. He is very happy here. Can't you tell?
"And your parents are in good health? and all your sisters . . . "
I think my favorite part of the whole mini series is when Elizabeth runs into the a flustered Mr. Darcy at Pemberly (happily situated Pemberly)
Ah. heck. Let's watch it.
Katie liked it very well....
What can I say, my job is done here.
Love,
Donna
Oh, Mr. Darcy is definitely my type. Mr. Bingley was always a bit to smiley for me! :) Colin Firth's Mr. Darcy is simply divine.
ReplyDeleteI've never watched that version. :( I really must!
ReplyDeleteSacrelige. ;)
DeleteWe're watching the 1980 bbc P & P. it's charming. Not as spectacular as Colin, but still delightful. The dialog astounds. I just love it.
ReplyDeleteOh yes you do!!!! You will LOVE IT!
ReplyDeleteI watched the BBC version of Sense & Sensibility last week with Dan Stevens as Edward Ferrars. (or however you spell that). May he rest in peace.
ReplyDeleteIt is wonderful, and I am wobbling if maybe I like it better than Emma and Hugh and Kate and Snape. (ha).
Then it was Persuasion, and after viewing again with Sally Hawkins and Rupert P-Jones, I am again wobbling on whether I like that version (also BBC) better than the Amanda Root version.
I am almost *persuaded* to change my opinion !!
May he rest in peace.. Bwahahahahah...
DeleteMy favorite S&S line from Col. Brandon: "Give me an occupation or I shall run mad." Of course, Alan Rickman reading toilet repair instructions would thrill me (-:
ReplyDeleteI am with Katie on Mrs. Jennings and Cousin John. They crack me up, and I do love how Mrs. Jennings shows true kindness when Willoughby's scoundrel nature is revealed. Bingley is tolerable, I suppose, but not handsome enough to tempt me (-: I prefer the deeper and more substantial Mr. Darcy. I love both the Colin Firth Mr. Darcy and the Matthew Mac Fadyen Mr. Darcy. Not a Keira fan...and Jennifer Ehle IS Elizabeth for me.
I think it might be time for a read through P&P. I love Austen's writing.
Hump day!
Love,
Di
Di, an excellent winter reading choice! Jane Austen book club? :)
DeleteMary Z
Yes!
DeleteDi
Di, I was just going to post that quote below but wanted to see if anyone else had done so. Give me an occupation.. Or I shall run mad... SWOON.
DeleteScott and I have worked it all into one big script - where mr. & mrs. Bennet meet up with mrs. Jennings and cousin John.. And mr. Collins and mr. Willoughby and mr. Bingley are all connected. We get them VERY confused and we love them both so much!!!
DeleteWhat fun! Katie has developed wonderful taste to enjoy these films. I first introduced Molly to Austen with Emma (Gwyneth version). She was young and it was just funny enough for her at the time. Once she was hooked, we advanced to the real stuff and went through a period of time where P&P was always on the telly. Either the ’95 (our favorite) or ’05 version (which we like for when you simply don’t have 6 hours to commit to the other). She also got hooked on S&S (and loved the fact that both Professors Snape and Trelawney were in it!). So glad to share this passion with my girl.
ReplyDeleteMary Z
Is the 05 with Keira Knightley?? I love that one, too, for the exact same reason - when I need a fix, and can't commit. ;)
DeleteYep, it's the Keira version! Perfect for when you only have two hours to get bewitched - body and soul. ;)
DeleteMary Z
It all sounds delicious! Satisfying, snappy, sumptuous! How we love our dear Jane A.
ReplyDeleteMy mom and two sisters and I just watched Sense and Sensibility last Friday to celebrate my older sister's birthday (she had never seen it...I was seeing it for the umpteenth time). We had scones and lemon curd and she had a British Birthday. So much fun. One of my favorite lines- when Marianne says, "What care I for the cold when there is such a man." Oh my. One of my favorite movies ever. And I agree with Di about Alan Rickman...swoon.
ReplyDeleteDebbie Z.
What a fun birthday idea, Debbie!
DeleteDi
There's nothing like introducing your daughter to Jane Austen movies. Nothing. ;)
ReplyDeleteP.S. Are you watching American Idol this season? I'm giving it another chance with Harry.
