Classics (Austen/Brontë/Dickens) which film or TV adaptations are best?

[redpickle]

DD is 13 (yr 9) and covered A Christmas Carol at school last term, when she wanted to watch an adaptation on screen I recommended the very best which,of course, is The Muppets. She's now asking about Wuthering Heights but I've no idea which version to suggest? There's a few on Netflix and Prime.
She's a hopeless romantic and I think she would enjoy the Brontë stories too so I'd welcome opinions on the best adaptations of Sense and Sensibility etc too as there are so many! She's a lapsed reader and Wuthering Heights has sparked her interest again (I suspect it's all the passion and young love) so I'm hoping watching some of these will help her turn to the books (optimistic).

I love the Barchester Chronicles with Alan Rickman

His first big tv role, I think. Certainly the first thing I remember seeing him in.

I’d recommend North and South - 2004 version.

There was a good one call Ed ‘The way we live now’ around the same time.

What about some Thomas Hardy? Tess of the Durbervilles with Eddie Redmayne as a young Angel Clare is good. There was a good Far From the Madding Crowd in TV over Christmas which was at cinema a couple of years ago.

Yes to some Edith Wharton - The Bucaneers was a fab serial oerhaos 20 years ago. The film version of The Age of Innocence is fantastic.

You could also go for the TV versions of the Mitford books - Love in a Cold Climate/Pursuit of Love or for comedy Cold Comfort Farm with Tara Fitzgerald .

I adore it when a new Sunday night period drama is advertised. Still can’t beat the 90s version of P and P. It looks a little dated now in some of its camera work, but it is still wonderful.

the jane eyre where samantha morton played jane.
may have been a made for tv film. or series ?
anyway, she was the best i've seen.

I love the 2 late 90s/ early 2000s adaptations of David Copperfield - the BBC one with Daniel Ratcliffe as young David and Nicholas Lyndhurst as a wonderfully creepy Uriah Heep. Also, US one with Sally Field as the Aunt. It also has Michael Richards as Mr Macawber. He plays him exactly like Kramer from Seinfeld. It may not be everyone's cup of tea, mind!

Agree - Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds in Persuasion are the tops. A subtle novel and they do it with such sensitivity. Also, he's v dashing, and the way she has moral authority that later accommodates romance in spite of all is quite wonderful.

I find Emma Thompson rather irritating as an actor, but her Sense and Sensibility is a really good and faithful adaptation of the book. A real achievment. Kate Winslet and Greg Wise also excellent.

Alan Rickman and many others of the cast so, so good in the Barchester Chronicles.

I love the Emma with Kate Beckinsale and Mark Strong - miles better IMO than the Hollywood version.
Also the Persuasion with Amanda Root.

Whoever said the old B&W Rebecca, I’ll second that - it’s a classic.
Ditto the David Lean Great Expectations.

Thanks @upinaballoon I don't think I've ever seen that version of Emma so have put it on record

@Vampiremockumentary

Jane Eyre with Ruth Wilson and Toby Stephens.

I was coming on to say this, it’s by far the best adaptation I’ve seen. She’s such a good Jane.

So many good adaptions mentioned already.

I really enjoyed the 90s tv series adaption of Far From the Madding Crowd. It had Nathaniel Parker as Gabriel Oak. Prefer it to the more recent film as the story really had time to develop. The film felt a bit rushed.

Little Dorrit was on TV a few years ago - that was a good adaption too. Claire Foy was in it as well as Matthew Macfayden

Agree that the most recent version of Emma felt a bit, off. I liked the 2009 tv version with Romola Garai.

Of course nothing beats BBC Pride & Prejudice or Emma Thompson’s Sense & Sensibility (despite her being WAAAAY too old for the part!)

I like the BBC production of Death Comes To Pemberley if you think she’d enjoy a follow up story.

I quite liked the 2009 version of Wuthering Heights (Charlotte Riley/Tom Hardy) but it’s a bloody depressing tale of abusive relationships.

I think I'm the only person whose favourite adaption of Jane Eyre is the Zeliah Clarke & Timothy Dalton one c.1983. I would argue that Dalton is too handsome to play Rochester but he's an amazing actor in this version which more than makes up for the oversight as well as being bloody gorgeous IMO.

@WhatICallMyUsername

Thanks *@upinaballoon* I don't think I've ever seen that version of Emma so have put it on record

Awww pants I just googled it and I have seen that version, I didn't know her name though! Will still watch it again!

The Forsythe Saga is good. Not sure the books are a classic, but it’s good.

What about some EM Forster? The Merchant Ivory films were good.

Cranford was good.

I think it’s a classic, but probably won’t last the test of time, but Larkrise to Candleford was a lovely series and represented the books well.

What about some EM Forster? The Merchant Ivory films were good.

I loved the 1985 A Room With a View. The acting and scenery were both wonderful. Far superior to the 2000s miniseries where George dies in WWI and Lucy goes back to Italy and it's implied that she gets together with a carriage driver she met all those years earlier.

Having Julian Sands in the Merchant Ivory film also helped!

Different authors but can I throw in Tess of the Durbervilles (1998 PG or
2008 darker if I remember correctly) and Larkrise to Candleford.

Death Comes to Pemberley is great although it's PD James rather than Austen. I prefer the film adaptation of Pride & Prejudice though, Matthew Macfayden plays Darcy as I imagine him. I also liked the remake of Brideshead revisted. I watched Cranford recently and it was really lovely.