Review: Jane Eyre (2006)

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I know, the last review I did was for Jane Eyre (2011) (granted, a long time ago), so you're getting two Jane Eyre reviews in a row. But I had been curious about this version despite its content issues. This one was not available on Netflix, but it was uploaded on YouTube, so I watched it there. This would be Jane Eyre Version #5 that I've seen, so I have plenty of other adaptations to compare to, which can be both a good and a bad thing. On the upside, there is plenty to compare to and any unique aspects of this miniseries would be easily recognizable. The bad side: I already have ideas on how adaptations of Jane Eyre should be (but not that's ever stopped me before). From reading around on other period drama blogs, the impression I had of this version before viewing it all the way through was that the major objection to this version was the content, but that the rest was pretty good, so I tried to keep an eye out for scenes that might have content issues (which did detract from my enjoyment of the miniseries, to be honest) but at the same time watch and see how this adaptation presented the story.

Synopsis
(Synopsis taken from my review of Jane Eyre (1983) )
Young Jane Eyre, an orphan, lives with her rich but cruel Aunt, Mrs. Reed and her cousins at Gateshead Hall until Mrs. Reed sends her away to Lowood School to be educated and be rid of her. Ten years after receiving an education and without connections, Jane becomes a governess at Thornfield Hall to young Adele Varens, the ward of Thornfield's master, Mr. Edward Rochester. Thornfield itself holds many secrets and Mr. Rochester is very mysterious and strange, but Jane eventually falls in love with him.

Review: Jane Eyre (2011)

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Ah, Netflix. What would I do without you? I was a bit curious about the "new" version of Jane Eyre for some time, but I didn't really want to go out and buy it or rent it. For one thing, Jane Eyre isn't my favorite story, and plus the PG-13 rating put me off (mostly because I thought, "What on earth could they put in there for a PG-13 rating?", but more on that later). I hadn't heard great things about this adaptation, but I hadn't heard anything really bad either (in other words, I hadn't heard of people absolutely raving about it, but I didn't hear much of anything bad either). With this being my fourth version of Jane Eyre that I've seen all the way through and having read the book years ago, I'm fairly familiar with the story line and did have some preconceived notions on how the story should pan out. That being said, here is my review of it.

Synopsis

After nearly collapsing, Jane Eyre (assuming the name Jane Elliot) is taken in by the Rivers family and nursed back to health. As the Rivers family learns about her harsh childhood and education at Lowood School, Jane reflects on her time at Thornfield Hall,how she fell in love with its owner, Mr. Rochester, and how she came into the care of the River family.

Review: The Paradise -- Series 2 (2013)

Okay, so I watched Series 2 of The Paradise after I finished watching the first series and intended to review the second series almost right after watching it. Then school happened (like I've said before, it was a brutal semester), so this review got pushed aside along with everything else. But here it is! As you might have noticed, Series 2 has not been released in America yet, but I caught it online and watched it. I really liked Series 1 and, since there was the wedding cliffhanger at the end, I was curious to see what was going to happen next. So, when I found Series 2 online, I simply couldn't resist! So, I was a little disappointed that I didn't get to see what happened immediately when Katherine got jilted at the altar... Or what Lord Glendenning said to Moray about the whole thing... But still! The story continued and there was more drama to come!

Note: This review will contain spoilers from Series 1. If you do not want to read about Series 1 spoilers, I suggest watching Series 1 before reading this review. Here is my review for Series 1 if you are interested.

Synopsis

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After being stripped of his store and sent away to Paris, Mr. Moray returns to The Paradise as a manager determined to buy his store back. The Paradise is now owned by Tom Weston, a former soldier and the new husband of Moray's ex-fiancee, Katherine (née Glendenning), who inherited the store from her father who has, since Series 1, passed on. Meanwhile, Denise and Moray have become engaged and are working together to win The Paradise back. However, this proves to be difficult as Tom Weston is not a man to be trifled with.

