Left column, from top: Jonny Lee Miller (Edmund Bertram) and Frances O’Connor (Fanny Price) in the 1999 film; Henry and Mary Crawford (Alessandro Nivola and Embeth Davidtz) from the 1999 and 2007 versions (Joseph Beattie and Hayley Atwell); Benedict Cumberbatch (Edmund Bertram) and David Tennant (Tom Bertram) lent their voices to the 2003 BBC radio production
Middle column, from top: Blake Ritson (Edmund) and Billie Piper (Fanny) from the 2007 version; William and Fanny Price (Allan Hendrick and Sylvestra Le Touzel) with Henry Crawford (Robert Burbage) in the 1983 production; Alessandro Nivola (Henry Crawford), Victoria Hamilton (Maria Bertram) and Hugh Bonneville (Mr. Rushworth) from the 1999 film; a scene from Metropolitan
Right column, from top: Nicholas Farrell as Edmund in the 1983 mini series; Tom and Edmund Bertram (James D’Arcy and Blake Ritson) from 2007; Jonny Lee Miller (Edmund Bertram) in the 1999 film; Hayley Atwell (Mary Crawford) in the 2007 adaptation
Mansfield Park
Adaptations
Translating Austen’s “problem” novel to the screen has proven challenging for filmmakers attempting to make Fanny Price more relatable to a modern audience while remaining true to Austen. Yet we still have four traditional versions (including a little-known, 2003 full-cast radio production), a recent modernization and a loose adaptation of Mansfield Park to explore.
Traditional Adaptations
Mansfield Park (2007)
With its condensed running time of two hours, this TV movie omits numerous characters from the novel and virtually all settings other than Mansfield Park, and changes the personality and/or behavior of several key characters, making it a less-than-faithful adaptation.
Director: Iain B. MacDonald
Screenplay: Maggie Wadey
Lead cast:
Billie Piper (Fanny Price)
Blake Ritson (Edmund Bertram)
Hayley Atwell (Mary Crawford)
Joseph Beattie (Henry Crawford)
James D’Arcy (Tom Bertram)
Michelle Ryan (Maria Bertram)
Rory Kinnear (Rushworth)
Douglas Hodge (Sir Thomas Bertram)
Jemma Redgrave (Lady Bertram)
Maggie O’Neill (Mrs. Norris)
Catherine Steadman (Julia Bertram)
Joseph Morgan (William Price)
Mansfield Park (1999)
Clocking in at 112 minutes, the only theatrically released version to date of Austen’s longest novel still manages to feature many of the characters from the novel (with a notable exception, William Price). While the production is still Regency-set, it introduces a more modern version of Fanny Price.
Director: Patricia Rozema
Screenplay: Patricia Rozema
Lead cast:
Frances O’Connor (Fanny Price)
Jonny Lee Miller (Edmund Bertram)
Embeth Davidtz (Mary Crawford)
Alessandro Nivola (Henry Crawford)
James Purefoy (Tom Bertram)
Victoria Hamilton (Maria Bertram)
Hugh Bonneville (Mr. Rushworth)
Harold Pinter (Sir Thomas Bertram)
Lindsay Duncan (Lady Bertram/Mrs. Price)
Sheila Gish (Mrs. Norris)
Justine Waddell (Julia Bertram)
Charles Edwards (Yates)
Sophia Myles (Susan Price)
Mansfield Park (2003)
This 10-episode, full-cast dramatization for BBC Radio features a particularly strong cast, many of whom would soon go on to much greater fame. And it features narration by Amanda Root, Anne Elliot in the 1995 Persuasion.
Director: Sally Avens
Adaptation: Lin Coghlin
Lead cast:
Felicity Jones (Fanny Price)
Benedict Cumberbatch (Edmund Bertram)
Susan Lynch (Mary Crawford)
James Callis (Henry Crawford)
David Tennant (Tom Bertram)
Kate Fleetwood (Maria Bertram)
Toby Jones (Rushworth)
Tim Pigott-Smith (Sir Thomas Bertram)
Julia McKenzie (Mrs. Norris)
Amanda Root (Narrator)
Mansfield Park (1983)
This 261-minute, six-part miniseries is a faithful dramatization of the novel, shot on video as was the practice during the era of the production.
BBC
Director: David Giles
Screenplay: Ken Taylor
Lead cast:
Sylvestra Le Touzel (Fanny Price)
Nicholas Farrell (Edmund Bertram)
Jackie Smith-Wood (Mary Crawford)
Robert Burbage (Henry Crawford)
Christopher Villiers (Tom Bertram)
Samantha Bond (Maria Bertram)
Jonathan Stephens (Mr. Rushworth)
Bernard Hepton (Sir Thomas Bertram)
Angela Pleasence (Lady Bertram)
Anna Massey (Mrs. Norris)
Liz Crowther (Julia Bertram)
Robin Langford (Mr. Yates)
Allan Hendrick (William Price)
Eryl Maynard (Susan Price)
David Buck (Mr. Price)
Alison Fiske (Mrs. Price)
Jonny Lee Miller (Charles Price)
Film Locations
Mansfield Park
Sotherton
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Modern/Loose Adaptations
From Mansfield With Love (2014)
This contemporary, multimedia, 100-episode series based on Mansfield Park is presented by Foot in the Door Theatre.
Director: Gina Thorley and Kimberley James
Screenplay: Kimberley Jones, Kathryn Raw, Gina Thorley, Sophie Terrell, Claire Kerry and David Parker
Lead cast:
Holly Truslove (Frankie Price)
Wesley Buckeridge (Edmund Bertram)
Aloña Walsh (Mary Crawford)
Peter Jennison (Henry Crawford)
Ryan Beer (Tom Bertram)
Dee Mairs (Rhea Bertram)
Thomas Bijok (Rory Rushworth)
Peter Barber (Mr. Bertram)
Emily Coxhead (Julia Bertram)
Rory Blincow (Yates)
Jack Easter (Will Price)
Becky Jones (Susie Perkins)
From Mansfield With Love official site
From Mansfield With Love on YouTube
Metropolitan (1990)
Set in 1980s Manhattan, this debut film by auteur Whit Stillman is widely considered a loose adaptation of Mansfield Park, with its focus on questions of class differences and morality.
Director: Whit Stillman
Screenplay: Whit Stillman
Lead cast:
Carolyn Farina (Audrey Rouget)
Edward Clements (Tom Townsend)
Chris Eigeman (Nick Smith)
Taylor Nichols (Charlie Black)
Allison Parisi (Jane Clarke)
Dylan Hundley (Sally Fowler)
Isabel Gillies (Cynthia McLean)
Bryan Leder (Fred Neff)
Will Kempe (Rick Von Sloneker)
Ellia Thompson (Serena Slocum)