Search - Mansfield Park on DVD

Mansfield Park

Actor(s): Frances O'Connor, Jonny Lee Miller, Alessandro Nivola, Embeth Davidtz, Harold Pinter
Director(s): Patricia Rozema
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Movie Details

MPAA Rating: PG-13
Content Advisory: Violence, Sexual Situations
Movie Release: 1998
DVD Release: 07/11/2000
Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
Audio Tracks: English, French
Subtitles: English
SwapaDVD Credits: 1
Number of Discs: 1
Run Time: 1 hrs 52 mins
Studio: Miramax
Members Wishing: 71
Genres: Comedy Drama, Romance, Romantic Drama, Period Film, Feminist Film

DVD Synopsis

Freely adapted from a novel by Jane Austen, this period drama is set in the early 1800s, as a girl named Fanny (Hannah Taylor Gordon) is being raised by loving but desperately poor parents. Wanting a better life for Fanny, they send her away to live with her aunts, high-minded Mrs. Norris (Sheila Gish) and drug-addicted Lady Bertram (Lindsay Duncan), who share an estate called Mansfield Park. Fanny joins the family at Mansfield Park, which includes Lady Bertram's husband Sir Thomas (Harold Pinter), who made his money in slaves and West Indian plantations; Sir Thomas's son Tom (James Purefoy), an alcoholic; Tom's intelligent younger brother Edmund (Jonny Lee Miller); and his two sisters, Julia (Justine Waddell) and Maria (Victoria Hamilton). Fanny soon makes friends with Edmund, though she's shown little respect by the rest of the family. In time, Fanny grows to adulthood (now played by Frances O'Connor) and gains skill and poise as a horsewoman while developing her skills as an author. When the stylish but secretive siblings Henry and Mary Crawford (Alassandro Nivola and Embeth Davidtz) arrive at Mansfield Park, romantic sparks begin to fly; the two sisters fight over Henry, while Mary is soon engaged to wed Edmund -- to the disappointment of Fanny, who has fallen in love with him. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Actors

Frances O'Connor - Fanny Price
Jonny Lee Miller - Edmund Bertram
Alessandro Nivola - Henry Crawford
Embeth Davidtz - Mary Crawford
Harold Pinter - Sir Thomas Bertram

Editorial Review of DVD

The raciest Jane Austen adaptation this side of Clueless, Mansfield Park gets a fine showcase on this Miramax DVD. Beautifully shot by Michael Coulter, the look of the theatrical feature is retained on a sparkling anamorphic widescreen transfer. Coulter also lensed the Austin adaptation Sense and Sensibility, and it's interesting to note that the look and texture of both films are completely different. The audio transfer is in Dolby Digital 5.0 and the sound is full and well balanced. The disc contains a short featurette on the making of the movie but the real DVD extra is writer/director Patricia Rozema's audio commentary. Besides discussing the technical and artistic challenges of making the movie, the Canadian Rozema brings up why she decided to work elements from Jane Austen's early writings and actual life into the movie. A more faithful (but somewhat less interesting) adaptation of the same novel was made in 1985 but it has yet to be released on DVD. ~ Nick Dedina, All Movie Guide

Member Movie Reviews

Sara C. (SarithaAnn) wrote on 12/7/2008...

Mansfield Park starts with a young Fannie Price being sent away from her poverty stricken family to live with her Aunt and well to do cousins. It quickly becomes clear that Fannie is not thought of as a person of equal status at her new home. Sir Thomas says to his young daughters of Fannie as soon as she arrives...."You girls must never be arrogant towards her. She is not your equal but that must never be apparent to her." Fannie escapes into writing and books in order to cope with her new life. She also starts a friendship with her cousin Edmund.
The movie then quickly moves to a 20-something? Fannie and the melodrama begins. This is also where the movie starts losing a lot of its charm that it had started with. The main plot of the movie moves to the unwed adults trying to figure out who they will place themselves with. The problem I had with trying to connect with all the "coupling" was that almost all the potential matches are first cousins. I understand that in 1809 it was likely not rare for first cousins to pair up, but in this day and age it is generally thought of as indecent. Maybe my own prejudice clouded my judgement..but I just could not feel the romance that was trying to be created for any of the characters. This movie started out with a whole lot of charm and then just slowly progressed into doom and gloom.
I never read the Jane Austen novel that inspired this film...but if the book is anything like the movie, I think I will take a pass on reading the novel.