TV Time: ****A Dinner of Herbs

This was available on Netflix instaview.  It is British so I assume it is BBC, but I am not sure.  It tells the story of three young people.  Mary Ellen loves Roddy, Roddy loves himself and Hal loves Mary Ellen.  Roddy and Hal share a similar fate in that both their fathers are murdered by the same man.  Roddy was there, but was thrown off a cliff and has amnesia.

This movie shows three time periods, when they are boys of age twelve, later as young men, and then 25 years later.  It is a show about the effect of bitterness and revenge, and coming to terms with the past; which is sometimes hard to do.  This is a very nice story, and the characters are great.  Mary Ellen has a certain spunk, and the actress changes three time, but the spunk is evident with all three.  It is very well done in that regard.

I would recommend this movie to others if you have the chance to see it.  It is a miniseries with 6 almost one hour sections.

Movie Night: *****^Pride and Prejudice

My most favorite movie of all time is the Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth, 1995, Pride and Prejudice British Television Drama.  This is a six part portrayal of the Jane Austen classic.  I finished viewing it for the upteenth time this past weekend.  I must admit I prefer it to all other versions of Pride and Prejudice, including the Mormon version, the Keira Knightly version, or older versions I have seen.

As I watched, I tried to figure out why I like this presentation so much.   I think it is the feisty nature of Miss Elizabeth Bennett.  However I must admit, the mother of the family intrigues me as well.  Her attitude I find humorous, and human.  The father also is humorous, but in a different way. 

I am thrilled with the reaction of Elizabeth Bennet to the first marriage proposal from Mr Darcy.  When she reacts to him with a flat refusal and says that nothing would tempt her, even if he had "behaved in a more gentlemanly manner."  And then to watch people change thrills me.  Bot Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy change, and the most beautiful love blossoms in the end.

I think the real reason I like this so much, is because it always leaves me feeling good in the end.  After watching this movie, that happy buzz stays wit me for a few days.

Movie Night: ***North & South

Here is another movie I found when I was in a Jane Austen mood.  This presentation is also in the Victorian Era like Jane Austen.  This is not the "North and South" dealing with the Civil War.  It is a BBC movie based on the novel by Elizabeth Gaskell.  The major characters are played by Daniela Denby-Ashe and Richard Armitage.  (If you watch BBC Robin Hood he plays Guy Grisbane)  I watched this four-part series on Netflix Instant Movies.  It was presented in 2004. 

It is different than Jane Austen movies as it is darker and has a more naturalistic flavor.  It is about a family that leaves the more agrarian lifestyle in Southern England, and moves north.  It presents the conditions of the mill workers in Northern England.  It is a very realistic period piece presenting the premature death of those working in the mills.

The story revolves around the relation between Maraget Hale, daughter of the family and John Thorton who owns a mill.  The relationship develops very much like a Jane Austen novel. 

I would recommend this movie to those who like British period drama.

Movie Night: **^Persuasion, 1995

This is a BBC version of the classic Jane Austin story.  It stars Ciaran Hinds and Amanda Root.  As I watched this movie, it made we wonder how British aristocracy ever married.  First you had to find someone you loved, and then you had to get the approval of your family, which was not always easy.

This story presents the re-meeting of Captain Frederick Wentworth and Anne Elliot, who had fallen in love several years before, but she turned him down as a suitor because of the insistence of her mother that he was not suitable.  Several years later he is more financially suitable, while her own family has hit on hard times, and had to rent out some of their property.  They rented their home who turns out to be the brother-in-law of Mr. Wentworth, and thus the circumstance of their coming into contact again.


The story presents the formality of courtship, and the intrigue of other relationships, and because of these they almost miss each other.