Reader Question #11: My Favorite Non-Period Drama Films

Finally, I'm restarting Reader Questions! I've felt bad about slacking off on Reader Questions, but I'm glad that I can finally restart them again! Make sure that if you think of a question that you comment it in somewhere; I try to answer all of them, but if I can't come up with a good-sized post about it, I'll comment back with my short answer.

This question (and a bunch of others!) comes from Charity from Austenitis. Charity asks:

I have to ask...what non-period-drama films are your favorites?

Suggestions for Post Topics! (Read & Comment, please)

So, I'm calling for reader suggestions! What I would like to write posts about would be something like analyzing a period drama (or period dramas). For example, how Melody at Regency Delight made a post about who the villain in Emma is. So the question that I am asking is:

What question(s) on a period drama (or period dramas) would you pose to me to answer in a decent length post?

I am putting up a few rules, though (just to avoid any confusion later):

1. I will of course try to answer as many questions as I get, but keep in mind that I might not be able to answer them all for a couple of reasons. First, I could get a lot of questions and would simply have to pick and choose. Second, there are just some subjects that I don't have much to say on (or in other words, I have a one word answer and that's it :-P).

2. If I feel uncomfortable answering a question or if I feel like a question will make my readers uncomfortable, then I will not answer it. This mostly applies to topics of a mature nature (so those questions better be G or PG rated).

3. If you have a question that might not be an analysis question but simply want my opinion on a period drama or what not, feel free to ask it. Just keep rules 1 and 2 in mind and keep it respectful and clean.

Can't wait to see what you all ask!

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 God Bless,

Sink Me If You Can't Guess This Jeopardy Question

On yesterday's Jeopardy show, there was a question that I'm sure many of my followers would get. It gave me a little smile as I guess correctly:

Seeing Shades of Red

An English aristocrat took this title swashbuckling alter ego in a 1905 novel

I'm not going to give away the answer in this post, but sink me if you don't get it and have seen this period drama!

Okay, if you really don't know, just highlight this text:

The Scarlet Pimpernel

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 God Bless,

Pride and Prejudice as Told on Facebook

I came across this web page that someone made that tells the story of Pride and Prejudice in the form on Facebook. The title of said page? Austenbook! It's quite amusing though it does not have the current format of Facebook (I refuse to get the Timeline... Hopefully I won't get the dreaded Facebook Timeline).

A lot of the events are amusing! Take a look:

Elizabeth Bennet and Caroline Bingley are attending the event Take a Turn about the Room.

Lydia Bennet and Kitty Bennet joined the group 1,000,000 Strong Against the Officers Leaving Meryton! {join!}

Mrs. Gardiner tagged Elizabeth Bennet in her note Yes, Mr. Darcy Arranged Everything (and I think he likes you).

I found this excessively diverting. If you're a fan of Pride and Prejudice, you may get a chuckle out of this! Enjoy!

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 God Bless,

Feelings After a Period Drama Ends

C'mon, you know what I'm talking about. You watch a period drama for the first time. First you think, "Oh my! Five hours long?! How shall I last?" But then you sit down to watch it and you really get into the story and the characters. "How dare Character X!" or "No, Character Y! You love Character Z!"

And then... It's over...

Well... Now what?

Isn't there more?

Why did it have to end?

What will I do with myself when I'm not watching this period drama?

I've noticed that this happens with period dramas that are five or more hours long. After five hours, you really get into the story line (what will happen next?). You really understand a good deal of the characters. There are your favorites and those you can't stand. You can understand what is going through their head. You start rooting for characters to get married. Etc. And then it's over...

And to answer you question, yes, I've just watched a period drama and now that it's over, well, I wonder why did it have to end. And yes, there will be a review for it on Monday (or Tuesday). And no, you will just have to wait until Monday or Tuesday to find out what it is.

What period dramas that I've seen before have caused these feelings? Well...

Little Dorrit, for one thing! I remember when my mom, my sister, and I watched Little Dorrit. We were so into the story line! There were a variety of interesting characters! We kept watching episode after episode until... well, we went through it too quickly and it was over...

Series 1 of Downton Abbey, I'm looking at you now! How could you end with so many cliffhangers and leave all of us on the edge for a year (or more)?! Luckily, Series 2 continued Series 1, so most of the cliffhangers from Series 1 were resolved: sure, a couple of Series 2 cliffhangers were left, but not as bad as Series 1.

