Rating: 
Summary: Invaluable for P&P lovers
Review: "The Making of Pride and Prejudice" is a must-have book if you enjoyed the BBC production, the novel or are interested in film adaptations of great novels. This book provides a fascinating and comprehensive overview of the making of this terrific mini-series -- from casting to location scouting, from production design to music composition, and from script to filming and beyond. Real insights are provided into Andrew Davies' thought process in writing the script. The difficulties of finding and scheduling the locations are outlined in very interesting detail, with a map of sites. Actors comment on their casting and on the first read-through. A particular highlight is an interview with Colin Firth. Order this book now!
Rating: 
Summary: Darcy gets deep
Review: A wonderful adjunct to the A&E miniseries, this book will delight anyone who liked the video. It is especially good for aspiring set and costume designers, producers, actors or anyone wanting to get more involved in film production. I especially liked the depth of the interview with Colin Firth, regarding why he took the role of Mr. Darcy, and the inner motivations he used to make his portrayal more authentic. I enjoyed the video in a renewed way after understanding Darcy's reasoning in key scenes. I would have liked more of this kind of in-depth interview from the other principal actors. Long live Pride & Prejudice, and Jane Austen adaptations as good as this one.
Rating:
Summary: What a woderful gift!
Review: As a gift to myself, I decided to purchase "The Making of P&P - since I have indulged in the movie 5 times, I thought it would shed light on how such a huge undertaking was accomplished. I am happy to report it did not disappoint me one iota! This book has wonderful pictures and insight into the filming and the locations. I fell in love with the mini-series on A&E as it was my first introduction to Jane Austen. Since that first introduction, I have read all of her works (thankyou Amazon.com)and have seen most of the screen adaptations. I am hopelessly lost in the world of Regency and greatly enjoying every page!
Rating:
Summary: A must for fans of the BBC miniseries...
Review: Everyone who just can't get enough Pride and Prejudice will LOVE this book. It's got a ton of pictures...stills, behind the scenes shots, and everything else you could possibly want. There are interviews with the cast and crew, detailed production information, and a list of filming locations...some of which you can actually visit! Several properties used, including Lyme Park in Cheshire, are owned by the National Trust, and open to visitors. Unlike the companion book that was published for the ITV Emma movie, there is not a script included, but honestly, it won't be missed! Besides, so many of us have the dialog committed to memory, the script would be a redundancy!
Rating:
Summary: Delightful Book....
Review: First, I have to say that I have NEVER bought a "Behind the Scenes" book on ANY movie. I stumbled across "The Making of Pride and Prejudice" on Amazon. Sue Birtwistle's adaptation of "Pride and Prejudice" IS probably my favorite movie of all time, but the previous reviews on Amazon convinced me that I would like the book as well. If you truly enjoyed the movie, I hope that you will take a chance and read, "The Making of Pride and Prejudice" by Sue Birtwistle and Susie Conklin - even if you don't normally read this type of book. It is FASCINATING. It isn't just all the wonderful pictures (and how DIFFERENT the actors looked!); it is that this book methodically explains the concept behind the movie, the writing, the casting, the houses ("Pemberley" is actually at Lyme Park), the costumes, the wigs (Jennifer Ehle is a BLONDE!) and so many more interesting facts. I was particularly amazed that Colin Firth originally TURNED DOWN the role of Darcy - because he didn't feel that he could do justice to the part. (Most of us can't imagine ANYONE except Firth playing the role!) Sue Birtwistle had to convince him to do the part. (And he was so nervous that he was physically ill initially.) This is a terrific book, which chronicles the process of making a truly magnificent movie.
Rating:
Summary: Delightful Book....
Review: First, I have to say that I have NEVER bought a "Behind the Scenes" book on ANY movie. I stumbled across "The Making of Pride and Prejudice" on Amazon. Sue Birtwistle's adaptation of "Pride and Prejudice" IS probably my favorite movie of all time, but the previous reviews on Amazon convinced me that I would like the book as well. If you truly enjoyed the movie, I hope that you will take a chance and read, "The Making of Pride and Prejudice" by Sue Birtwistle and Susie Conklin - even if you don't normally read this type of book. It is FASCINATING. It isn't just all the wonderful pictures (and how DIFFERENT the actors looked!); it is that this book methodically explains the concept behind the movie, the writing, the casting, the houses ("Pemberley" is actually at Lyme Park), the costumes, the wigs (Jennifer Ehle is a BLONDE!) and so many more interesting facts. I was particularly amazed that Colin Firth originally TURNED DOWN the role of Darcy - because he didn't feel that he could do justice to the part. (Most of us can't imagine ANYONE except Firth playing the role!) Sue Birtwistle had to convince him to do the part. (And he was so nervous that he was physically ill initially.) This is a terrific book, which chronicles the process of making a truly magnificent movie.
Rating:
Summary: Delightful Book....
