Customer Reviews

Pride & Prejudice [HD DVD]

5 star:		(693)
4 star:		(165)
3 star:		(113)
2 star:		(97)
1 star:		(168)

 

 

Okay, I am a rabid Frith and BBC fan of the miniseries, but I was very impressed with this adaption and found it refershing in it's grounded, youthful take on the story.

For starters, there is a very grounded nature to the presentation of the story. Some Austenites got their knickers into a twist because they thought it made the family and their circumstances too drab looking. But I loved it! The Meryton Assembly basically sets the stage for this grounded approach-the dancing looks a little heavy footed, the girls look sweaty, and you can't help but think that someone needs to open a window cause it looks awfully sweaty! But at the same time,it made the story come alive, like you were a fly on the wall, peeking in on Lizzy and Darcy and the rest of the gang.

Lastly, I loved the youthful take on the story. I LOVE Firth and Ehle as the '95 leads. They had this chemistry and sensual tension that was electric! But their take was definitely from a mature standpoint-like the way I'd act now as a 33 year old woman. Whereas Macfadyen and Knightley? Theirs is a more youthful, innocent, first love take that I just took to. Great chemistry, Lizzy's a little less cocksure, Darcy's a bit more unbalanced by this attraction, and it felt right in terms of age and stage of development with the actual characters in the book.

Great adaption, brisk storytelling, and a wonderfully irreverent tone by a fun director who knew it was a good idea to knock the pedestal off from under our Lizzy and Darcy, and let them be seen in a more grounded light. And ps-I thought Macfadyen, even though he doesn't have that big of a part, was a great Darcy!

First, to all of the Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth lovers (of which, I am one), we will always have that remarkable masterpiece. Therefore, we should be able to judge any new versions freely. Having said that, this version is great!

This movie is quite shorter than what we're used to for P&P adaptations and at first it seemed to me that the dialogue was rushed, but after the first 15 minutes it either slowed down or I ceased to notice it, until Darcy's proposal scene anyway, but it worked quite well there.

This film is also much more of a comedy than the two BBC versions. There were minor changes with dialogue but none of the changes lessened any of the characters or the spirit of the story. Instead, it probably enhanced the feelings the audience shared with the characters. In fact, I think that everything left out of the two previous BBC versions were added to this one so you still get something new from the same story.

One major change is the loss of Mr. and Mrs. Hurst. In a two-hour movie there just isn't enough time to do their characters justice. The rest of the cast is so marvelous though that we barely notice they're missing and it makes the movie flow more naturally.

The actors chosen are wonderful in their parts. I didn't think I'd be able to accept Keira Knightley as Elizabeth but after the first five minutes I was completely taken in by her. She pulls off Elizabeths witty dialogue like, well... Elizabeth and just as Jennifer Ehle added some distinctive traits to Lizzie, so does Keira. She wonderfully manages to show us Lizzie's love of a good laugh without making it seem as though she was a giggling loony and every time she smiles, we smile with her.
I won't critique all the performances but I have to add that Donald Sutherland really does a spectacular job as the head of a household of silly women. The last scene with him and Lizzie had me in tears.

Not to say that this movie was perfect, what adaptation can be without some faults or silly alterations? None are too serious though. The first is at the Meryton ball, when Darcy, Bingley and Caroline walk in, everything stops. The music, the dancing, all conversation and the crowd parts to offer them a path. I thought for a second the crowd had mistaken Mr. Bingley for royalty. It just seemed a bit over the top. But it passed quickly enough. The other was actually Darcy's proposal scene which was done in the rain. I thought it silly that he would follow her outside in such weather to propose, but one can accept that in view of the other changes that turned out so well.
I give this movie 5 stars because I wouldn't want to miss it and I don't think any P&P fan should.
All in all, if you have a good sense of humor and aren't afraid to laugh, like Elizabeth, you will just enjoy the story as it is played out. Remember, afterwards you can always put Jennifer and Colin Firth back in the DVD player.

Yet another re-release DVD, promising more special features when any regular fan, like myself, already has the first DVD release.

About this DVD:

1st Disc: Is the exact DVD released prior to this one. It has the widescreen movie version and all the same features on the previous DVD release.

2nd Disc: This is the new disc with "extra" special features including...
-Fullscreen movie version.
-"The Politics of Dating" - A short feature with cast, crew, and director talking about modern vs. P&P time dating (i.e. dancing, the 'touch', etc). Most of the interview clips are recycled from what we've previously seen on the first disc special features. And brought little to nothing new to the table and lasted around 7 minutes.
-"Galleries of the 19th Century" - Interactive photo gallery. Fun.
-"The Stately Homes of Pride and Prejudice" - A small handful of about 5 minute interviews with cast, crew, and director talking about the different locations they worked at. New stuff, but nothing exceptionally interesting that lasts for long.
-"Pride and Prejudice Family Tree" - A DVD menu telling us how the characters in the movie are related. It is pointless and useless, nothing interesting or new.
-And that's IT.