 Okay, so when we first watched Lark Rise to Candleford, Mom bought Series 1 and 2... but 3 had yet to air in America. What was going to happen with Sydney at the post office? Oooh! Can't wait! Unfortunately, Series 3 didn't really live up to the great expectations (get the Dickens reference? hehe!) of Series 1 and 2, so I was a bit disappointed...

What about you? Have you ever watched a period drama that you wished had gone on longer than it did? Did you have any of the same feelings that I wrote about above? Leave a comment! 

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 God Bless,

For 11/11/11 at 11:11...

 Since today is a "special day", I have a special post today! I am including in this post 11 songs from 11 different period dramas!

1. Pride and Prejudice - Opening Title

Love this theme song. It's so light and bouncy, yet smooth and flowing.

2. Sense and Sensibility - My Father's Favorite

This is such a sweet song! Definitely going to learn this for the piano when I get the skills!

3. Little Dorrit - Theme

Love this theme song too! It's kind of sad, but at the same time it's sweet.

4. Amazing Grace - Amazing Grace (Bagpipes)

The best version of Amazing Grace I've heard! You can't go wrong with Amazing Grace on the bagpipes!

5. The King's Speech - The Rehearsal

Again, another light and bouncy song!

6. Downton Abbey - Suite

There are a number of really good songs from Downton Abbey, but you can't go wrong with the theme song. I could probably listen to this song for hours!

7. The House of Eliott - Theme (Ends at 0:36)

I couldn't find a video with just the song, so this is the first part of the first episode. I never was much of a fan of the 20s, but this song is very 20s-like and very enjoyable and upbeat.

8. Emma - The Ship's Cook

Favorite song in Emma! I loved this dance scene!

9. Persuasion - Moonlight Sonata

This probably comes to mind since I'm trying to learn Moonlight Sonata on the piano (an easy version, though!). Anne plays it so prettily!

10. Lark Rise to Candleford - Theme

Love this theme too! (Gee, I like a lot of theme songs!) This song so describes the show: kind of quirky (in a good way), but sweet at the same time.

11. The Ten Commandments - The Exodus

The soundtrack for The Ten Commandments should definitely be one of the best soundtracks out there! I love the Exodus song: I can imagine the scene in my head as the song is playing (which is an absolutely breathtaking scene).

Happy 11/11/11!


God Bless,
 

Andrew Davies's Screenplays

Instead of a review this week, I have a little critique about screenplays.


There's a name that you see quite a bit during the beginning credits of many period dramas, and it's Andrew Davies, the screenplay writer. He has written the screenplays for many period dramas: Pride and Prejudice (1995), Middlemarch (1994), Emma (1997), The Way We Live Now (2001), He Knew He Was Right (2004), Little Dorrit (2008), Sense and Sensibility (2008), Wives and Daughters (1999)... The list is huge!
My opinion of him is a little mixed, though. So here is my opinion on his screenplays, both the good and the not-so-good.

The Good

1. He stays pretty close to the original novel

When I first read Pride and Prejudice, I noticed how the 1995 miniseries was very close to the book. Really, I can only remember a couple of differences between the two. And one of the positive points about 2008 Sense and Sensibility was that, plotwise, it stayed fairly close to the book (as much as I love the 1995 Sense and Sensibility - which is still my favorite Sense and Sensibility adaptation - the plot wasn't as close to the book as it could have been). From what I've both read and seen an adaptation of, Andrew Davies keeps fairly close to the story line. Sure, some things are different (which is hard to avoid), but overall, he stays close to the book.

 

2. He keeps most of the language from the original novel

For a lot of screenplay writers, language can be modernized which can be a little annoying. Andrew Davies has a way of keeping the original language and at the same time make it lively (or maybe that's more of the actors that do it, but surely the script has something to do with it). He doesn't really modernize the language in his screenplays (at least, nothing that I've noticed) which I like since it is more believable for the time period.

3. If he has to add something to the screenplay to make a scene flow easier, he does a good job making it seem like it's from the original novel.
With any story, there are going to be little gaps in the books. With Jane Austen, for example, sometimes there isn't dialogue in a scene, but instead the scene is described (a number of the proposal scenes, for instance, as described). What Andrew Davies does well is that he fills in those little gaps where there is not dialogue in the book with his own dialogue and makes it sound like it came from the original author. It is a talent that is very useful for writing screenplays.