Review: The Paradise -- Series 1 (2012)

On the similar path as Mr. Selfridge, The Paradise is another show about a store that came out around the same time as Mr. Selfridge. I've seen around the period drama blogging world that people who have seen both Mr. Selfridge and The Paradise usually prefer one over the other. While I did enjoy the business aspect of Mr. Selfridge, it simply wasn't the best period drama I've seen since the main character was hard to sympathize with (here's my review of Mr. Selfridge if you're interested). Was there a chance that I could prefer The Paradise over Mr. Selfridge? Yes, and I proceeded to find out a couple of weeks ago.

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Synopsis
Denise Lovett arrives at her uncle's drapery shop looking for work. When her uncle, Edmund Lovett, cannot give her work, Denise seeks out a position at The Paradise, the growing department store across the street, much to the chagrin of her uncle who thinks that The Paradise is driving small businesses into bankruptcy. Denise earns a position in the ladies' wear department and immediately excels at her job and shines in the eye of her employer, Mr. Moray, a man with a troubled past.

Review: The Christmas Candle (2013)

Woo! I'm finally back to reviewing! I'm sorry for this (many) months hiatus. Hopefully now, I'll be back to doing reviews more consistently. I have plenty of period dramas that I want to watch, so this will hopefully be the first in a long line of new reviews.

But anyways. I've heard a lot about The Christmas Candle lately, it being the Christmas season and all. I had heard that people seeing the movie (not the critics, however) liked the movie, that the costumes were good, and that it was an overall good, Christian movie. My parents and I went to see it in a theater that was playing it (which which had to do a little bit of driving to since it was only released in selected theaters) and we all watched it together one Sunday afternoon, which happened to be the first day of Advent.

Synopsis

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When Gladbury's minister dies, Lady Camdon of Gladbury invites and persuades a young minister, David Richmond, to fill the position. Upon arriving in Gladbury, David learns of the Christmas Candle story: every twenty-five years, an angel blesses one candle (The Christmas Candle) which is given to one person who is granted a miracle. When David arrives and tries to modernize the town of Gladbury and disprove the story of the Christmas Candle, much to the chagrin of the townspeople, the Christmas Candle goes missing.

Top Ten Period Drama Dresses

What's the one reason why we watch period dramas? Okay the plot is one... Yes, the acting is good... Yes, the heroes are dashing. Okay, so there is more than one reason why we watch period dramas. But one of the most common reasons that we watch period dramas is the costuming. Wouldn't we all love to wear a lot of those fashions that they wore back then today? They were so lovely and elegant! Why don't we wear something like today?

But anyways, we all have our favorite dresses and outfits from period dramas. Here are my top ten favorite period drama dresses.

Review: Little Women (1978)

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After The Inheritance, I finally got to watch this older version of Little Women. I wanted to watch it, but I didn't expect to like it very much. So why did I want to watch it in the first place? I wasn't all that fond of the 1994 movie of it. I've heard bad reviews of it (that it was a poor production). I even admitted that I liked The Inheritance better than Little Women. So why watch this version? One word: Shatner. That's right: Star Trek actor William Shatner is in this version of Little Women. Now I wouldn't classify William Shatner as the greatest actor, but he has such a presence that makes him enjoyable to watch. I was lucky to find this version of Little Women online at Hulu.com. Hulu is a free site if you use it on the computer, but if you want to watch it on your tablet or TV, you have to get a subscription to Hulu Plus.

Synopsis
Adapted from my review of Little Women (1994)
Little Women revolves around the lives of four sisters, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy March, and their mother, Mrs. March [called Marmee]. Mr. March, Mrs. March's husband and Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy's father, is off fighting in the Civil War. Jo March, the main protagonist, becomes quick friends with Theodore "Laurie" Laurence who falls in love with her. 

