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Pride and Prejudice (BBC TV Miniseries)

Pride and Prejudice (BBC TV Miniseries)

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: exceptionally great
Review: This is the first time I saw the movie. It immediately hooked me on and I kept on watching again and again for the whole week. Then I read the book. My 6 year old son loves the "argument" scene between Lizzy and Lady de Bourgh. I have to admit the picture in the VHS version is more beautiful than on the DVD version.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Priceless Adaptation
Review: Colin Firth was born for the role of Mr. Darcy! Exceptionally well-acted, the perfect chemistry felt between him and Jennifer Ehle is more than entrancing! The dialogue is exquisitely delicious, and quite stirring. There has not been, and I dare say, will never be, a more moving and exhilirating adaptation of this heartfelt tale of the changes we make for love. I can watch it a thousand times more and never lose my enthusiasm for it! Bravo for Colin and Jennifer, and to A&E (& BBC) for outstanding work! It would not be an exaggeration to say that this version of Pride and Prejudice is THE best you will ever see!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The best movie I've ever seen!
Review: This has to be my new favorite movie! Quite faithful to the book, BBC's version of Pride and Prejudice is amazing! The acting is superb and the chemistry, unbeatable. If you are debating whether of not to buy this Jane Austen classic, debate no longer. There can be no better use for your money. ;)

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Stellar cast, faithful adaptation, something's missing
Review: Clearly, enormous effort went into the making of the BBC adaption of Pride and Prejudice, and the result is amazing. The book had long been a favorite of mine, and while I waited impatiently for the rerelease on DVD during the summer of 2001, it was well worth the wait, price and anticipation.

The first viewing was majestic, and I had never felt a movie had so closely replicated the book than when I first dedicated an entire weekend to viewing and reviewing the movie.

Therefore, it was incredibly disappointing to discover on multiple viewings (upon reading the book again) that several of the characterizations fell short. In particular, Mary, Kitty and Lydia are whitewashed in the movie as ignorant girls rather than dynamic characters whose nuances and intricacies can intrigue viewers as well as annoy.

Furthermore, and perhaps most disappointing of all, Elizabeth is characterized in perhaps a too modern, too feminist sense. While in the book Elizabeth displays feminist behaviors for the time, she is also acknowledged to get swept away in the frivilous behavior of her younger sisters by looking anxiously for the highly reputed Mr. Bingley, whereas in the movie, she couldn't care less about romance and the thrill of the pursuit. Her relationship with Charlotte is underplayed and with Jane overdrawn. Elizabeth is right too often, and humbled too seldom, resulting in a lowered enjoyment of the supplementary characters. Where in the book, Jane is charitable in her kind opinions of the Bingley sisters, in the movie she is blind to their faults while Elizabeth sees them straightaway. In the book, Darcy is the titular pride. In the movie, it is Elizabeth.

The movie is beautiful and highly recommended; however, the carelessness with the nuances of characters' personality detracts upon closer scrutiny from the book to the film.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Masterfully done
Review: If anyone wonders why this version of Pride and Prejudice is so good, or why so many people LOVE it, the answer is simple: it stays true to Austen. With any movie adapted from her novels, you'll probably enjoy certain dialouge more than the rest, and I'll tip you off right now: it's probably verbatim Austen. What makes this miniseries glow (besides superb actors to deliver the lines well) is the wicked good dialouge. It would be nice if Hollywood would realize this and feel less need to chop up her novels and add more "modern" humor.

