Kate's version Vs. Gwyneth
I prefer Kate's
shareDEFINATELY GWYNETH!!!
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MovieChat Forums > Emma (1997) Discussion > Kate's version Vs. Gwyneth
gweneths.
shareI like both versions. For me they each play on different themes within the book. I find the "Hollywood" version a sumptuous, over-the-top period piece with talented eye-candy making the most of the absurd & comic aspects of the story: like Emma's continuous misadventures in match-making, delight in gossipping & misguided snobbery. Only Jane Austen can make such an obnoxious character likeable, because we DO end up liking Emma, in spite of her faults (not unlike Mr. Knightly). I love the A&E (sorry, am a North American) version of Emma for it's faithfulness to the book and for it's superior casting. The characters of Frank Churchill, Harriet Smith & Jane Fairfax in particular are wonderfully rendered. It's funny how the Mrs. Bates character is played much the same in both versions, no? I can (and do) watch both versions over and over again. My biggest disappointment of either versions is Frank Churchill's hair in the Hollywood rendition - just gawd awful! Poor Ewan. I suppose the bad hockey-hair of the Star Wars movies pales in comparison. As for Kate & Gwyneth... well, I like them both very, very much. If I am forced to choose one performance over the other, I'll go for Gywneth's because of the absurd playfulness she brought to the character. She was elegant, childish, stubborn and in the end enlightened (well, at least as much as a rich, country lady could possibly be in 1806 I suppose).
shareKate was so much more beautiful..
shareI think she did a good job in this role. I saw Gwyneth's too but I prefer the image of Kate as Emma.
shareI prefer the Kate version. I teach this novel to a community college class, and watched and thought about the two films carefully before I decided on this one to show in class. The reasons are
1) Gwyneth is delightful, but her version glosses up the character, Hollywood- style--makes Emma more consistently charming and likeable than Austen intended, and so plays down Emma's development as a human being-- from a bright and well-meaning, but also snobbish, self-important and stubborn adolescent, into a kinder, more generous and self-aware young woman. Kate does this a lot better.
2) This version does a better job of depicting the social context of the story--class differences and living conditions. This makes it a better choice for students who are reading 19th-century fiction for the first time.
--Annie
Alicia's! "Clueless"
Come read the site: http://www.FeralFiction.com
Yes, I agree. I feel the Kate's version was more concerned with historical details than the Gwynneth's one.
As far as faithfulness to the novel development goes, the film focuses too much on the Harriet-Elton-Emma interaction and simply glosses over Jane Fairfax and Frank Churchill, though it is an important part in the novel. Jane is an important person in the novel, not least as a sort of example Emma should follow. In the film, we only get two or three glimpses of her. On the other hand, she's perfectly portrayed (or so I thought) in the TV film.
The social status of Mr Knightley is also overlooked in the film. Robert Martin hardly looks any different from the other gentlemen.
The TV film gives a better overview of the novel than the film, but therefore covers the Harriet-Elton-Emma interaction in less details.
Maybe a TV film in several parts (like A & E's Pride and prejudice) would have been better. It's a much longer book than P and P.
However I felt Gwynneth played a better Emma : she's supposed to be so charming in the book (and also I seem to remember, she's a blonde.)
I liked Kate's version way better. Somehow, Gwyneth didn't seem to fit the role of Emma that well, at least for me she didn't.
And I thought Kate's version had a better storyline.. one that is similar to the actual book.
I'm watching the final scenes of the Kate version and the credits are about to roll. There are faint moments but its absolutely a disaster compared to the movie. The character of Emma's so unlikable I really couldn't pull up the usual sighs of happiness that come with an amazing romance. I kept watching just because I wanted to compare the whole thing and I'd been looking forward to having seen both. There are two hours of my life I'd like back please. Poor Samantha Morton wasting herself on this.
Emma's Jane Austen's favorite character, she said so but she felt we might not like her the same way she did. I thought Gwyneth seemed more like the character that Austen thought we might not appreciate as much as she did but it has the humor and romance.