The Not-So-Good

1. He writes great screenplays...when he has enough time.

Many of Andrew Davies's greatest screenplays are for miniseries: in other words, it takes 4+ hours to tell a story. When you have four or more hours of time for a period drama, you really get a good sense of the characters and the story. By the end of the miniseries, you really understand nearly the whole story and really understand the characters. However, when Andrew Davies only gets two, maybe two and a half, hours for a screenplay, something goes awry. The screenplay that comes to my mind is the 2007 Northanger Abbey. Northanger Abbey 2007 had the makings of a great period drama: great cast, great costuming, great scenery. But the screenplay was lacking; many things were left out in order for additional scenes (more on that). Two hours, in my opinion, wasn't enough to tell Northanger Abbey without the additional scenes, let alone with all the additional scenes.

2. Less is more

I know, I know -- I said that Andrew Davies does a good job with extra scenes, but to a certain extent. In any book, sometimes there can be little gaps between scenes (like I said before). So when adapting any book, sometimes you have to fill  in those gaps with extra scenes. When these extra scenes are done well, it can help with the understanding of the story, but you have to be careful not to overdo it or else "a great deal of [the period drama] must be invention." Sure, there were some extra scenes in Pride and Prejudice (1995) that weren't in the original book, but there weren't so many that they overtook the scenes that are supposed to be there. What I'm talking about is when it gets excessive. One of the things I didn't like about Emma 1997 was all the imaginings of Emma -- Harriet and Mr. Elton were getting married: oh! just Emma's imagination!; Mr. Knightley marrying Jane Fairfax? But what about little Henry?!: oh! just Emma's imagination again!; Harriet and Mr. Knightley? NO!: seriously, Emma? Seriously? With everything that Emma was imagining, it got to be a bit excessive, but at the very least for the 1997 Emma, those imaginings were based off of Emma's thoughts in the book (however over-emphasized they were). Other screenplays suffer from invention a lot more. Sense and Sensibility (2008) had numerous scenes added that were not in the book and didn't add to the miniseries: suddenly Colonel Brandon and Willoughby are exchanging rough words ("What are your intentions towards Miss Marianne?" "And what right have you to ask me?") and then sword fighting? Jane Austen does mention a duel between Colonel Brandon and Willoughby; she doesn't say what method the two men used during this duel, but more than likely it wasn't a sword fight. Maybe sword fighting sells? I don't know, but it didn't add to the plot. Northanger Abbey had a similar problem: too many added scenes, not enough from the novel, and not enough time as it should have had. These examples are proof to the phrase "Less is more."

3. Skipping Scenes (or Worrying about Skipping Scenes) is Not Fun

This kind of expands off of two, but it's kind of on it's own too. For the most part in classic literature, nothing gets graphic or is shown. If any scandal is mentioned at all, it's mentioned very discreetly. Therefore, it is unnecessary to add those scenes considering that you could completely skip those scenes and not miss anything in the plot. Andrew Davies (it seems recently) has been adding these unnecessary scenes. For example, in the Sense and Sensibility, you don't hear about any scandal until the second half of the book, and even then it's very brief; in the 2008 version, the scandal that was so briefly mentioned was shown in the very first scene. Or how in Northanger Abbey 2007, Catherine's dreams were a bit mature for her, and considering Catherine's innocent nature, this was not only inaccurate, but also unnecessary. Or in Little Dorrit there was the one scene that was a completely different scene in the book. These scenes take what would otherwise be great period dramas and make them a little difficult to watch. Sure, they can be easy to skip if you know what to look for, but it's not fun waiting to skip scenes; it's much preferred to simply watch a period drama all the way through. He didn't always add in these kinds of scenes -- Pride and Prejudice, Wives and Daughters, and Emma got along well without them. This seems to be more of a recent trend. You don't need those scenes to make a great period drama.




That would summarize my opinion on Andrew Davies's screenplays. Overall, the man is talented in writing screenplays, but when he does one or more of the three things that aren't so good, the screenplays aren't as good. We can hope that his future period dramas don't have some of the problems that some of his screenplays have had...

God Bless,
 

"You are very dull this [week], Miss Elizabeth Bennet..."

I know, I know... I've been a little quiet this week after Jane Austen Week. There are a couple of reasons why. Firstly, due to the success of Jane Austen Week, I've been working on some future events that I'll put up at a later time. I appreciate everyone who filled out the questionnaire at the end of Jane Austen Week: I've taken your suggestions into consideration. I do like feedback, so feel free to voice an opinion or two (just keep it constructive). Secondly, I would also like to make some more banners for everyone to look at and (if you like) to put up on your blogs. My computer has been running a little slow for the past couple of weeks, so I can't take the screenshots that I used to for the banners. I'm currently stuck with the ones that I have. Hopefully, I can get the problem on my computer resolved (computer science knowledge, don't fail me now!) and then I'll be back to taking more screenshots for fresh, new banners. But in the meantime, if inspiration strikes and I can put together a banner with the screenshots that I have, then I'll post it!


