Sense And Sensibility - The DVD Reviewed

Movie - Sense And Sensibility

Movie - ****
Picture - ***
Sound - ***
Extras - ****
Repeat - ***

Sense and Sensibility is a successful adaptation from Jane Austen's novel, and the credit goes to Emma Thompson, who won a Golden Globe for her screenplay (which is a delightful extra feature in this DVD version). One of the main reasons I enjoyed Sense and Sensibility is all due Jane Austen and her brilliance. If you haven't read such classics as Pride and Prejudice or Persuasion, go buy them, I highly recommend it.

Sense and Sensibility is about a family of four (a mother and 3 daughters), mainly the two elder daughters, who endure the hardships of financial insecurities and womanhood during the nineteenth century. After an unfortunate death of the Mr. Dashwood, the mother's husband, the family decides, somewhat unwillingly, to live in a cottage. Elinor Dashwood (the eldest daughter, portrayed by Emma Thompson) is swooned by Edward Farrers (Hugh Grant) right before they leave, and questions of an engagement are abandoned. Mary Anne (Kate Winslet-who was 19 when she did this) also encounters pursuers, one being Colonel Brandon (Alan Rickman), and the other John Willoughby (Greg Wise). One by one, they each learn the lessons of life, love, and relationships, and as the story unfolds, these senses are brought to life.

PICTURE: The picture displays a little reel wear, but its not painful. Some of the scenes, for the original theatrical release, were enhanced by computer, and those scenes are in perfect condition. James (from one of the commentaries) points out a scene that shows the beautiful, red walls, and he comments on how they would look better on DVD than VHS, which actually is true in the picture transfer. You encounter scene after scene of crisp, clear

SOUND: Kate Winslet sings a song in one of the scenes, and her voice is so genuine and pure, and not only is her voice projected well, the song itself is a beautiful interlude that I would love to learn the lyrics to. The composer did a good job on that song. The rest of the soundtrack for this movie is pretty dull, just your basic orchestrated mumbo-jumbo, nothing special.

EXTRAS: If you're an Emma Thompson fan, a Jane Austen fan, or even an Ang Lee fan, you will definitely be entertained by this DVD. Jammed with not only the original theatrical trailer and other Emma Thompson movie trailers, this DVD is surprisingly packed with many other extra features. It includes two commentaries, deleted scenes, Emma Thompson's Golden Globe Acceptance Speech, Production Notes, and, what I think is an added bonus, subtitles for the Eastern countries.

Commentary One: Emma Thompson and producer Lindsay Doran. Emma Thompson mainly talks about her added and deleted scenes from the screenplay and what she was looking for in certain characters and scenes. Lindsay Doran ocassionally gets her helpful insight, but we mostly hear from Emma Thompson. This commentary is entertaining, quite funny, and very informative.

Commentary Two: Ang Lee and James Schamus. Ang Lee points out his "sense" and "sensibility" shots and James Schamus talks about his "profound silence" of certain scenes. Although there are scenes where both are quiet, this commentary is delightfully funny and just as informative as the first commentary.

Deleted Scenes: There are only two featured deleted scenes, and mostly, you can see why they were cut out, however, when you listen to the first commentary, Emma expresses her concerns over one of the deleted scenes, and I think you learn to appreciate the deleted scene more.

Emma Thompson's Acceptance Speech: If any of you recall watching Emma win the Golden Globe for best screenplay, you would remember how clever and witty her speech was. It's hilarious, something I can watch over again as a refresher, and you can see how great a comedian she is along with a great writer and actress.

Subtitles: I thought that the subtitles deserved a little praise, especially since they include not only English and Spanish, but also Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, and Thai.

Menu: I had a little compliant for the menu, the strange shaped curser is sometimes hard to see, and kind of plain. The pictures are all stills, and is it just me, or does Kate Winslet's hair look ridiculous both on the cover and the main menu? Oh well...