Hello everyone! 🙂

Welcome to ‘Bradley’s Basement’ blog and I’m Tim Bradley!

Last weekend, my parents and I checked out the 30th anniversary re-release of the 1995 film ‘Sense and Sensibility’ at the cinema. We had a great time checking out this film on the big screen and it’s amazing to think that it was 30 years ago that this movie was made.

There was a special introduction for the film provided by Emma Thompson, who played Elinor Dashwood and wrote the screenplay for the film. She was joined by guest star Greg Wise who played Mr. Willoughby in the film. I greatly enjoyed the latest cinema introduction.

It’s amazing to look back on when I did my in-depth review on ‘Sense and Sensibility’ in 2016, which was my first full year of doing blog posts and reviews on ‘Bradley’s Basement’. I was inexperienced then and my review style has changed quite considerably.

I suppose back in 1995, ‘Sense and Sensibility’ was a pretty innovative film, especially when it’s considered one of the best film adaptations of a Jane Austen story. The film itself features a starry cast, with names, I suppose, some would have been unknown then.

As well as Emma Thompson and Greg Wise, there’s Kate Winslet as Marianne Dashwood, Elinor’s sister. Kate Winslet was in this film before she did the 1997 film ‘Titanic’ with Leonardo DiCaprio. And she was in ‘Dark Season’ by Russell T. Davies – her very first TV appearance.

There’s Hugh Grant as Edward Ferrars, Elinor’s love interest. I suppose Hugh Grant would have just been starting then in 1995 before he went on to appear in many great films such as ‘Paddington 2’ and to think he was in the ‘Doctor Who’ spoof ‘The Curse of Fatal Death’.

Alan Rickman stars as Colonel Brandon in the film. It’s sad to think that Alan Rickman is no longer with us, as this must be one of his cherished film roles compared to being in other things such as the first ‘Die Hard’ film as well as the ‘Harry Potter’ movies after this.

There’s also Imogen Stubbs as Lucy Steele, Gemma Jones as Mrs. Dashwood, James Fleet as John Dashwood, Harriet Walter as Fanny Dashwood, Hugh Laurie as Mr. Palmer, Imelda Staunton as Charlotte Palmer, Robert Hardy as Sir John Middleton, Elizabeth Spriggs as Mrs. Jennings, Tom Wilkinson as Mr. Dashwood, Emilie François as Margaret Dashwood, Richard Lumsden as Robert Ferrars and Oliver Ford Davies as Dr. Harris. A very impressive cast! 🙂

It should also be noted that this film was directed by Ang Lee, who, for me, went on to direct the 2003 film ‘Hulk’ as well as ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’, ‘Brokeback Mountain’ and ‘Life of Pi’. He’s done quite a lot of genres in his directing career, hasn’t he?

It’s easy to make fun of the 1995 ‘Sense and Sensibility’ film, especially when you consider some of the more unintentionally comedic moments featured in it. And yes, that includes the laugh Emma Thompson does at the film’s end, which is still very amusing. 😀

But the fact that the 1995 ‘Sense and Sensibility’ film is still seen even to this day and for it to mark its 30th anniversary is quite an achievement. The story itself is also very well-presented, particularly through its direction as well as the actors playing their characters.

When people think of Jane Austen, no doubt they immediately think of ‘Pride and Prejudice’ as her most famous work of literature. But when people think of ‘Sense and Sensibility’, I’m certain the 1995 film is at the forefront for everyone, since it’s quite iconic.

I don’t hear many people talking about the BBC TV adaptations of ‘Sense and Sensibility’ from 1981 and 2008. It’s the 1995 film adaptation that always springs to mind for people. I’m sure I’ll be checking out and reviewing the 1981 and 2008 TV adaptations someday. 🙂

But at this point, I’m very happy that I’ve revisited the 1995 film ‘Sense and Sensibility’ on the big screen recently. It’s a very impressive film, well-deserved in the awards it has received, thanks to Ang Lee’s direction and to Emma Thompson writing the screenplay.

Thanks for reading!

Bye for now!

Tim 🙂