Review: The Inheritance (1997)

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Another movie that I have been intending on watching, but didn't until yesterday. This movie is an adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's novel, The Inheritance, which was unpublished until 1997. The only Louisa May Alcott period drama that I have seen was Little Women (1994), which I was a bit lukewarm to: I just couldn't get into the story like many of my fellow period drama bloggers for whatever reason. But I still wanted to give The Inheritance a try. I did not know anything about the story or how it ended, so I watched it without any knowledge of what was going to happen next (which is technically the way you're supposed to watch anything). So, here is my review of The Inheritance!

Synopsis
Edith Adelon is the companion to Amy Hamilton, the daughter of Henry and Beatrice Hamilton who took Edith  in when she was orphaned as a baby in Italy. With the arrival of guests at the Hamilton's home of Evanswood, Edith meets one of the guests, James Percy, and falls in love with him. However, husband seeking cousin of Mrs. Hamilton, Ida Glenshaw, has also arrived at Evanswood determined to marry James Percy. Edith must over come the obstacles of social class that separate her and James and those obstacles that are set by Ida.

Review: The Mill on the Floss (1997)

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And now I'm back to reviewing! And for my returning review: The Mill on the Floss. I had seen the 1978 miniseries of it a long time ago, but wasn't very impressed with it. Due to the sad ending, I couldn't really bring my self to like it all that much. I still wanted to see the newer version to see how it would compare, but I didn't have any great expectations for it. But I watched it and I think I did enjoy it at times.

Synopsis
Taken from my review of The Mill on the Floss (1978)
Mill on the Floss follows the story of Maggie and Tom Tulliver, two siblings who live at a mill by a river. When their father, Mr. Tulliver, loses the mill to Mr. Wakem, a lawyer, he suffers a stoke. Mr. Tulliver stays at the mill as Mr. Waken's manager until his death, though he despises working for Mr. Wakem. Meanwhile, Maggie grows fond of Phillip Waken, Mr. Wakem's hunchbacked son.

Guest Post by Analiese: Wives and Daughters Review

I'm doing a guest post for Miss Elizabeth Bennet during her absence, and decided to do a movie review - thank you for having me, Miss Bennet! :D It's full of spoilers, so this is your alert. Here is my review of Wives and Daughters.

Review: Nicholas Nickleby (2002)

This was a movie that was on my list of movies to watch for a quite some time. And after answering the February Tag of the Period Drama Challenge, I felt like I need to watch more Dickens period dramas. Luckily, after they took it down, Netflix's Instant Streaming put Nicholas Nickleby back up again and I was able to watch this without having to buy the movie. So, here's another movie to add to my list of Dickens movies I have seen!

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Synopsis

Nicholas Nickleby, at age nineteen, has become the head of his family after his father dies. In order to provide for his widowed mother and his sister, Kate, Nicholas pleas with his selfish uncle, Ralph Nickleby, to help them. However, Ralph Nickleby sends Nicholas away to work as a teacher at Dotheboys Hall (a dirty school where the students are mistreated) and though he sets Kate up with a job at a dressmaker, he uses her to get business men to go into business with him.

Review: The Pallisers (1974) -- Episodes 20 - 26

And so I present to you my final review of The Pallisers. (Though, in truth, I finished watching it about a month ago). It was a great ride watching it with my mom, and as the 26 episodes drew to a close, I felt a little sorry that it had to end, but at the same time it ended at a good place. Some series tend to be dragged on further than when it should have ended, so I think Anthony Trollope (and by extension the screenplay writers) made a wise decision to end it when they did.

Note: This review contains spoilers from the previous sections. If you do not want to encounter spoilers, do not read this review. I do encourage you to read the first review, the second review, and the third review of The Pallisers, though.

Synopsis

The Pallisers finishes up with the concluding episodes chronicling the events that occur in Anthony Trollope's books, The Prime Minister and The Duke's Children. Plantagenet Palliser, the Duke of Omnium, is raised to the position of prime minister, something which his wife, Lady Glencora, take advantage of socially. Plantagenet and Glencora's children, Lord Silverbridge, Gerald, and Lady Mary Palliser, have grown up and become main characters in The Pallisers and the story focuses on their lives.

