OF THE VIDEO PERSUASION

Jane Austen may be hot property at the moment, but her works have always been popular on the big and small screen. Those below are available on video.

MGM’s classic 1940 adaptation of “Pride and Prejudice” (MGM/UA) is an absolute delight, starring Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier. Aldous Huxley penned this lush, handsome version, which also features Edmund Gwenn, Maureen O’Sullivan and Dame Mae Whitty. Near perfection.

Almost as charming is the BBC’s 1981 miniseries version (Fox), which aired on PBS’ “Masterpiece Theatre.” This time around, Elizabeth Garvie plays Elizabeth Bennet and David Rintoul (“Dr. Finlay”) is her Mr. Darcy. Stylish fun.

A full decade before Emma Thompson’s version of “Sense and Sensibility,” the BBC produced a miniseries (Fox) version starring Irene Richard and Tracey Childs as the two sisters looking for love and happiness.

The BBC also aired a fun version of Austen’s Gothic romance parody “Northanger Abbey” (The Video Catalog) starring Peter Firth (no relation to Colin), Katherine Schlesinger and Robert Hardy.

Sylvestria Le Touzel, Bernard Hepton, Anna Massey and Donald Pleasence star in Austen’s “Mansfield Park” (Fox), the 1985 BBC miniseries version of Austen’s tale of an impoverished young woman who earns the love of her cousin.

And last but not least, there’s Amy Heckerling’s hit 1995 comedy “Clueless” (Paramount), which is actually a loose adaptation of Austen’s “Emma.” Alicia Silverstone plays a Beverly Hills teen who tries to help everyone around her while remaining blissfully ignorant of her own foibles.