Until then, I wish everyone a good day!


God Bless,
 

Sorry it's been a little Quiet... (Future Plans!)

Hey everyone!
I'm sorry I haven't been posting much other than the Period Drama Film Tournament. I haven't had too much to say or post lately, but hopefully that'll change.

I've been working on a couple of things to post about. As you might have guessed, I have been working on a special blog event (which I'm pretty sure a lot of my followers could participate in). I don't quite want to announce what it will be yet, but hopefully soon. It's still in the planning process, so be on the look-out for future announcements on this!
The other thing I've been working on is another special week... Wait, let me explain that. This will be different from the blog event that I've been planning. I'm going to be posting about a special topic for one week. It might be used for help in research projects (most teachers don't want you to list a source from a blog for papers/projects, so the intention of that week would be to point you into the right direction for research or to give you an idea where to take your research). I'm even going to list sources for each topic. I wouldn't expect this for quite a while: there's a lot of work that's going to be involved in it, but still keep an eye out for that week too!

So, remember when I mentioned that I was going to post about my top 10 favorite heroines? I'm thinking sometime next week I'll post that post. Maybe on Tuesday next week.

So that's pretty much it as far as what's new.

God Bless,
 

No Review Monday & Special Blog Post & etc.

Hi Everyone!


Just a couple of things going on.

1. There won't be a review on Monday this week: I haven't had much time to watch anything this week, but next week, hopefully I'll have a review.

2. I'm planning a very special post. I saw on a couple of blogs, the author had a post of their favorite heroines from different period dramas, so I thought I could do something like that.

3. Also, make sure you answer the questions about what you think of a special blog event at Elegance of Fashion. If you've already left a comment, I've just added another question that came into my mind if you would like to answer it. To see the questions and answer them, look at this post!

 God Bless,
 

What do you think about a Special Blog Week?

Quick question to everyone out there... I've seen that some blogs will have a special blog event/party week thing where there's a special post each day. I was thinking about doing something like that (not any time soon since I'm busy with the Period Drama Film Tournament, but maybe sometime after). If you have a moment, if you could fill out these questions, I would be grateful...

1. Would you be interested in participating in an event like this on your blog (Post button, follow the days/posts (as best as you can))?
2. I have an idea picked out, but if that idea is successful, what other ideas for a theme would you suggest? (I won't promise to use every idea, but I'll definitely consider it)
3. What kinds of things would you like to post about (i.e. list of questions/answers, pictures)?
4. Would you prefer having the entire list of plans for each day of the week or would you like to be surprised each day?
5. NEW QUESTION 4/2/11: Would you prefer a seven day event (one short daily post for seven days) or would you prefer one longer post?

Thanks!

 God Bless,
 

Tea Pots at The Jane Austen Center's Gift Shop

Occasionally, I like to look at The Jane Austen Center's gift shop: I've never bought anything from them, but they seem to have some cute stuff so I basically window shop online. I've noticed that they've started to sell some very cute tea pots! If you would like to see more of the details about the tea pots, click on the pictures

I personally prefer the blue one to the red one.

Very lovely designs!

God Bless,
 

Working on Some Big Changes!

I've been busy the past few days working on some changes to Elegance of Fashion. I've felt for a while now that I needed to change up Elegance of Fashion a little bit. Don't worry, I'm not changing anything in the way my blog is run: there are still going to be reviews, tournaments, banners, etc. I'm just trying to make everything look nicer and neater. I'm planning on some awesome changes, so stay tuned for some exciting new things! I'll announce when I'm going to release these changes.

Check Out Character Doubles at Austenitis!

(Thought I posted this before, but I think that when Blogger went down, this post went away, so I'm reposting it).

I always have fun while I watch period dramas picking out actors and actresses that I have seen in other period dramas. Charity U at Austenitis has complied a list (with pictures!) of different actors and actresses with their different characters from different period dramas.

Actor Doubles

Actress Doubles

One more day to vote... Information on Wild Card for Tournament... and Some Announcements

First on the list: there's only one more day to vote in Round 2 of "The Period Drama Hero Tournament", if you haven't voted yet, go do so now!

Wild Card: After Round 2, there will be a three day poll to decide the "wild card" for Round 3, which will bring back one hero that has already been eliminated. So if your favorite was voted out in a previous round, this is the opportunity to bring him back! You will be able to select more than one hero (if there are two or more heroes tied for the wild card, I'll randomly select one).