Oh dear, I haven't joined the Jane Austen club yet either. Can't comment on Downton.
ReplyDeleteI'm just putting the truth out there, people. I will put these on my movie/show bucket list.
I do like my new EOS lip balm in mint very much.
Sarah P. from Iowa
Sarah,
DeleteStart with the Emma Thompson Sense and Sensibility. It is really a perfect place to start! Two hours. Wonderful story. Wonderful actors.
Sarah,
DeleteI have spent most of my life trying to catch up (-: I agree with Donna. Emma and Alan Rickman and Hugh Grant and Emma's hubby and Kate Winslet...it's a perfect place to start.
Di
Thank you.
DeleteSarah P.
One of my favorite parts in the movie too! I read Sense and Sensibility this fall and fell in love with the story again. Do you like the "newer" version of Pride and Prejudice with Kiera Knightly as Elizabeth? When we were little my sisters and I would watch Pride and Prejudice with our mom. I didn't understand most of the words, but I knew what was happening was important and I couldn't peel my eyes away from the screen.
ReplyDeleteHi Emily,
DeleteNo. I don't like the new version. They are all too messy and the farm animals in the house would not do. For the first time I caught and understood the sonnet that they were reading in S & S.
I like it a lot. She is quite lovely, and the ending is so beautiful. I prefer the other one, but this one will work well in a pinch. :)
DeleteThe music in the Kiera K. movie of P & P is such a hook for me. And also Donald Sutherland. I really liked his Mr. Bennet.
DeleteYES!!!! That moment with Elizabeth 'but I was wrong, father. I was so wrong!' And his response after she leaves the room makes me cry every.single.time. I remember saying to scott 'Donald Sutherland?!?!?!,!,' I would never have guessed he'd be so perfect in this role. And the soundtrack is divine. When can we watch it together, Susan?!?!?
DeleteIs there room on the couch for me, too, girls?? During that very scene when she says “But he and I……he and I are so similar.” and puts her hand over her mouth – and Donald Sutherland (aka Mr. Bennett) does the same exact thing with his hand as he is overcome with emotion. “I could not part with you, my Lizzie, to anyone less worthy.” LOVE.
DeleteMary Z
Oh, Mary Z. Donald Sutherland's HAND. love love love.
DeleteYes and yes!! I love love love that scene! Would be a delight to view this flick with the two of you!
Delete" ... I am quite at my leisure!"
And may I say, job well done, Donna!
ReplyDeleteWho would not want such an open- face smile, such as Mr. Bingley has, directed at them? Mrs. Jennings and her son-in-law are so amusing! Have you seen Robert Hardy as Siegfried Farnon in the All Creatures Great and Small series? I can't recommend it highly enough. It is absolutely on my families top 5 ever of things to watch. It's about veterinary practice in Yorkshire in the 1930's-1950's.
ReplyDeleteRound here we have been ill. So the children and I have been amusing ourselves while we sit feverish and achy by watching Tudor Monastary Farm, Tales of the Green Valley, Victorian Farm, Edwardian Farm and today we will be watching Wartime Farm. Check them out on youtube. Best regards, Donna. Jamie
"family's"
Deletei love colonel brandon. he may be my favorite, even more than darcy. but oh dear.. that darcy. forget that happy bingely, i like them dark and brooding.
ReplyDeleteYou got brooding. :o)
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised this crowd doesn't want to give the BBC version with Dan Stevens a try :-) I love Hugh Grant, but honestly thought that Mr. Stevens (aka Matthew Crawley) made a great Edward Ferrars.
ReplyDeleteAs for the original Emma Thompson version, I do love the scene where she basically throws her apron over her head in the end and cries. so sweet.
We've seen it! Loved it!
DeleteLove them all! Our family has favorite quotes that regularly pop up in our conversation with one another!!
ReplyDeleteHa Ha! Such as, "Mama. Why are you winking at me? Am I to do something?" So unsubtle of Kitty that it is really funny! -Jamie
DeleteOk. It's "what am I to do?"
DeleteTwo of my favorites...S&S and P&P. Austen adored alliteration, apparently!! ;-)
ReplyDeleteThis is my all-time favorite movie, the definitive version. Great review, Donna!
ReplyDelete