Rating: 
Summary: Beautiful adaptation of a wonderful book
Review: This is one of the first DVDs I purchased, and it's the one DVD I will watch over and over again.Each time I watch this movie, I feel like I have stepped back in time. The romance between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy is delightful to watch as they stumble through several misunderstandings This is a beautiful adaptation. Bravo to the A&E network on another success.
Rating:
Summary: A movie? A miracle!
Review: I was AMAZED at the quality of this film when I first watched it. I am usually very critical of movies taken from books, and most often refuse to see a movie that was originally a book, especially a book I admired greatly. For the most part, I believe I am justified in this, having been disappointed MANY times over changes, etc., that producers and scriptwriters make. Having read P&P and loved it immensely, I nearly rejected the idea of seeing a movie version, not expecting what I call no less than a miracle! Often I find that it is difficult enough making a good movie out of a marginal book, but it is nearly impossible to achieve a true classic both times! The book is most definitely a classic, and the movie (much to my surprise!) lived up to its predecessor! Even if you are usually disappointed over movie versions, I can assure you, this will not let you down! The producers must be MASTERS to have achieved this. Simply, amazing.
Rating: 
Summary: Stunning Production, Dreadful Encoding.
Review: Jane Austen's satirical view on life, love, and society is ageless, and this production of her most famous work has captured that well. The humour in the situations arising, and the folly of the characters is rendered so entirely believeable by an exceptional cast, Miss Austen herself could have no complaints.
Colin Firth pulls off a creditable Fitzwilliam Darcy, and Jennifer Ehles brings Elizabeth Bennet to life, but the prizes have to go to David Bamber and Alison Steadman, portraying respectively, the most sycophantic Mr Collins, and the most inane Mrs Bennet one can imagine. Rest assured you will love to hate both of them.
I do however caution anyone using a DVD-ROM rather than a set-top player to view their DVD's that this encoding is not the best. Instead of encoding from the original film it was taken from video tapes, with reversed fields, making movement, when viewed at the higher refresh and resolution of a PC monitor, to cause tearing across colour borders. I own the DVD's and love them, but I have to set up my DVD playing software to counteract this problem each time. If you're using a set-top player or know your software well then you'll be happy with this edition.
A stunning production, well written, beautifully acted, and perfectly captured on film. I would recommend this production to anyone.
[Update, September 2001: Apparently a region 1 version of this region-free DVD is coming this month - I'd recommend you go for that as the region-free version is the one with the terrible encoding]
Rating:
Summary: Very good but not the best
Review: I agree with the handful of viewers who compared this version with the BBC version of the late 1970s. This one is very good, even extremely good, but the BBC version was even better--mainly because Elizabeth Garvie simply "is" Elizabeth Bennet. It is hard to imagine anyone performing the role better. Her eyes convey more emotion than most people can show with their entire bodies. It is also more faithful to the book, and does not include scenes not in the book--Darcy swimming, fencing etc., Mr. Collins showing up to "condole" the Bennets because of their youngest daughters elopement. However, I think Colin Firth was, overall, a better Darcy than David Rintoul by a considerable margin (with only on exception, the surprise meeting of Darcy and Elizabeth in Derbyshire--an electrifying moment in the BBC version). Unfortunately the VHS version of the BBC performance cuts out a wonderful scene between Elizabeth and Darcy's sister, in the original TV showing. My recommendation, any Jane Austin lover should have both--Pride and Prejudice may well be the best novel ever written.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderfully faithful adaptation
Review: This DVD is an incredible version of one of Austen's greatest works. The format is easy to use, and the original breaks with credits of the mini-series give perfect stopping points in a very long film. The scenery is not only true, it is beautiful, the acting is great, and the story line is beautifully preserved, with little left out. We absolutely love it and have watched it over and over again.
Rating:
Summary: Not a high quality DVD...
