The best adaptation of "Pride and Prejudice", much better than the later version with Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Bennet. This version never gets old and you can watch it multiple times, always finding something new in it. Adaptation of great literary work and at the same time fantastic comfort show that can cheer you up, P&P is spellbinding and definitely a must-watch. I guess it is not the last time I watched this show as I am sure to come back to it once in a while just to revisit an old friend.
Just Perfect!
For some reason I happen to have waited till I was 27 to watch this version of P&P for the first time, even though I've been a fan of both the novel and the 2005 movie adaptation for years... Well, I have to say that being older made me appreciate even more Jane Austen's wit and social satire, and how faithfully these traits were replicated in this series! Colin Firth captures perfectly Darcy's poise and adorable shyness, while Jennifer Ehle skillfully portrays Elizabeth's fierce loyalty and common sense. I'll definitely shelve this for later re-watching.
If all the scenes that weren't in the novel had been edited out, and Darcy was played by someone who doesn't look like he's in constant physical pain, I would have liked it a lot better. Jennifer Ehle does a great job, and is definitely one of my favourite portrayals of Elizabeth.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Jane Austen adaption, except for Clueless when I was too young to appreciate it. But somewhere along the way the culture forgot to impress upon me that Jane Austen is funny. (IMDB lists this show as a “Drama” and a “Romance”.) I find myself kind of incredulous that it took me till I was 38 to understand this. I blame the patriarchy. (I’m only sort of joking.)
This is, by all accounts, the definitive film version of this novel and it’s easy to see why. Time is taken with character development and the story unfolds rather slowly at first. It does pick up in terms of speed in the final episodes but, on the whole, it is leisurely paced. It’s easy to see why people tend to prefer this version, given that other relatively recent versions are much, much shorter. I keep telling anyone who listens to me that people should be adapting novels to TV shows, not to movies. (I’m pretty annoying about it.) I think this show is proof that it works.
Like much British “prestige” TV from the 1990s it’s remarkably well made (with a few exceptions) – I am particularly appreciative of the way it is shot, as there are lots of scenes involving mirrors allowing the audience to both see the character speaking and another character reacting to them, but with unconventional blocking. The superimposed images have dated less well and now seem pretty funny, but at least they were trying something – internal narration/memory is incredibly hard to adapt to film.
It’s not all amazing, though: the quality of the film looks not great now and the sound mix whenever there is music is a little off. (Maybe that’s on purpose as you don’t lose important plot points. But it was jarring the first time.)
And I’m just so surprised how funny it is. There are some great performances by the supporting cast, who are reveling in their comic relief roles around the overly earnest stars. Alison Steadman made me basically want to kill her character, which is a pretty great achievement.
I’m surprised, I’m impressed, and I wish I lived in a world in which stuff like this wasn’t so much “for women” to the point that I didn’t realize I might actually find it funny until I was nearly 40.
I can't believe it has taken me this long to finally watch it. I understand now why this series is the favorite adaptation of the novel for so many. And I'm surprised to see Jennifer Ehle almost dethrone Keira Knightley's title of the best Elizabeth Bennet for me. I did not expect to love her portrayal as much as I did. Or maybe it's just the character, lol. But she's absolutely wonderful and captivating and probably the best thing to come out of the series. However, as much as I love Colin Firth, I think I still prefer Matthew Macfadyen's Mr. Darcy.
Better than the movie adaptation and very loyal to the book and the era it portrays. I have some objections to the casting, especially those of the two oldest Bennet sisters.
This show isn't bad, even though the realisation is far from perfect and aged a little badly. It sure does respect the book more than the movie did and the criticism of the society is really well done. I'm a little curious about the choice of the actress playing Jane, who is supposed to be the most beautiful girl of the family but looks a little bit awkward in this show.
However, my biggest criticism is the lack of chemistry between Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth, which makes it difficult to understand why they would fall in love with each other.
Shout by DeletedBlockedParent2013-04-23T13:15:52Z
Perfect adaptation and casting! Blows doors on the more recent cinematic version.