Emma (1996 TV film)
| Emma | |
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VHS cover
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| Directed by | Diarmuid Lawrence |
| Produced by | Sue Birtwistle |
| Written by | Andrew Davies |
| Based on |
Emma by Jane Austen |
| Starring |
Kate Beckinsale Samantha Morton Samantha Bond Mark Strong |
| Music by | Dominic Muldowney |
| Distributed by |
United Film and Television A&E Television Network Meridian Broadcasting |
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Release date
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Running time
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107 minutes |
| Language | English |
| Budget | £2.5 million |
Jane Austen's Emma is an adaptation of the 1815 novel of the same name. It was adapted for the British television network ITV in 1996, directed by Diarmuid Lawrence and dramatised by Andrew Davies, the same year as Miramax's film adaptation of Emma starring Gwyneth Paltrow. This production of Emma stars Kate Beckinsale as the title character, and also features Samantha Morton as Harriet Smith and Mark Strong as Mr. Knightley.
Davies had recently adapted another Austen novel as the successful 1995 television serial Pride and Prejudice for BBC when he proposed to adapt the novel Emma for the network. BBC had already made such an agreement with another screenwriter however, leading Davies to approach ITV.
Emma received generally positive reviews from critics, who believed it to be superior to the 1996 Miramax film. Most focused on Beckinsale's performance as a positive highlight. It aired on ITV on the 24 November 1996 and garnered an estimated 12 million viewers. It also was broadcast on the American channel A&E in 16 February 1997.
Miss Emma Woodhouse of Hartfield lives in the small town of Highbury, and is young, pretty, and rich. Though she has decided she will never marry, Emma takes credit for matchmaking her friend and former governess, Miss Taylor, to the widower Mr. Weston. Emma decides to organize marriages for others of her acquaintance, despite friendly warnings not to meddle from Mr. Knightley, who is both an old friend, her brother-in-law, and the wealthy owner of Donwell Abbey. Emma resolves to marry her new friend, a pretty orphan named Harriet Smith, to the young parish priest Mr. Elton. This fails once Emma realizes to her horror that Elton desires to marry her instead.
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