With two new Jane Austen adaptations in the works, The Weekly looks back at our favourite Jane Austen movies and TV shows.
If you haven’t heard about the upcoming Jane Austen adaptations, there are two to get excited about. A new Pride and Prejudice series from Netflix, as well as a Sense and Sensibility movie.
While we eagerly await their release, these Jane Austen movies and TV shows will sate your Austen craving.
The best Jane Austen movies and TV shows:
Pride and Prejudice | 1995 TV series
It’s likely the first Jane Austen adaptation that comes to mind for many, and for good reason! As well as being a wonderful imagining of the original Jane Austen book, the series made Colin Firth a star, and his pond-swimming scene has inspired innumerable homages (including in Bridgerton). He’d go on to star in another Pride and Prejudice adaptation only six years later …
Stream on BritBox or Stan. Rent or buy from Apple TV or Amazon Prime.
Bridget Jones’s Diary | 2001 movie
Loosely inspired by Pride and Prejudice and based on the novel by Helen Fielding, Bridget Jones’s Diary stars Colin Firth and Hugh Grant, who had both already appeared in Jane Austen movies, and Renée Zellweger in the title role. There are four films in the Bridget Jones franchise, including the latest release, Mad About the Boy.
Rent or buy all four films on Apple TV or Prime Video. Stream Bridget Jones’s Diary, Bridget Jones: Edge of Reason and Bridget Jones’s Baby on Paramount Plus or Binge.
Sense and Sensibility | 1995 movie
No list of Jane Austen movies would be complete without Ang Lee’s beautiful Sense and Sensibility, which stars cinema icons Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, Alan Rickman and Hugh Grant. Emma Thompson wrote the screenplay and won an Oscar for her script.
Stream on Binge. Rent or buy from Amazon Prime.
Pride and Prejudice | 2005 movie
Starring Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen and directed by Joe Wright, Pride and Prejudice is a cinematic darling, still revered for its beautiful soundtrack and stunning cinematography. Other cast include Donald Sutherland, Rosamund Pike, Carey Mulligan and Dame Judi Dench.
Stream on Netflix, Foxtel or Binge. Rent or buy from Apple TV or Amazon Prime.
Emma | 1996 movie
A star-stacked cast was assembled for this faithful Jane Austen movie adaptation, which included Gwyneth Paltrow, Alan Cumming, Toni Collette, Ewan McGregor, Juliet Stevenson, and Sophie Thompson, to name a few.
Stream on Stan or Paramount Plus. Rent or buy from Apple TV or Amazon Prime.
Mansfield Park | 1999 movie
Mansfield Park’s writer and director Patricia Rozema dared to up the sensuality and dig deep into class in this beautiful Jane Austen movie, which stars Australia’s own Frances O’Connor as Fanny.
Rent or buy from Amazon Prime.
Clueless | 1995 movie
A contemporary Jane Austen movie that truly establishes itself in the modern world with its Beverly Hills high school setting. Clueless is a cult classic of the Jane Austen movies, featuring bold costumes that remain a fashion inspiration for many. Also, in fantastic news, the film is getting a sequel series with Alicia Silverstone reprising her role.
Stream on Paramount Plus, Disney+, Stan or Binge. Rent or buy from Amazon Prime or Apple TV.
Emma | 2020 movie
Anya Taylor-Joy shone in this gloriously vibrant and aesthetic film adaptation – in fact, it was nominated for Academy Awards for Costume Design and Makeup and Hairstyling – that used a period-appropriate film score to great effect, and which also starred Bill Nighy as her father.
Stream on Binge. Rent or buy from Amazon Prime or Apple TV.
Lost in Austen | 2008 TV series
A hilarious watch for any Austen lovers who’ve wanted to be transported into the pages of her novels. A modern-day Austen fan finds a portal into the world of Pride and Prejudice. She ends up swapping places with Elizabeth Bennet, and chaos ensues.
Rent or buy from Apple TV.
Bride and Prejudice | 2004 movie
Bride and Prejudice is a boisterous retelling that blends Bollywood and Hollywood. It stars Aishwarya Rai as the spirited Lalita and Martin Henderson as an American businessman version of Darcy.
Rent or buy from Apple TV.
The Lizzie Bennet Diaries | 2012–2013 YouTube series
A Pride and Prejudice adaptation told in a truly 21st-century medium: via a video blog-style web series on YouTube. There are also four complimentary spin-off video series, as well as two follow-up series, which are Welcome to Sanditon and Emma Approved. The Lizzie Bennet Diaries was created by Hank Green and Bernie Su, and it won an Emmy in 2013.
Stream on YouTube.
Love & Friendship | 2016 movie
Based on Lady Susan, a Jane Austen novella, which was published posthumously and is about a social-climbing widow intent on securing a comfortable life for herself and her daughter. The movie stars Chloe Sevigny and Kate Beckinsale (who also played the title role in an Emma adaptation in 1996!).
Stream on Stan or SBS. Rent or buy from Apple TV.
Fire Island | 2022 movie
A queer Pride and Prejudice-inspired movie with a focus on found family that was written by Joel Kim Booster, who also stars in the film, and is set on New York’s Fire Island where are a group of friends are spending summer vacation.
Stream on Disney+. Rent or buy from Apple TV.
Persuasion | 2022 movie
This movie copped some slack when the trailer dropped, as it included the modern phrase “we’re worse than exes”, but the Dakota Johnson-fronted movie is still worth a watch if you’re after a modern take on an Austen novel.
Stream on Netflix. Rent or buy from Apple TV.
Northanger Abbey | 2007 TV series
This is an underrated but lovely Jane Austen adaptation. It stars Felicity Jones as Catherine Morland, a young woman in search of a husband, who ends up pulled between two families who both want her to marry their sons. Neither realise she isn’t as wealthy as they think.
Stream on BritBox. Rent or buy from Amazon Prime.
Death Comes to Pemberley | 2013 TV series
Based on PD James’ novel of the same name and starring Anna Maxwell Martin, Matthew Rhys and Jenna Coleman. It’s six years after the events of Pride and Prejudice. Elizabeth and Darcy are married with children, then, while preparing for their annual ball, Lydia shows up announcing her husband has been murdered.
Stream on Amazon Prime.
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