Review: "Pride and Prejudice" is one of the top 10 novels ever written. The BBC miniseries with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle is the finest adaptation to date. The actors are superb. The screen play is accurate, comprehensive, parsimonious, and entertaining. The dialogue is beautiful and preserves much of Jane Austin's witty and wry commentary. The cinematography is superb. The film was shot in authentic locations all over Britain. I thought the film adaptation by the BBC and A&E was so fine, I bought the VCR tapes when they were released, then I bought the lazer disk version, and then I bought the DVD version. The DVD version is a big fat disappointment. The quality of the DVD transfer is NOT good. First, the colors appear faded and with the Regency English palette of beige-greens, browns, ambers, and taupes, this is a serious defect. It makes the clothing look worn, the grass and trees look sunburned, and some places, the complexions look downright washed out. The film appears to have been shot in Arizona at high noon instead of England. Second, for some bizarre reason, the DVD processors nipped and tucked some of the original material. The clipped portions might not bother one who has never seen the original--but I noticed. There was no need to edit this film. Four of the 50-minute sections are crammed on disk 1 (where the editing takes place) and the other two were recorded on disk 2. I guess it would have made too much sense to record three episodes on each disk? Seems like poor planning to me. For the price of this 2-disk DVD package, more care should have been taken with the transfer process. My lazer disk version cost less, holds more, and has beautiful resolution.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent BBC Production
Review: The production is excellent. I wish I could say the same for the quality of the DVD. This DVD's video is the poorest of any I have in my collection! The VHS copy that I have access to is actually visually clearer!
Rating:
Summary: Everyone Will Enjoy
Review: The first time I saw this film, it was in English Class in 11th grade. Prepared to be bored out of my mind, I was totally shocked by this wonderful story. I anticipated it each day and even came to school sick so as not to miss it. I laughed, I cried, and I fell in love. And it wasn't just me. Everyone in the whole class loved it...even those guys who were planning to sleep through it. I ran out and read the book, which was even better. Jane Austen's style was so modern and hillarious you could almost call it impertinent. Believe me folks, watch this one and you'll be speaking with an accent and waiting up for your Darcy or Lizzy!
Rating:
Summary: Can I give this 10 stars?
Review: Wow. Jane Austen's genius is visible here, her characters may wear period clothes and talk kinda funny, but they're all people we know. The Bennet girls, their social climbing mother, weak father, and verra intriguing neighbors comprise this story. Elizabeth Bennet, the wittiest and smartest of the girls is our heroine, played wonderfully by Jennifer Ehle. Colin Firth is Fitzwilliam Darcy, an arrogant twit whose first proposal to Elizabeth doesn't go all that well, but in the end, he sees that he has behaved "abominably" and makes it all okay. The secondary characters are well drawn and well portrayed. Ms Collins (David Bamber) is hilarious, Lydia and Mr. Wickham truly deserve each other, and Lady Catherine de Bourgh gets hers in the end. Delightful adaptation of Austen's classic.
Rating:
Summary: Film Producer gives this DVD an enthusiastic thumbs-up!
Review: I was quite excited about the prospect of acquiring the exceptional A&E mini-series, "Pride and Predjudice" on DVD -- that is, until I read several Amazon customer reviews commenting on the inferior quality of the video transfer to DVD. Some people even suggested that the VHS tape version of the film was superior in quality to the DVD. So, after absorbing these less-than-stellar technical reviews, I balked. But, after further consideration, I decided the convenience of DVD's convenient format would offset any lack of quality that had been forecast by other fans of the mini-series. Drum roll please... The two DVD set (in a nice slip-cover box) arrived and, to my surprise, picture, sound and technical aspects of the DVD are all excellent, with very little about which to quibble. (I do not have a Dolby Digital configuration, but rather the earlier-generation Pro-Logic set-up, which worked fine, with all of its channels carrying clear sound elements.) Although there are no cool supplemental materials save the excellent chapter index (which provides a wonderful means by which to pick-up where one left off) our family has been thoroughly engrossed in the mini-series once again, only this time we're seeing it presented at a quality level rivaling that of the original broadcast on A&E. (One reviewer complained that the front and end credits bracketing each of the episodes were an unwelcome distraction. A reminder, though, that these credits may be easily bypassed by pressing the "NEXT" button on the remote; doing so jets the viewer to the first frame of the next installment with nary a glitch. No problem at all.) Aside from an occassional visual ripple effect that can be attributed to normal film tranfer anomolies, the presentation is simply exquisite. Remember, this project was mounted years ago, across the pond, under less-than-perfect production conditions. For what it is, its quality and its fit and finish are completely satisfying to this demanding viewer. I produce film, television and video projects at a major studio level for a living, so I feel qualified to recommend this DVD to anyone who loves Jane Austin and anyone who's looking for a wonderful presentation of one of her most beloved stories. Don't hesitate to order this one! Amazon's standard delivery was here within 4 days of my order. Excellent packaging and service.
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