FirstWitch A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Roxie The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Francene Odetta It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

gavin6942 Emma Woodhouse (Kate Beckinsale) has a rigid sense of propriety as regards matrimonial alliances. Unfortunately she insists on matchmaking for her less forceful friend, Harriet, and so causes her to come to grief.Inevitably, this must be compared to the other "Emma", starring Gwyneth Paltrow, as they came out around the same time. For what it is worth, I think they both have their strengths. Paltrow's "Emma" has the benefit of a bigger budget, so everything looks better and makes for a stronger film. Beckinsale's "Emma" looks cheap, but has one thing in its favor: Beckinsale, who seems to really get into the character.Both have the familiar lines (I'm sure neither deviated too far from the novel). Had Beckinsale been cast in the Paltrow version, we may have seen the ultimate presentation of this literary classic.

TheLittleSongbird Having been a fan of Jane Austen and of Emma since GCSEs, I was eager overtime to see as many adaptations as possible. Aside from the loose, contemporary spin of the story in Clueless, a fun film full of energy, I've seen four versions. My least favourite is the Gwyneth Paltrow film, though I still like it very much for the beautiful cinematography and witty screenplay. I also love the 1972 and 2009 mini-series, the 1972 series had the best Frank Churchill and 2009 the best Mr Woodhouse, but after re-visiting it after years of just having fond memories of it I consider this 1996 TV film the best version. It is beautifully photographed, with some of the loveliest costumes and scenery of any period adaptation I've seen recently. And I loved the emphasis on the classes after seeing adaptations like 2007's Mansfield Park where they don't get enough attention, and didn't actually find it too heavy-handed. The music is effective in how simple in melody and orchestration it, the story is charming and evenly-paced and the writing is controlled and has wit and charm throughout. Kate Beckinsale looks absolutely radiant as Emma, just as much as she did in 1993's Much Ado About Nothing, it helps that she's young and she leaves room for her character Emma, a flawed and multifaceted character, to grow. Mark Strong is a perfect Knightley, not as dashing as Jeremy Northam or Jonny Lee Miller, but still gentlemanly, handsome and compassionate. Bernard Hepton is perfect as the funny if tiring Mr Woodhouse, Samantha Morton is a firm Harriet and Raymond Coulthart is very magnetic as Frank Churchill. Olivia Williams, Prunella Scales, Samantha Bond and Lucy Robinson are also excellent. All in all, my favourite Emma, I agree the ending is a little too friendly, but other than that this is great. 9/10 Bethany Cox

David Joseph Smith The character of "Emma" is Jane Austen's least mature and least wise of Austen's heroines. Unlike Elizabeth Bennet, for example, Emma Woodhouse comically imagines herself as other than what she is and other than others perceive her. The story depends on her foolish judgments of others and herself. The ensemble is superb - confident performances that subtlety create a canvas that contrasts the decorous with the foolish. Mr. Woodhouse, Emma's father, steals every scene he is in. So funny. My favorite performance was Mark Strong's "Mr. Knightley." Strong's performance in "Emma" was, for me, what Colin Firth's was, as Mr. Darcy, in "Pride and Prejudice." Spot on. My only disappointment with the production was with Ms. Beckinsale's "turning" at the end of the story. Her character is supposed to discover something about herself that should have been foreshadowed from the beginning of the story. Ms. Beckinsale's epiphany was, however, unsatisfying. It must be difficult to portray such a metamorphosis. I've seen 2 other productions and their "Emmas" were no more successful and, perhaps less so. You see, I've watched this production 3 times and will do so again and no other. Well done. Well done, indeed.

toast-15 This is the best Emma in existence in my opinion. Having seen the other version (1996) which is also good, and read the book, I think I can safely say with confidence that this is the true interpretation and is the most faithful to Jane Austen's masterpiece. The 1996 movie with G. Paltrow is good too, it's just that it's almost like a different story altogether. It's very light and fluffy, you don't see the darker edges of the characters and if you just want a pleasant movie, that one would do fine but the intricacies of some of the plot points, such as the Churchill/Fairfax entanglement is so much glossed over as to be virtually non-existent. But if you want the characters fleshed out a bit, more real and multidimensional, the 1996 TV version is the superior. Emma is a remarkable person, but she is flawed. Kate Beckinsale is masterful at showing the little quirks of the character. You see her look casually disgusted at some of the more simple conversation of Harriet Smith, yet she shows no remorse for having ruined Harriet's proposal until that action has the effect of ruining her own marital happiness at the ending. You see her narcissism and it mirrors Frank Churchill's in that they would do harm to others to achieve their own aims. For Emma, it was playing matchmaker and having a new friend to while away the time with after having suffered the loss of her governess to marriage. For Frank Churchill, it is securing the promise of the woman he loves while treating her and others abominably to keep the secret. In the book, she realizes all of this in a crushing awakening to all the blunders she has made. Both Kate Beckinsale and Gyneth Paltrow are convincing in their remorse but Paltrow's is more childlike and stagnant while Beckinsale's awakening is rather real and serious and you see the transition from child-like, selfish behavior to kind and thoughtful adult. Both versions are very good but I prefer this one.