5 Jane Austen Movies to Watch on Valentine’s Day if You’re Tired of Pride and Prejudice

Valentine’s Day is already around the corner, and it’s probably the best time to make up your mind about another romantic watch for this Friday.

It’s safe to say that there’s a bunch of movies that have become a real classic for February 14th, and films adapted from Jane Austen’s novels have long been on the forefront of this list.

Still, Pride and Prejudice with Kiera Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen as leads have been stuck in our heads for quite a long time now, while other movies alike remain unfairly overlooked.

Mansfield Park (1999)

Despite not having aged well due to its controversial love story and depiction of slavery, Mansfield Park is still a good option for Valentine’s Day, especially if you’re just into any kind of movie that has something to do with Jane Austen (even if it derives from a novel that wasn’t her best one).

Based on the book of the same name, the film follows Fanny who, having been born into a poor family, gets a chance for a better life when she’s sent away to live with her wealthy uncle. She soon finds love there, but the story gets more entangled with the arrival of her uncle’s new visitors.

Bridget Jones ’ Diary (2001)

The Renée Zellweger-led iconic romcom can’t be labeled as a frequently ignored movie anyway, but many might still not know that Helen Fielding’s book was inspired by Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice (there are some obvious signs though).

Here Colin Firth enters the scene as modernised Mr Darcy for a second time, while Hugh Grant also returns to the Jane Austen-ish storyline after starring in Sense and Sensibility.

Additionally, Bridget Jones might remind some of Pride and Prejudice’s Elizabeth who, just like the former, has been trying to navigate life through her era’s society standards.

Emma (2020)

Based on Austen’s novel of the same name, Emma stars Anya Taylor-Joy as Miss Emma Woodhouse whose wealthy father is concerned about his daughter’s future as he keeps introducing her to potential love matches.

Emma isn’t that much into settling down so soon though, seeing her father’s attempts to arrange her marriage more like an entertainment of her own until she realizes that there was no need to go far while looking for love all this time.

Sense and Sensibility (1995)

Before rising to stardom with James Cameron ’s Titanic, Kate Winslet starred in an impeccable adaptation of one of Jane Austen’s most prominent works.

Also having Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, and Hugh Grant as its leads, the movie follows Dashwood sisters Elinor and Marianne who face financial struggles after their father dies and are forced to move to another place where their life will get upended even more.

Sense and Sensibility was one of the frontrunners in the 1996 Oscars race, eventually letting its lead actress and writer Emma Thompson take home a statuette for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Clueless (1995)

Loosely, but still based on Jane Austen’s Emma, Clueless might be one of the best adaptations of the writer’s novels and even more likely one of the most beloved teen romcoms from the 1990s.

The movie follows Alicia Silverstone’s Cher Horowitz, a modernised version of Emma who, striving for better grades, finds her personal amusement in helping her school teachers set up their personal life. The selfish plan backfires when Cher decides to help new student Tai and the latter becomes even more popular than she is.