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Pride and Prejudice - The Special Edition

Pride and Prejudice - The Special Edition

List Price: $39.95
Your Price: $29.96
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Murky DVD Transfer
Review: I'll limit my comments to the technical quality of the DVD transfer, which is, in a word, terrible. I do realize that material created for broadcast won't look as good as material created for theatrical projection. That said, DVD should easily carry studio-quality video, and this DVD is nowhere near that. It is gritty, squirmy, and unsharp. The BBC and A&E can and should go back to the ?16 mm? film sources to create a new transfer that does justice to an otherwise-excellent production.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Aussies - don't buy this DVD
Review: I am a big fan of this mini-series, which I have viewed many times on video. I therefore went to the expense (almost $A100) of buying the DVD for my new state-of-the-art home theatre. The quality of this DVD is the worst I have ever seen and is much worse than watching the video through the home theatre system. I am surprised that the BBC allowed its release. Of course I cannot return the DVD now that it has been opened but it is a complete waste of money because it is virtually unwatchable. If I had purchased the item here in Australia, I would be protected by law from having to accept it because it is not "of merchantable quality". However, buying on the net carries certain risks. Let the buyer beware!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great production
Review: Definitely the best adaptation of Austen yet. Sorry only that behind-the-scenes footage or cast interviews are not included with the package (you'll have to buy the book 'The Making of Pride and Prejudice). The casting is very good: Mr. Collins and Mrs. Bennet are gloriously repulsive, while the high spirits of Bonham-Carter's Bingley is especially contagious. Of course, Ehle and Firth are strong and charismatic leads. This isn't a along-awaited reward for 'countless schoolgirls'! Pride and Prejudice is one of the greatest novels in world literature, and is a unique pleasure to the more refined elements of either sex.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Wonderful wonderful Wonderful
Review: I can not do the film justice with my explanation. Just view it ... six hours will fly by quicker than you can ever imagine.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: As a male viewer, all I can say is...
Review: I loved this film. I bought it for my wife two weeks ago, and I've now watched it twice already. Very well made, etc. One thing I like about Jane Austen is that even though she wrote what today would be called "chick books", they are really more about the condition of, struggles of, and hopes and dreams of people, and they are NOT about women's plight in contrast to men and they are not resentful of men. In fact, Jane Austen writes the BEST male characters, and in Pride and Prejudice, Mr. Bennett is a pleasure in every scene (just as Mr. Palmer was terrific comic relief in Sense and Sensibility).

And I have to admit, being from the Hollywood area, I was predisposed to be unimpressed with the BBC production. However, I found it to be outstanding. My DVD had none of the production problems referred to in another review. Originally, I was disappointed to see no subtitle option, because I found them indispensible in watching Persuasion, but Pride and Prejudice was very understandable to my untrained American ear. I could not recommend this movie more highly to anyone adult enough to enjoy a love story.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: I just love that Mr. Darcy !
Review: I will keep it simple. If you love Jane Austen, you will love this miniseries. Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy is brooding, mysterious and perfectly cast. Jennifer Ehle is charming and has a lot of moxy. A woman before her time. I highly recommend this miniseries. You will watch it over and over.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Pride and Prejudice
Review: This is an Excellent version of Jane Austen's beloved novel Pride and Prejudice! It follows the book very well, unlike other cinematic adaptations of the novel. Colin Firth plays a captivating Mr. Darcy, and Jennifer Elhe's Elizabeth Bennet is both charming and delightful. Julia Sawalha's portrayal of Lydia Bennet is hilarous and true to Austen's character. Benjamin Whithrow and Alison Steadmen give wonderful performances as Mr. and Mrs Bennet, and the rest of the cast should be commended as well. I would recommend this movie to anyone. The cinematography and screenplay are excellent. My only objection to this DVD is that the credits are shown at the end of what would have been each episode in the mini series. Also, the DVD has no menu option. Otherwise, a great buy!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: now I gotta hankering for Colin Firth...
Review: I saw this mini-series on a PBS station a few years ago and fell in love with it. Then I saw it for sale at a local video/music store - on DVD... it is long - but it's length is what makes it so involving.

I truly wanted to be IN the movie - the acting is amazing, and the entire movie is wrought with Jane Austen's cutting-sarcasm that makes her STILL one of the first *real* feminists. She spoke out against the traditions of the English, but all-the-while remained a part of it. She truly is a genious.

Colin Firth is now on my 'cutey' list - and he makes you hate him so much you love him. If you liked the Hollywood-version of Sense and Sensibility, you will ADORE this DVD set. Highly-recommended.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: How can you top perfection?
Review: What can you say about a series that inspires so much devotion? The story is wonderful. The casting is superb. I will pull this movie out and watch it over and over again. I love the DVD version, because now I can zip right through to all of my favorite parts. If you have not seen this yet, I suggest a long day, a warm quilt and some great munchies, this is going to be a treat you want to prepare for.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great mini-series; lousy DVD
Review: My family has a rule that, if we rent a movie 3 times, we might as well buy it. I had gone far beyond my limit with the 1995 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. I could watch this series at least once a month, maybe even once a week, and still love it. The adaptation isn't 100% faithful to the book, but, cinematically, it's by far the best version ever made. On a scale of 5 stars for content, I would give this DVD 100.

However, I have both of the DVD editions and I don't like the DVD transfer for either one of them. If I could, each version would rate at nearly -100 stars.

For the first set, the one with the cardboard keepcases:

1) The sound quality isn't what I've come to expect from a DVD, and parts of the dialogue bottom out on occasion.

2) My local Blockbuster had the two-tape VHS version, with all the credits taken out except at the beginning and end of the set. This made the series flow like one movie, save for the natural break at the climax of the story when Darcy 1st proposes to Eliza, which was wonderful--perfect timing! Since I didn't see the series when it aired on A & E, it was often difficult for me to tell where the series breaks had taken place. I was quite surprised when I learned where some of them were, and this attests to the skill of the editors of the two-tape VHS version. I find the constant credits on the DVD distracting, repetitious and boring; pressing the Next button is inconvenient. As for these credits providing a break, as suggested by another reviewer--come on! DVDs are fantastic at picking up exactly where one left off, without missing a beat. They're far better at it than VHS tapes. If I need to go to the bathroom or get another tub of popcorn that badly, I'd rather stop a DVD wherever I please, rather than waiting for the appearance of credits I don't want to see anyway. That's as bad as watching the prison known as TV (UGH).

3) I also find this a very chintzy DVD--no language selections, no subtitles, no "goodies," such as cast bios. It didn't even have closed-captioning! Very, very cheap. As much as my husband paid for this DVD as a Hanukkah present to me, I expected much more for his money. So now I'll search for the VHS version I prefer. Maybe I'll buy two, in case one wears out.

For the second set, the one with the plastic keepcases:

A&E finally gets their head outta their youknowwhattee and gives us non-stop storytelling along with some cool goodies like cast bios, widescreen and subtitles/captioning. Then they RUIN it all with the most hideous color transfer I've ever seen on a DVD. I had to spend over half an hour getting the picture even remotely bearable to my eyes, and I'm still not satisfied with it. The entire DVD is now unwatchable for this alone. Will someone at A&E please please PLEASE fix this?

As I stated in my original review, perhaps the producers of this series will heed the many complaints they've received about the DVD transfers and re-issue a much better version in the future.


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