Review: First, I have to say that I have NEVER bought a "Behind the Scenes" book on ANY movie. I stumbled across "The Making of Pride and Prejudice" on Amazon. Sue Birtwistle's adaptation of "Pride and Prejudice" IS probably my favorite movie of all time, but the previous reviews on Amazon convinced me that I would like the book as well. If you truly enjoyed the movie, I hope that you will take a chance and read, "The Making of Pride and Prejudice" by Sue Birtwistle and Susie Conklin - even if you don't normally read this type of book. It is FASCINATING. It isn't just all the wonderful pictures (and how DIFFERENT the actors looked!); it is that this book methodically explains the concept behind the movie, the writing, the casting, the houses ("Pemberley" is actually at Lyme Park), the costumes, the wigs (Jennifer Ehle is a BLONDE!) and so many more interesting facts. I was particularly amazed that Colin Firth originally TURNED DOWN the role of Darcy - because he didn't feel that he could do justice to the part. (Most of us can't imagine ANYONE except Firth playing the role!) Sue Birtwistle had to convince him to do the part. (And he was so nervous that he was physically ill initially.) This is a terrific book, which chronicles the process of making a truly magnificent movie.
Rating:
Summary: A Must-Have Behind-the-Scenes Companion Book!
Review: For anyone who has enjoyed the outstanding rendition of Jane Austen's classic novel starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle, this delightful, informative, eye-opening (and often humorous) behind-the-scenes book is a must have. I for one had no idea of what is involved in successfully adapting a classic period novel, and I am grateful to producer Sue Birtwistle and script editor Susie Conklin for taking us through the entire process. Chapters include "The Script," which deals with the many difficulties that had to be overcome in adapting a novel effectively to an entirely different medium, while "Pre-production" deals with casting the actors and finding and securing suitable locations (no mean feat in itself!). We also discover what many senior behind-the-scenes personnel do. "Production Design" deals with the hands-on task of getting the locations ready--whether it's designing and creating a set or stripping a real-life location of all its 20th century trimmings (from unsuitable flowers, antennae and phone lines on the exterior to central heating pipes, light switches, electric light bulbs, and inappropriate furnishings on the inside). Tremendous research was involved in both "Production Design" and "Costume, Make-Up, and Hair Design". The latter chapter deals with decisions that had to be made concerning the palettes and styles of costume and hair for each actor. One also learns about the expensive and painstaking wig-making process and discovers that not only were the costumes made, but so were the fabrics! The chapter entitled "Filming" chronicles the steps to be taken and the difficulties often incurred on the day of filming--things like checking the weather (and having contingency plans for rainy days) or requesting local air force bases not to fly over the location. With 12- to 16-hour workdays per person, the filming day is long indeed. For the actors, it's two-hours in make-up followed by 10 or 11 hours of actual filming. After filming, the crew must then prepare for the next day--with chores like washing and setting wigs, cleaning costumes, and packing up props and horses! Finally, "Post-production" deals with the months of work involved in editing, inserting sound tracks, and so on, to get the final product ready for the screen. It's always nice when the authors of behind-the-scenes' books have the full support of all involved in the production (from cast to crew), and such is most certainly the case here. In fact, the book is rife with their many quotations and anecdotes, with certain members of the crew even contributing paragraphs describing the work they do and the process by which they achieve their goals. Last but not least, there is a full nine-page "Conversation with Colin Firth," set in question and answer format, wherein Firth provides an insight into how he went about capturing what he felt was the essence of Darcy and the difficulties he experienced along the way. This is a beautiful 9 3/4" x 7 1/2" 117-page softcover. Good quality paper is used, and it is simply filled to the brim with lovely fine-quality colour photos--stills from the series, posed photos of some of the actors in full costume, photos of the actors being made up and the sets being prepared, photos of the filming process and of various crew members, and so on. A nice touch was the tiny b/w studio photos of the actors' faces--how they look in real life (which is very different in most cases!) In conclusion, I found this to be a simply fascinating book, and one that without a doubt increases one's appreciation of this (and indeed all period dramas) tenfold. It's a book to be treasured, and I highly recommend it. If I have but one word of advice, it is this: Get this book now--before it goes out of print (as companion books so often do)!
Rating:
Summary: Must Have for any P&P fan
Review: Great book, filled with lots of pictures, and gives interesting information on everything related to Pride and Predjudice. So much research and behind the scenes work went into this beautiful production, this book is certainly worth purchasing. My only wish would be to have larger pictures of Mr. Darcy! Maybe a whole chapter of just Mr Darcy pictures! The chapter in which Mr Firth discusses how he acted in some of the more dramatic scenes was definitely a favorite. Great book!
Rating:
Summary: A must have for Jane Austen/Colin Firth fans!
Review: Great interview with Colin Firth (Mr. Darcy) about filming and interesting insider information about the making of this wonderful mini-series! Definitely an excellent read!
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