Review: Jane Eyre (1983)

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And continuing on my quest to watch 12 - 15 period dramas for the Period Drama Challenge, I present to you my review for Jane Eyre (1983). Up to this point, I had seen two versions of Jane Eyre all the way through and clips from various other versions (this one included). The Jane Eyres I have seen up to this point weren't as accurate to the original story as it could have been, but I had heard good things about this version around the period drama blog world (and the clips I had seen of it reinforced the point). I had seen that this version on Netflix for a while, and I finally watched it over a week.

Synopsis
Young Jane Eyre, an orphan, lives with her rich but cruel Aunt, Mrs. Reed and her cousins at Gateshead Hall until Mrs. Reed sends her away to Lowood School to be educated and be rid of her. Ten years after receiving an education and without connections, Jane becomes a governess at Thornfield Hall to young Adele Varens, the ward of Thornfield's master, Mr. Edward Rochester. Thornfield itself holds many secrets and Mr. Rochester is very mysterious and strange, but Jane eventually falls in love with him.

Review: The Pallisers (1974) -- Episodes 15 - 19

And a Happy Birthday to me! :-D. So on my birthday, I will continue with my Pallisers reviews. And after this, one more Pallisers review and this review series will be complete. But anyways, I've had been enjoying The Pallisers at this point in the series and continued to watch and review it (I have finished it already, but I'm a little behind on the reviews). But enough of that: here's the review for the next part!

Note: This review contains spoilers from the previous sections. If you do not want to encounter spoilers, do not read this review. I do encourage you to read the first review and the second review of The Pallisers, though.

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Synopsis
These episodes of The Pallisers follow the events that happen in the book Pineas Redux in Anthony Trollope's Pallisers series. The story continues to focus on Phineas Finn's and Lizzie Eustace's stories, but slowly brings back Plantagenet and Glencora Palliser's story and chronicles Plantagenet's ascension to dukedom. After loosing his wife and child, the mourning Phineas Finn returns to England to continue his political career. While continuing his friendship with Lady Laura while she is separated from her husband, Phineas Finn makes an enemy out of Laura's husband, Robert Kennedy, who has lost his reason. Meanwhile, Lizzie Eustace has married Reverend Emilius, who treats her poorly and who may still be married to a woman in Prague. Lizzie manages to escape and finds refuge with the Bonteens, Mr. Bonteen being Phineas Finn's political rival.

Review: The Importance of Being Earnest (2002)

Finally, after wanting to watch this movie, I caught it on TV one weekend! I had heard about this movie around the blogging world and wanted to see it for quite some time. I never read The Importance of Being Earnest, but in my one acting class, one group had to do a scene from there, and since it seemed amusing, I'd thought I'd give the movie a try. Plus, it has Colin Firth in it! (Okay, there were also some other period drama actors/actresses that I liked in there as well).

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Synopsis
Friends Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff both lead double lives: Jack pretends to be a man named Ernest while he is in town, but in the country, he goes by his real name, Jack Worthing, and takes care of his eighteen year old ward, Cecily Cardew, and pretends to worry about his brother, Ernest, in London. Algernon/Algy pretends that he has to visit a dying friend in order to get out of plans with his aunt, Lady Bracknell. Jack proposes to Lady Bracknell's daughter, Gwendolen Fairfax, who can only be in love a man named Ernest. Algy, after hearing about Cecily, is determined to meet her and when he does, pretends to be Jack's brother, Ernest, and gains her affection.

Review: The Pallisers (1974) -- Episodes 7 - 14

Here is the next part of my review of The Pallisers. I was quite impressed with the first six episodes and eagerly continued to watch it. I expected the focus to still be on the Palliser family, though maybe not as a main focus, but to my disappointment the Pallisers were there only a little bit. However, there is still focus on a fairly interesting story line in that of Phineas Finn, an Irish politician, which becomes the main focus of these episodes.

