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List Price: $14.99 | | Label: Miramax
Salesrank: 1727
Released: July 11, 2000 |
| Our Price: $7.99 |
| Used Price: $6.71 |
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MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
This fun and sexy comedy tells a timelessly entertaining story where wealth, secret passions, and mischievous women put love to the test ... with delightfully surprising results! When a spirited young woman, Fanny Price, is sent away to live on the great country estate of her rich cousins, she's meant to learn the ways of proper society. But while Fanny learns "their" ways, she also enlightens them with a wit and sparkle all her own! Featuring an exciting ensemble cast of young stars -- you'll join critics everywhere in their overwhelming praise of this smart, playful, and funny hit!
Mansfield Park (1999) Reviews:
Excellent Jane austin movie 
2009-11-06 - Excellent Jane austin movie
I had seen all of the movies here in the Jane Austen's set
so knew I would enjoy it
When I am down I just put in Jane Austin Movie and will feel better by the end of the movie
very good acting and english scenery
Her stories are the best to watch
will watch it over and over
chfancier
Understated Romantic Comedy and Drama 
2009-10-19 - This is another movie with a Jane Austen touch. The story is based on Jane Austen's notes from her journal and diaries.
Set in England in the early 1800's this is a story about a poor, but smart, young girl develops into a strong-willed woman who makes her own destiny. She does not let others do it for her.
The opening scene shows a nine year old Fanny leaving Portsmith by stagecoach. Her mother is sending Fanny to her wealthy sisters' home, Mansfield Park, to be given an education and raised in comfort. We see her mother living in poverty with many children about two years apart. Fannie is raised with her cousins, but not accepted as having the high status of the Mansfield Park family (The Bertrams). She falls in love with her cousin, Edmond, however, he is conflicted during most of the movie and it is not clear he loves her.
Fanny keeps in touch with her family through letters to her sister. She loves to read and write and her intelligence and wit shine through.
There is also soapbox drama when con-artists arrive to the estate. Mary and Henry Crawford want to establish ties with the the Bertram's through marriages so they can inherit some of the fortune and estate. Henry proposed to Fanny, she would not take up his offer. Her Uncle is astonished and sends her home to the slum-living of her family in Portsmith to make her obey.
There are many twists and turns, but the ending is happy.
Ah, Jane Austen
2009-09-29 - Can Jane Austen do no wrong? No, she cannot. At first, I thought this movie dragged. But really it's as it should be since her "Life seems like a quick succession of busy nothings." But really, it got better as it went on, and there was a point where I really didn't know which man I wanted her to end up with! That is rare for Jane Austen movies, which are usually quite predictable but we love seeing how it all unfolds anyway. Now I can watch this movie over and over and still love it!
A different slant on Jane 
2009-09-06 - If you want a "pure" Jane Austen rendition, then this is not the one you should watch. However, if you want a different slant into that time period, with lots of behind-the-back intrique, then buy this one! It kept me captivated throughout the whole movie; first, wondering how Fannie would ever fit in, and then - would she ever find true love? In between, she has to grapple with situations that some might find uncomfortable - for instance, when she comes across Tom's notebook. WARNING! The drawings are VERY GRAPHIC in nature!!! It denotes a time that some would like to forget; but it happened, and there it is. She also has to find her heart and stay true to her own deteremined path. I liked it very much.
One of my all-time favorite movies
2009-08-10 - Let go of your need for an exact retelling of Austen's novel and you will love this movie. The flawless acting, directing, whimsical editing and music, settings, etc. are all extraordinary.
At their core, Austen's novels are all "cautionary tales that end happily for those who follow the rules [of an ordered world and polite society] and badly for those who don't." As in the book, the story is centered on Fanny Price, modest, reserved (except with her cousin Edmund) and courageously and steadfastly moral. Yes, there are some added background stories, "moods" and character variations in this movie, but it is absolutely true to Austen's core theme.
Consider the added background story of slavery. In Austen's England, slavery was a highly charged political issue and not universally considered a black and white moral issue. Today, thank God, it is. We know that Austen's novels didn't deal with political issues, but in today's world to watch a movie that blithely referred to, and in so doing condoned, Sir Thomas Bertram's business in the West Indies would have been a bit painful (even considering the morals of the period) when we now know that the West Indies were at the heart of the slave trade and rife with many of the most inhumane practices. So the addition worked for me. It felt consistent with the theme of condemning what is bad and upholding good. Not very Austen in subject or mood, but entirely in theme. What's more, few Austen movies do justice to Austen's wit. The writing and directing of the last scene - sharing final glimpses of the lives of each of the characters - captured her wit perhaps better than any scene in any other Austen film I can think of.
The acting is uniformly excellent, but there are performances, such as Embeth Davidtz as Mary Crawford and Harold Pinter as Fanny's uncle, that are truly Oscar-worthy. And there are scenes, such as when Mary Crawford fully reveals her flexible morals and Fanny's judgment is vindicated, that I could watch over and over, they are so perfectly constructed. In short, I love this movie.
