As one of the most celebrated British actresses of all time, Emma Thompson stands as a cultural icon whose body of work includes an all-time great adaptation of a 200-year-old book. Having gotten her start as a member of the renowned Footlights comedy troupe, Thompson’s unique talent enables her to excel equally in both performance and writing.

One of Thompson’s important early performances came in an adaptation of a classic 1881 Jane Austen novel. As both the writer and star of this beloved period drama, Thompson even received an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for her efforts, making her the only person to win for both acting and screenwriting.

1995’s Sense & Sensibility Is Still The Best Version

Emma Thompson collaborated with director Ang Lee to adapt Sense and Sensibility in 1995. Telling the classic story of the Dashwood sisters, Elinor (Thompson) and Marianne (Kate Winslet), members of a wealthy landowning family who must deal with the consequences of sudden desтιтution. With the sisters forced to seek security through marriage, Hugh Grant and Alan Rickman played their suitors.

While Sense and Sensibility was centered around the customs and complex social expectations of England in the late 1700s, Thompson’s script imbued its characters with a sense of realism that made them still feel highly relatable. Exploring universal themes of reason, emotion, and financial woes, it was easy to connect with the plight of the Dashwood sisters.

It’s a testament to the power of Thompson’s adaptation that both she and Winslet were nominated for Academy Awards for their performances, and the fact that she took home a screenwriting Oscar was an unprecedented accomplishment. The success of Sense and Sensibility even led to a resurgence of popularity in Austen’s works as she introduced audiences to the writer’s sharp wit.

As one of the best period dramas ever made, it’s no surprise that there have been subsequent attempts to adapt Austen’s story. However, the harsh truth is that neither the 2008 version nor the 2024 retelling holds a candle to Thompson’s film, which remains the definitive on-screen depiction of the whirlwind romances and quiet longings of the Dashwood sisters.

The 2008 adaptation of Sense and Sensibility was a more overtly Sєxual version of this story and goes even further than Austen’s novel to depict scenes that were merely implied in the original book. This was a three-episode miniseries on the BBC that received good reviews and praise for trying some new things but still could not match Thompson’s film.

The 2024 version again attempted to differentiate itself by featuring a predominantly Black cast, adding an element of racial politics that was absent from all previous adaptations. While this Hallmark romance stood out for its casting choices, the film just didn’t have the production values or emotional depth to live up to the classic 1995 film.

There Have Been More Sense & Sensibility Adaptations Since 1995

Sense and Sensibility is a story that has been adapted many times across various media. Prior to Thompson’s film, there had already been two screen versions of the story, as it was dramatized for BBC television as a TV movie in 1971 and as a seven-part series in 1981.

Austen’s story has resonated with viewers around the world, with a Tamil adaptation тιтled Kandukondain Kandukondain being released in 2000 and the Hindi soap opera Kumkum Bhagya being loosely based on the story. The Indian Malayalam soap opera Kasthooriman was also highly informed by the story of the Dashwood sisters.

Whether through audio versions, such as Helen Edmundson’s BBC Radio adaptation, or even a stage musical, Sense and Sensibility has been remade and reinterpreted many times over the past 200-plus years. The fact that there are many different iterations of this story makes the enduring appeal of Thompson’s version all the more impressive.

Another Sense & Sensibility Adaptation Is Happening – Can It Finally Beat Emma Thompson’s Version?

While nobody has managed to outdo Emma Thompson’s extraordinary adaptation of Sense and Sensibility in the three decades since its release, that hasn’t stopped filmmakers from giving it a try. In 2025, it was announced that Focus Features will be making yet another version of the story (via Variety) with Daisy Edgar-Jones as Elinor and Esme Creed-Miles as Marianne.

Although director Georgia Oakley and writer Diana Reid aren’t huge names, this new Sense and Sensibility has the backing of a major studio behind it and could finally be the version that manages to surpᴀss the 1995 adaptation. Focus Features previously backed Pride and Prejudice from 2005, so they have a good track record for period dramas.

Whether the upcoming Sense and Sensibility will become the best adaptation of them all or just another in a long line of subpar retellings, it’s a testament to the enduring appeal of Austen’s story that we keep returning to it. It’s clear that the romantic and the financial woes of the Dashwoods have a universal resonance that transcends time and culture.