There can't be much more said as fair as praises for this adaptation goes. Just about every detail is perfect. And it's a movie that can be loved by non-Austen fans, although it may lead them to the books, which is a world more fabulous than any movie could capture. Go for it, every minute of the five hours is worth your time. One of my favorite scenes is when Lizzy and Darcy dance - it's so much more like a fencing match than a dance, and it manifests their strange battleground of a relationship. And what a wonderful battle of wits it is.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Best ever made movie- must see
Review: I loved Pride and Predjudice. From what I hear the DVD version is horrible but the VHS is worth your buy. It was so exiting the picture was perfect in the movie. We rented the movie from the library and loved it, so check it out in the VHS version if you aren't sure about buying it. My dad watch it three times through already and that is a 6 part series so he watched 18 movies. Everyone must see this movie, its so romantic in a good way. I saw this once through and I had to buy it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: AMAZING!!
Review: Wow!! This is just a fabulous adaption of Pride and Prejiduce! The length is a little daunting when you first start out but you come to realize that the length is what makes it great. Unlike other films that have to skip or shorten scenes to fit the 2 hour format this movie doesn't cut any corners. This movie rarely strays from Jane Austen's book. And that is how it should be. The witty talented Austen knew what she was doing. And it is wonderful to see a movie that acknowledges that. The characters both the main and the supporting are perfectly cast. Jennifer Ehle is the most fantastic Lizzy there could ever be. And colin firth is rather dashing as the misunderstood Mr. Darcy. Lizzy's parents and sisters are well represented as are the Bingleys and Mr. Colins absolutely steals the scene whenever he appears with his his ignorant humor. To top it all off the scenery is gorgeous (espacially Pemberly) and the sets seem to come right out of the book. It is best to watch the whole thing at once if you could set aside a Sunday afternoon. You won't be disappointed. As with the book itself I wish I could give this movie 1000 stars.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Darcy!!
Review: I love this movie!! I have watched it several times (despite its length, which is only a blessing because that's like savoring its goodness). The best parts are towards the end when you see that look on Darcy's face when he looks at Elizabeth and when you get to see Pemberley. That's my favorite part but the whole movie is wonderful. It's just as good as the book! Oh, by the way, my friend wrote a paper on the similarities between Pride and Prejudice and Bridget Jones' Diary, so check that movie out, too.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One word...wow!
Review: In a world where most books are chopped to pieces when turned into film, it is refreshing to see a movie that takes the time to tell the whole story. Don't get me wrong, there are a few places where the story deviates from the book, but these places are few and far between.
Jennifer Ehle plays an excellent Elizabeth Bennet, with all the wit and compassion one who has read the book would expect. And Colin Firth's portrayal of Mr. Darcy is the best I've ever seen, and I've seen many.
I would definitely recommend this to romance-lovers and Austen-lovers alike!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Courtship rituals in Merry Old England
Review: I watched PRIDE AND PREJUDICE under pressure from an email keyboard-pal, who had previously, at my urging, viewed my own favorite film of all time (THE LION IN WINTER) and now demanded reciprocity. It was my male pride versus her prejudice. But guilt is a powerful corrosive, so I caved, and was pleasantly surprised. I understand that this 1996 A&E TV miniseries version is extremely faithful to the original Jane Austen novel, so at least I won't have to read the latter! P&P's length (> 5 hours) and the number of characters and subplots involved make it difficult to write a relatively short review of this delightful comedy of the heart. Perhaps the film could be subtitled "The Romantic Perils of Young Maidens Stranded In the Stix", or "Seeking A Prince Charming to Rescue One from Rural Boredom". Either one is sufficiently descriptive of the storyline, though feminists may bristle. But, let's face it. Even though neither the year nor the reigning monarch is ever mentioned, as I recall, the time is likely concurrent to Austen's penning of the story, i.e. the first decade of the 19th century, when feminism wasn't big.

The Bennets are minor, money-strapped landed gentry living in the rural south of England. The parents (Benjamin Whitrow and Alison Steadman) have five daughters: Elizabeth (Jennifer Ehle), Jane (Susannah Harker), Lydia (Julia Sawalha), Kitty (Polly Maberly), and Mary (Lucy Briers). Dad is a kindly and utterly sensible man in early old age who remains slightly bemused that he never managed to father a son. Mom is a hyperexcitable and materialistic woman, who, when not fussing about her own material future after her husband dies, is obsessed with getting the girls married off. To that end, the oldest daughter, Jane, may or may not have a future with Mr. Bingley (Crispin Bonham-Carter), a perky young gentleman who's recently bought a country home nearby. Bingley smiles excessively, but has the advantage of an annual income of 5,000 pounds sterling. The second oldest, Elizabeth, has more than her fair share of suitors, one of whom, Mr. Darcy (Colin Firth), inspires in her feelings ranging from perplexity to loathing to love depending on circumstance. Darcy is remarkably deficient in social skills, but is enormously wealthy and master of a Great House up north in Derbyshire. The other daughters - the "silliest girls in England" according to Mr. Bennet - must make do with the young officers of an army regiment locally encamped. The major thread of P&P is the rocky evolution of the relationship between Elizabeth and Darcy.

All roles are wonderfully played, but Ehle and Firth are brilliant. Although Elizabeth's ability to judge people needs seasoning, she's smart, strong-willed, and impossible to intimidate. No flighty girl is she. Darcy is brutally honest, scrupulously principled, impatient with frivolity and nonsense, and proud. Since much of the age was frivolous and nonsensical, he often doesn't fit in socially. Not to put too fine a point on it, he can be positively boorish. One of P&P's most humorous scenes is the first time Elizabeth and Darcy dance together at a formal ball hosted by Bingley. It gives new meaning to the word "discomfiture". I found two other characters particularly intriguing, Mr. Collins (David Bamber) and Bingley's unmarried sister (Anna Chancellor). The former, a simpering and oily Anglican cleric and Mr. Bennet's nephew, stands to inherit the Bennet house at its master's death. Moreover, in his relations with his own wealthy patron, the insufferable Lady Catherine de Bourgh (Barbara Leigh-Hunt), the pathetic and disgusting Collins raises obsequious bootlicking to an artform. Chancellor's character was that of a spiteful spinster-to-be who could've run circles around any Hollywood gossip columnist in terms of pure cattiness.

I suspect the costuming and choreography of P&P are commendably accurate representations of the period, although I'm uniquely unqualified to make that judgement. And then, of course, there's the beautiful English countryside to which I yearn to return after an absence of several years.

Though it's definitely a "chick flick", a man should be able to find merit in P&P so long as his testosterone level isn't spilling over. I enjoyed it immensely. But you'll never get me to admit it in the company of my male pals.


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