Emma 1972

If ever you decide to watch this version you need to understand that it is close to six hours long! So plan your time accordingly. Also, make sure you plan a break in the middle and that you've had a good night's sleep, otherwise your movie watching experience will not be as successful as it could have been. We did not plan accordingly, so it took us three nights.


That being said, this is probably the most faithful version to the book. Although, in that amount of time they should have had plenty of time to put every scene in the book in it! This is not my favorite version. This was the second time I watched it and it was much better than I had remembered from my first viewing.

This is one of the prettiest pictures of Emma. I love the fur-lined cape! My biggest issue with her is that she was hard to warm to. There was just something about her that rubbed me the wrong way. It didn't help that she had the ugliest hair-dos of the all of the actresses in the movie.

Mr. Elton and Miss Smith at their first meeting in Hartfield.

Jane Fairfax, Mr. Knightley and Emma. I remembered Mr. Knightley as being very unattractive in the version, but on the second viewing I was not so disappointed in his looks. He's no Jeremy Northam or Johnny Lee Miller, but he's not wholly without charm. Jane is by far the prettiest female in the cast, followed closely by Harriet. I found it so ironic when Emma and Frank were making fun of Jane's hairdo at the ball. Emma's hair never looked half as good as Jane's!

Isabella and John Knightley (who's in the background). I'm glad that Isabella is not in many scenes in the movie, especially this actress. She totally annoys me.

Frank Churchill carrying the blank for the Box Hill expedition. In every movie I dread the Box Hill confrontation, so I'm a little prejudiced to begin with. In this version when Emma makes fun of Miss Bates, several people in the party laugh out loud. It really rather lessened the awkwardness of the whole scene.

Jane (in the front), Mr. Knightley, Emma, Mr. Woodhouse, Mr. Elton, Mrs. Elton and Mrs. Weston (aka Miss Taylor). Can you see the points on Mrs. Elton's dress? She looks kind of like a shark! I find all of the nick/pet names she has for Mr. Elton rather humorous. Mr. Woodhouse in the version certainly got on my nerves. He was so worried all of the time and everyone dotes on him, but at the end of the movie all of the sudden he's caring for Emma. It was a bizarre change in his character.

Emma and Mr. Knightley. This was the scene where he proposes to her. What should be the most romantic moment in the movie and yet, it was not. There were things I liked about it - Emma grabbing his hand to stop him and then when he sits down to propose he sits much closer than he had before. It was just missing the passion! The scene has much potential, but this rather missed the mark.

All in all this isn't a bad version of Emma, and like I said before, it is the most accurate. If you like the story and can handle a slow moving film, this would not be a bad choice. However, if you're just looking for a taste of the story, this is way to much. I think I like the other versions better than this one.