Perfect Cast Combined

I think the complete oposite, only two people were well casted, frank and harriet, as for the rest, they lack of passion and chemestry, I didn't enjoy much this version, wasn't romantic at all and emma was a real disapointment.

Emma Woodhouse - GP version (no contest here, GP was a more likeable Emma)
Mr Knightley - GP version (same reason as above)
Frank Churchill - KB (Ewen McGregor seemed too old in this role, and don't get me started on his hair!)
Jane Fairfax - toss-up (not enough screen time in either version to have an opinion)
Harriet Smith - KB-Samantha Morton seemed to be suitable as Harriet
Mr Elton - GP version
Mrs Elton - GP version
Mr Weston - GP version
Mrs Weston - GP version
Miss Bates - toss-up
-having watched both versions recently, the casting of this role puzzled me exceedingly- exactly how old was she supposed to be in the book anyway?

Final note, I know we're not discussing endings here, but did anyone else think that the ending in the KB version went on too long?

Emma - Kate Beckinsdale

Mr. Knightley - Mark Strong

Frank Churchill - I really thought both Ewan McGregor and Raymond Coulthard were believable, albeit with markedly different portrayals, although I didn't feel there was chemistry between Gwenyth Paltrow and EM (or GP and JN, for that matter).

Jane Fairfax - again, both Polly Walker and Olivia Williams seemed to understand and project the character well

Harriet Smith - Samantha Morton

Mr. Elton - both were good, but Alan Cumming seemed to show more of Mr. Elton's weakness, which would leave him vulnerable to marriage to a woman like the eventual Mrs. Elton

Mrs. Elton - another where both Juliet Stevenson and Lucy Robinson offered great performances; the former's seemed a little more understated (and less of a caricature), and therefore probably my choice, although LR's West Country accent made her that much more easily disliked!

Mr. Weston - James Hazeldine (seemed more compatible with GS's Mrs. Weston, although James Cosmo and SB were a believable couple)

Mrs. Weston - Greta Scacchi and Samantha Bond were both good choices; Greta Scacchi's interpretation of Mrs. Weston's intelligence and composure, and somehow her voice, were more evocative of the Mrs. Weston I imagined from the book

Miss Bates - another instance where both Sophie Thompson and Prunella Scales really nailed the role; they both managed to make her something more than a cartoonish figure.

Overall, I thought the casting and acting was quite good in both movies, but I greatly preferred the screenplay/interpretation of the Kate Beckinsdale version.