Other Announcements: I hadn't had an opportunity to write a review for this week, so there will be no review tomorrow. The week after, however, there should be a review. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Remember how I mentioned that at the blog Austenitis is doing a series of posts about Period Drama Actor/Actress doubles? Well, Charity U at Austenitis has put up another addition, this time with actresses. If you've seen such period dramas as Emma (2009), North and South, or Wives and Daughters, you will easily recognize the actresses that are presented in the new post. To view it, click here!

Ordering Fabric Online?

Finally, I'll be able to get back to my sewing again! Hopefully this summer I'll be able to finish the projects that I've been working on (and post pictures!).

I've been wondering how people feel about ordering fabric online. I never tried to order fabric online: I am a little skeptical. I know it's best to inspect the fabric before you buy it (to make sure it's what you want), but sometimes when I go to JoAnn Fabrics and I can't find what I want. I almost want to consider buying fabric online, but I'm still very hesitant to do so. So I was wondering:

1. How do you feel about ordering fabric online? Has it been a positive experience for you or negative?

2. Where do you look for fabric online? Any particular websites?

3. Do you usually find what you are looking for?

4. When you buy fabric at a brick and mortar store, where do you usually shop?

5. Are there any tips that you could offer to anyone buying fabric online? Or even in a regular store?

If you would like to answer these questions, please leave a comment. I would also like to do another post about what some of your comments are in case other readers might be wondering the same thing I am: I'll give you credit and a link back to your blog.

Thank you!

What do you think? eBooks or Printed Books?

For Christmas, I got a Pandigital Novel, a tablet eReader. It came with 100 free classic eBooks and it allows you to surf the internet while you're using it.

My menu page

My Library

Some of the free books

Inside Sense and Sensibility, a version I downloaded.

Well, this blog looks familiar!

Scroll down to see more of the blog. (Yes, I took this picture awhile ago).

As I've explored using it and putting books on it, I kind of like the eBook format, but at the same time I still like having a solid, printed book.

What do you think? Do you like eBooks? Or do you like printed books more? Or do you like both? I like both, personally: I like the solidness of having an actual book, but I also like the portability of having an eReader. I'm kind of caught in the middle!

50 Followers!

Today Elegance of Fashion has 50 followers! Thank you everyone for supporting my blog! :-)

Some Possible Upcoming Reviews!

I know I still haven't seen Amazing Grace yet, but it is still on my list of movies to watch, so hopefully soon I'll watch it and review it! I still can't wait to see it!

Last week, my mom and I went to Barnes and Noble and we bought two more DVDs.

I heard about Downton Abbey a little bit before it was announced that Masterpiece Theater was going to play it earlier this year, but I didn't know too much about it. It takes place in 1912/1913/1914, so in the Edwardian era. It's about a noble family and it's servants that live at the estate Downton Abbey. There are quite a few familiar faces to those who watch a lot of period dramas: Hugh Bonneville (Daniel Deronda), Maggie Smith (Becoming Jane, David Copperfield), Brendon Coyle (Lark Rise to Candleford), just to name a few. My mom and I just finished watching it. It was interesting, but be warned: there are some mature themes (with accompanying scenes) present in this series, but the scenes were only in the first couple of episodes.

I heard about North and South a while ago, and finally we bought it. I know that the book was by Elizabeth Gaskell, who also wrote Cranford and Wives and Daughters. I heard that it was good (and it's main character, Margaret Hale, has done well in "The Period Drama Heroine Tournament").

And I also got recently...

...the 1971 version of Sense and Sensibility. I had heard about this version, that it includes Joanna David (who was Mrs. Gardiner in Pride and Prejudice (1995)) as Elinor Dashwood, and Patricia Routledge (who was Hyacinth Bucket in Keeping Up Appearances) as Mrs. Jennings. I had only seen one version of Sense and Sensibility (the 1995 movie), so I wonder how this will compare.

Regency Cake Recipes

Since it's my birthday today, I was curious on what kind of cake there was in the Regency Era. So I headed over to The Jane Austen Center's website and found a couple of Regency recipes. I never tried to make any of these recipes... I wonder how some of them taste! I think a couple of them include rose water, which I never used in cooking.

Rich Pound Cake

Gingerbread Cake

Different Kinds of Wedding Cake

"Spunge" Cake (The Recipe references Mansfield Park, I think)

There are also other recipes at the Jane Austen Center. One of these days, I should try some of them!