The 2008 television adaptation of Sense and Sensibility stars Hattie Morahan, Charity Weakefield, Lucy Boynton, Janet McTeer, Dan Stevens, David Morrissey, Dominic Cooper, Claire Skinner, Mark Gatiss, Mark Williams, Rosanna Lavelle, Anna Madeley, Daisy Haggard, Linda Bassett, and Damien Thomas. Martin Phipps provides the musical score. The presentation is based on the classic Jane Austen novel of the same name. ***

The plot of this version of Sense and Sensibility stays true to the classic novel on which it is based. Two daughters are orphaned when their father passes away. When he passes on, the twosome rents a cottage elsewhere. As they get on with their lives, they experience a variety of romances and heartbreak over the years. ***

The works of Jane Austen have been adapted for television and the big screen countless times, and Sense and Sensibility is no exception. Fortunately, this new BBC take on the classic tale is a triumph. Despite its over three-hour run time, it's a fresh experience from start to finish, and no fan of the classic Austen novel, or romantic drama in general, should be disappointed. ***

There's a great cast on board here, filling the various roles of Austen's classic tale of love and loss. You'd think that being a television-aired series, the cast might not be up to snuff compared to earlier versions of this story. But fear not! Every member of the cast fills these roles nicely. There are great performances throughout the film, from beginning to end. ***

Also worthy of mention is the direction and pacing. The three-hour run time may seem a bit excessive at first glance, but you need as much time as you can to make a classic tale like this come to life. All of the time is put to excellent use, and there is no area that feels like it's dragging or unnecessary. All three hours get put to good use. ***

One other thing worth mentioning is the fact that the writers added in some new scenes to “fill gaps” that were left in the novel. While this may annoy the Austen purists out there, I myself didn't have a problem with it. Everything flows smoothly throughout, and if you didn't know better, you'd swear every scene of this film was in the original novel. ---

Image And Sound:

You'll be delighted to know that the presentation gets a great DVD transfer. The image is pristine and clean throughout, and shows off the excellent cinematography throughout. Sound quality is great as well, and all of the dialogue (which is what the majority of the sound in this film is) comes across clearly. The musical score is also done justice with this DVD presentation of the film. ---

This two-disc set has plenty of features to go around. We get the obligatory crew interviews, with the participants being Andrew Davies and Anne Pivcevic, the screenwriter and producer, respectively. You'll hear their insights into the creation of this reworking of a classic, and while it runs nearly 30 minutes in its own right, it will leave you wanting more. Additionally, if you've got another three hours on your hands, there's a commentary track with a wide array of participants, cast and crew alike. While a bit bland at times, never going too in depth with the source material, you'll probably want to watch it at least once if you're a fan. Also included is an image gallery.

And as if this wasn't already enough, there's a whole second disc devoted to additional bonus features. The main bonus feature included here is the Olivia Williams TV film, Miss Austen Regrets. It's not a great film and it tends to love the human quality that made the author so great in the first place, but it's still decent, and a more-than-worthy extra for an Austen-related set such as this one. The other extra is a radio series, divided into four different segments. This is an enlightening listen for any die-hard fan of Austen's works, though casual fans of the movie may not be able to endure the entire listening experience. But overall, this set has a good mix of extras.

Final Words: