Sense and Sensibility (film) - Legacy and Influence

Legacy and Influence

Sense and Sensibility was the first English-language period adaptation of an Austen novel to appear in cinemas in over fifty years. The year 1995 saw a resurgence of popularity for Austen's works, as Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice both rocketed to critical and financial success. The two adaptations helped draw more attention to the previously little known 1995 television film Persuasion, and led to more Austen adaptations in the following years. Between 1995 and 1996, six Austen adaptations were ultimately released onto film or television.

The filming of these productions led to a surge in popularity at many of the landmarks and locations depicted; according to scholar Sue Parrill, they became "instant meccas for viewers." When Sense and Sensibility was released in cinemas, Town and Country published a six-page article entitled "Jane Austen's England", which focused on the landscape and sites shown in the film. A press book released by the studio as well as Thompson's published screenplay and diaries listed all the filming locations, helping to boost tourism. Saltram House for instance was carefully promoted during the film's release, and saw a 57 percent increase in attendance. In 1996, JASNA's membership increased by fifty percent.

As the mid-1990 productions included four Austen films, little room was left to adapt the author's other novels. In his book Film England: Culturally English Filmmaking since the 1990s, Andrew Higson argued that the adaptations left a "variety of successors" in the genres of romantic comedy and costume drama, as well as with films featuring strong female characters. Cited examples included Mrs Dalloway (1997), Mrs. Brown (1997), Shakespeare in Love (1998), and Bridget Jones's Diary (2001). In 2008, Andrew Davies, the screenwriter of Pride and Prejudice, adapted Sense and Sensibility for television. Viewing Lee's film as too sentimental, Davies' production featured events found in the novel but excluded from Thompson's screenplay, such as Willoughby's seduction of Eliza and his duel with Brandon. Davies also cast actors closer to the ages in the source material.

Sense and Sensibility has maintained its popularity into the twenty-first century. In 2004, Louise Flavin referred to the 1995 film as "the most popular of the Austen film adaptations," and in 2009, another writer attributed it and Pride and Prejudice to "confirm the massive popularity of Austen adaptation." In 2011, The Guardian film critic Paul Laity named it his favourite film of all time partly because of its "exceptional screenplay, crisply and skilfully done." Journalist Zoe Williams credits Thompson as the person most responsible for Austen's popularity, explaining in 2007 that Sense and Sensibility "is the definitive Austen film and that's largely down to her." The popularity of both Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice led to the BBC and ITV releasing their Austen adaptations from the 1970s and 1980s onto DVD. Analysing Austen for classroom application, Flavin called Lee's film "one of the most useful as a gateway into Austen's novels." Furthermore, the film is credited with helping make Kate Winslet a recognisable movie star.