And the very end of the tv version? So weird and random geez...Emma made that up to trick her father, not really a good scene here anyway, and it shouldn't have actually been shown happening. It's like 'oh here's a shocking new plot development...but we're gonna just end it right here on a bad note.' I hated this and really wanna go watch something that's not a dour drama in romantic comedy's clothing.
Actually, Jane Austen said that she was sure people would not like the character of Emma - she was wrong.
And the chicken thing at the end was actually in the book. This version was truer to the book on the whole if that's what people are interested in.
I liked Kate's version better.
Kate's version for me too.
I actually really like Gwyneth and had she been surrounded by a better support cast then it could have gone a lot better.
But I couldn't stand the roly-poly-Harriet; she should have been naive and innocent, not just stupid.
Forgive me - I just pictured Harriet, and indeed most of the other characters, much like they were in the Kate version. Admittedly this makes it difficult to focus on the original question (Kate vs Gwyneth), but if I ignore everything else I still prefer Kate's portrayal of Miss Woodhouse.
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I haven't seen kate's version. gwyneth, tho i did not think fit the part of emma. I love jane austen. GP version of Harriet i didn't think fit either. and GP's version also ignored, i think, how huge a person Mr. Knightly was in the community. It also didn't portray how good of friends Frank Churchill and Emma were and how much they flirted with each other.
Mostly i'm writing this to tell you that Austen never says anything specific about Emma physically. It never says blonde or burnette, so you can imagine her which ever way you want. When i read the book i imagined her burnette, but then, I'm a burnette. so you know - whatever floats your boat.
I like them both, but prefer the A&E version b/c I HATE fake British accents and the Hollywood version, was just that...too Hollywood!
shareKate is definitely better then Gwyneth ! Cuter too !!! :)
P.S. Gwyneth is a great actress, movies like Shakespeare in Love or Proof prove it
I concur.
"I fancy you forgot to pedal."
I prefer Kate's as well. I've watched both as well as have read the book and the Gwyneth version just didn't cut it for me. They tried to make it funny with abrupt changes in scene and an insouciant, flighty Emma. Gwyneth's portrayal made it seem that Emma is false and completely insincere. She did not seem to care for Harriet at all. Reminds me exactly of Clueless actually. Kate actually gave Emma some depth, a well meaning girl who actually IS thinking of the others welfare, and is only misguided in her attempts. Her jealousy of Jane Fairfax is also more well founded. The storyline flowed smoothly from the beginning to the conclusion.
shareKATE'S!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Without hesitation... I was always postponing to see the Gwyneth one, I know you can't judge a book by it's cover, well in this case a movie by the dvd cover, so I finally made my mind and rented it and I just finished watching it and I can really stick now to my choice: Kate's. First, I agree with many of you about the "correct" context and being more faithful to the book, also I would like to add that in my opinion, Gwyneth didn't seem to be as inmature as the character was intended (that's how I percibed it from the book) and you can really see Kate growing as her character. You can see the relationship she had with Mr. Knightley, he really cares about her, that's why he does get angry and feel bad for emma in several ocasions. Also, I think they first focused way too much time in Mr. Elton and Harriet, that when they went for the picnic they rushed everything, they skipped some parts, you can never tell why emma was so worried about hurting harriet only by knowing she had danced with knightley, instead of the several times she walked with him and other hints. I think Gwyneth's movie if for people who really don't care much about "period drama" or Austen's novels, it's supposed to be a hollywood period-chick-flick, and I think they succeded in that.
...only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you!
I prefer both but more so Gwyneth's version. Don't get me wrong, this one was great as well, but I don't think it was wise so to speak for this one to have come out at the same time as the theatrical one.
ANIMAL LOVERS UNITE
I prefer Kate's. Maybe it's just because, when I read the book, I pictured a brunette..not blond. Oh well. I love Emma. As long as it goes by the book I am ok. I didn't hate Gwyneth's version but I do LOVE Kate's version.
We are all fools in love ~Pride & Prejudice~
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