Packaging:
It's absolutely gorgeous. I think all the money was spent on the box rather than putting together a decent 2nd disc. The package is made to look and open like a book. It's a great, beautifully designed set that is hard to resist if you saw it in stores.

Booklet:
A booklet was included in this set with some new, unseen photographs and talk about costumes, characters, and music. It's basically like a scrapbook of images and tidbits of various cast and crew's thoughts.

Included:
The soundtrack is included in a paper sleeve along with a ticket for director Joe Wright's upcoming film Atonement.

Conclusion: If you were hoping for new interviews with the cast and director, unseen behind the scenes footage, deleted scenes, or anything worth shelling out more money to buy another DVD for, then you will be severely disappointed. If you're like me, and already own both the movie and soundtrack this really isn't worth the $28 buy. Because ultimately you're just getting just a pretty box, another copy of the DVD you already own, and a throwaway extra disc. But if you don't have the DVD or soundtrack yet, then I say go for this set because it will be worth the extra money to get both the movie and soundtrack, and flashy box.

I give it 2 stars for the pitiful attempt at "exclusive all-new features"

This film is a favorite of my wife and I; we have watched it several times in DVD format and thought it looked pretty good. I bought the Blu-ray version as soon as it was released and compared it to the DVD on our HDTV. What a difference! The BD is a huge improvement (as it should be) and has made this fine movie just that much better!

OK, I'll admit it: I've gone to the theater to see this 6 or 7 times already--I've lost count; I'm thrilled that the DVD is coming out sooner rather than later.

No, this is not the much-loved 1995 multi-hour A&E version. And no, MacFaydan is not Firth, and Knightly is not Ehle. And some liberties were taken with the original storyline (sometimes a bit disconcerting like Lady Catherine's night time visit?? and Bingley entering Jane's sickroom, even before knocking?? "simply not done" in those days!).

But I very much agree with the positive reviewers below --this version is MOST enjoyable on its own. The scenery, photography, and music are gorgeous (you must buy the CD!). Darcy and Elizabeth are still wonderfully Darcy and Elizabeth. It was a little disconcerting at first to see so much mud, livestock, and plain gowns--but you get past that fairly quickly. And it seems maybe a bit more realistic for country gentry.


BTW--if you're a P&P addict like me, don't miss Pamela Aiden's Darcy trilogy--it tells the entire story from Darcy's viewpoint and fills in a lot of what I think is missing. Also, if you have wondered what might have happened after the wedding and like a "spicier" novel, read Linda Berdoll's "Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife" (Austen meets Bronte and Sandra Brown).

The title of my review says it all. After watching the comments of those involved in writing, directing, and acting in the film it's obvious they didn't understand Austin's plot. They don't understand the customs of the time period. They didn't get the fact that Austin's book is humorous. At one point in an interview the screenwriter says the story revolves around Lizzie's pride and Darcy's prejudice. When in fact in Austin's novel it was Miss. Bennett's prejudice and Darcy's pride that caused their conflict. The screenwriter also didn't get the fact that Mr. Bennett held his wife in total contempt in Austin's story. He made fun of her in front of their children. And it was this element in the Bennett's relationship that drove the two older sisters to insist on marrying for love. They didn't want to be in marriages where they couldn't love and respect their spouses. The scenery in the movie is lovely--but too rustic. I doubt the Bennett's in Austin's novel had a large boar running through their house. And Mr. Bingley was a complete fop in this movie version. Donald Southerland reminds me of Lee Marvin in Cat Baloo. Mrs. Bennett looks and sounds like a fishwife. All in all--I cannot give it a high rating. If you want to see Pride & Prejudice--watch the Colin Firth version. It's a whole lot closer to Jane Austin's original story.

I've always loved Pride and Prejudice. More so, when I discovered the BBC version, most fondly known as the Colin Firth version. I have nothing but praised for that mini-series, and I have fallen in love with the story even more. I love how repressed and snooty Darcy is, how charmingly snarky Lizzie can be. There was also a sense of maturity in the mini-series, and most probably, it was influenced by the casting of older actors that resulted in that. It worked well for them. All in all, the numerous times that I have watched it in entirety is a testament to my love for it. And then I hear there's a new version coming out with Keira Knightley as Lizzie and some guy as Darcy. How dare they attempt to remake it, when possibly the definitive version has already been done?!

