Posted by Kali on June 27, 1997 at 13:21:15:
In reply to Re: EMMA 1972 posted by Laraine on June 26, 1997 at 11:02:23
...it seems like the really best adaptations have sparkle, magic, that certain something that isn't necessarily connected to their faithfulness to the book.
I agree, though I think that Emma1 had a sparkle, if not magic, that transcended the department stor fluorescence of the BBC studios. Certainly, there are some that would argue that Emma is not really about magic or kismet or anything metaphysical...it's about reality and truth and practicality.
I think Emma1 captured the reality without losing the sparkle, though it isn't so magical as my Emma2. Sure, John Carson isn't Jeremy, but he was very believeable - kind and sensitive...and certainly not old or ugly! Doran Godwin was very proper and straightlaced, as the highly respected Emma Woodhouse should be. And Mrs. Elton was wonderfully sex-crazed...as far as I'm concerned, the only version that completely three-dimensionalized Mrs. Elton was Emma1.
Oh, and Emma1, despite its length, didn't get absolutely everything in...it ommitted the alphabets.