I saw this as a kid and loved it so much that the theme music stayed in my head for 50+ years, so when I ran across a cheap box set, I picked it up without expecting much beyond a satisfaction of nostalgic curiosity. But actually this is the best "Emma" I've ever seen amongst traditional adaptations (not including "Clueless," etc.), and seems most faithful in spirit as well as specifics to Austen. The casting is perfect, no one is too glamorized, and Emma herself is rightly portrayed as just as irritatingly manipulative and misguided as she is sympathetic and charming. (As familiar as this story is, the portrayal is so astute, there's still some suspense as to whether she'll turn out a terminal embittered brat or effect her own salvation.) John Carson was a wonderful Knightley, and all the other roles were ideally filled.
If later versions both on TV and the big screen were able to take advantage of technical advances and/or bigger budgets to have more splendid production values (including more outdoor sequences), the relatively claustrophobic feel here actually feels more realistic to the lives depicted--these are gentlepeople who spent most of their time indoors, particularly the women, and their homes weren't palatial for the obvious reasons of practical heating. Anyway, it's a very straightforward "Emma," but as good as you could wish for. If the production feels slightly dated, the craftsmanship and acting nonetheless have a timeless quality that is likely to date better than many more recent attempts to make a more "modern" slant on this material. Yes, it's "just" an old BBC miniseries, without any spectacular elements--but this is "Emma," a comedy of manners. Spectacle would be beside the point.
If later versions both on TV and the big screen were able to take advantage of technical advances and/or bigger budgets to have more splendid production values (including more outdoor sequences), the relatively claustrophobic feel here actually feels more realistic to the lives depicted--these are gentlepeople who spent most of their time indoors, particularly the women, and their homes weren't palatial for the obvious reasons of practical heating. Anyway, it's a very straightforward "Emma," but as good as you could wish for. If the production feels slightly dated, the craftsmanship and acting nonetheless have a timeless quality that is likely to date better than many more recent attempts to make a more "modern" slant on this material. Yes, it's "just" an old BBC miniseries, without any spectacular elements--but this is "Emma," a comedy of manners. Spectacle would be beside the point.