Note: Unlike most multi-part period dramas, this review doesn't contain spoilers from the previous section. But I encourage you to read the first review.

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Synopsis
The Pallisers continues with episodes 7 through 14 recounting the events in the next two books in the Pallisers series, Phineas Finn and The Eustace Diamonds. Phineas Finn is an up and coming politician from Ireland that gains popularity quickly, though at times he can be a little naive about his fellow politicians. Later in the episodes, Lizzie Eustace, a recent widow, was given her husband's diamonds as he laid dying, but there is a question as to whether the diamonds actually belong to the estate and whether Lizzie has the right to keep them. Lizzie is determined to keep her diamonds by scheming those around her... until it all goes wrong.

Review: The Pallisers (1974) -- Episodes 1 - 6

My mom and I have started on another series a while ago! This will also be the first period drama that I will be watching for Miss Laurie's Period Drama Challenge (which if you're not participating in, you should be). I'm splitting up the series into multiple reviews since there is so much that is going on, but all the reviews will count as one period drama for the Period Drama Challenge.

But anyways, my mom and I started watching this series a little while ago. We had already seen three period dramas based off of the books of Anthony Trollope and we enjoyed them (some more than others). My mom happened upon this at Amazon and had asked if I had heard of The Palliswers (which I had heard of a while ago) and she bought it for us to watch. We didn't know too much about this series (I knew it had Susan Hampshire in it, who was also in The Barchester Chronicles, and that it was about politics), so we sat down to watch it without knowing very much of it.

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Synopsis
Adapted from The Pallisers series written by Anthony Trollope, the first six episodes follow the events in the first book in the series Can You Forgive Her?. Pressured by her aunt to marry the rich and future duke of Omnium, Plantagenet Palliser, Lady Glencora M'Clusky marries the older Mr. Palliser though she is still in love with the roguish Burgo Fitzgerald. Meanwhile, Glencora's cousin, Alice Vavasor, is engaged to John Grey, but she begins to fall back in love with her cousin, George, who she was engaged to but rejected due to his being unfaithful.

P&P Scene Comparisons: The 1st Proposal

Have you ever done it? Watched multiple versions of a period drama to see how certain scenes were interpreted? There are inevitably favorites; one version can absolutely nail a scene while another version falls flat. Well, in honor of 200 Years of Pride and Prejudice, I have before you all a comparison of Mr. Darcy's first proposal scene from four different versions of Pride and Prejudice! With commentary!

Please note: I do a bit of grilling with most of the versions of the 1st proposal scene below (you all know which one is my favorite!). The commentary is strictly my opinion. You are welcome to comment which version is your favorite and defend your choice; though I may not agree with you, I will certainly respect your opinion! Let's all keep the comments section here professional and good-natured. And remember to have fun with the discussions!

Review: A Christmas Carol (1999)

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And just in time for Christmas! For a special Christmas review, I present you with a review of another version of A Christmas Carol. If you remember, I reviewed in June of 2011 the 2009 movie starring Jim Carrey and gave it a bad review (let's face it, not even Colin Firth could save that movie). But this time (and for Christmas, not in the middle of June like last time), I'm reviewing a version of A Christmas Carol that I could expect more out of: the 1999 version starring Patrick Stewart. I had seen parts of this version, but not the whole thing until last week. So now that I've seen it, I can review it!

Synopsis
Taken from my review of A Christmas Carol (2009)
It's Christmas time and everyone is in a great mood except for Ebenezer Scrooge, a stingy old man who does not like Christmas. On Christmas Eve, Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his former business partner who announces that Scrooge will be visited by three more ghosts.

Thursday: Favorite Late Victorian Outfit (What's Your's?)

Oooh! Favorite Late Victorian Outfit... Not sure if I really have a favorite. Well, this outfit stands out to me:

I love this dress that Hetta wears in The Way We Live Now!

What is your favorite Late Victorian Outfit? Post about it on your blogs or leave a comment!

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 God Bless,