I have heard that many Austen purists are in uproar over this and I can see why. It's not your mother's Jane Austen, for one thing -- while some may think that's an insult, I mean it as a compliment. This new version is less polite, less genteel; it's also less repressed and more in-your-face, well, as in-your-face one can be in breeches and cravats. Whereas the BBC version used its 6 hours to meet and match and flirt and separate the characters, the movie has less of that luxury so it makes up for it by being more fiery and earthier, more emotional and even more confrontational. It's also very young,in the best sense of the word. It's fresh and new, and I would have love to see this version fleshed out to its full width and breadth, rather than just the abbrieviated version that I watched. But even then, the experience is wonderfully involving. Here, emotions are always on the verge of breaking through the surface, making the passions more heightened and the anguish more excuciating. And love is felt in all its giddy, painful, confusing glory. A lot has to be said for Keira Knightley and Matthew MacFadyen taking on roles that have been done (and brilliantly before). Yet I actually like their new takes on the characters: Knightley's Lizzie is less polished but equally as witty and charming, while MacFadyen's Darcy is less self-possesed and more vulnerable but equally as snooty (and later adorably, meltingly romantic).

I love the touches that made this movie fresh:

1) The characters of Jane and Bingley are more defined, and that's something that is better than the mini-series. There, she comes out as bland while he seems almost retarded while here, Jane's more animated and self-possessed while Bingley is charmingly nervous, adorably shy and sweet-tempered.

2) During the dance, when they were arguing and suddenly, only the two of them are left dancing and sniping at each other -- this is a very imaginative take on the whole cliche of having eyes for only one person, even in the midst of a dance and in the middle of an argument.

3) The almost kiss after Lizzie rejected Darcy. The look on his face was so wonderful, seeing as we can view how much it was hurting him to turn away while she was surprised at her seeming to want him to kiss her. *sigh* They are so attracted to one another depite hating each other's guts. Lovely...and soooo hot. (p.s. I so wanted to hug and kiss him for that little boy lost look when he realzied that she said no to him).

I thought I would never see anyone else fill Darcy's shoes but Colin Firth but in this version, Matthew MacFadyen acquits himself wonderfully and so deos Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Bennett.

In watching this version of Jane Austen's classic novel of love, marriage, and class distinctions of Regency England, all I could think of was that, while pleasing to the eye, Keira Knightley and Matthew MacFadyen were less playing Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet than versions of Heathcliff and Catherine in Emily Bronte's "Wuthering Heights".

Knightley's Elizabeth struck me as self important, dramatic, and smug rather than intelligent and full of life. Why was she always snarling, smiling, or generally baring her teeth? MacFadyen's Darcy, rather than proud, alternating between shyness and simply looking like he wanted to cry. Where was the pomposity? The disdain for others around him? I saw none of that.

This is not even touching the appalling additions of such things as pigs in the living room and the generally unkempt appearance of the Bennets and their living situation. Mr. Bennet was a bookkeeper, a gentleman. The book states that the Bennets were "not too poor" and still managed to appear well mannered and well groomed despite the lack of funds. So the dirt and the farm animals were unneeded and had no point relevant to the "Pride and Prejudice" I have read. If they were that poor, what would be the point of the fuss made over Lizzie getting her skirt inches in mud on the way to visit Jane? There'd be nothing to remark on, because it would be the norm. And it is not.

But back to "Pride and Prejudice" meets "Wuthering Heights". I get the idea was likely to appeal to the greater masses. But the Harlequinesque declarations and outright lack of propriety shown in the film - the flowing hair, the over the top emotion, the schmaltz - is counterproductive to the novel. I could buy the sap in "Wuthering Heights" because Heathcliff and Catherine were both so dramatic on their own that their romance and doom were highlighted by such actions. Mr. Darcy and Lizzie were more circumspect. No less passionate, but their passion lay in their mannerisms and their verbal sparring, not walking around in bare feet, nightgowns, or half-done shirts. No, no, no. Leave that to Emily Bronte, not Jane Austen.

As for the rest, no way would single men visit sick single women when they are alone. Reputation, as was one point of the novel, meant everything. Such an action would be scandalous back in the day. A woman would NOT be seen with her hair down. Lizzie would not giggle endlessly and lick her fingers and act as silly as Lydia. No way would Mr. Darcy EVER deliver that letter in the way he did. And the first proposal: the book mentioned Charlotte's parlor. It should have been left at that. The rain was, again, more dramatic, but it did not fit for these characters, especially not at that juncture of their acquaintance. And no way would Lady Catherine go to Longbourn in the dead of night to have it out with Lizzie over her intentions for her nephew. It's all wrong.

I am glad for those who enjoy this version, but if the filmmaker wanted over the top romance, he should have left Jane Austen alone and gone with the more lushly romantic aforementioned Emily Bronte. The Bronte-ization of "Pride and Prejudice" left me cold and diluted Jane Austen's observations about love, marriage, society, and money and turned the story into just another romance flick. Give me the A&E miniseries, please.

If one were to watch a condensed version of P&P, this is the one to watch. If one is a newcomer to P&P this is the one to watch. If one has watched the A&E version nine million times, and may want something fresh(despite eight other adaptations out there), this is the one to watch!

Granted, I myself, am not an austere follower of Austin, but I have read enough of the novel, and seen the A&E version enough times, to know what it is supposed to be. Call me romantic(I am), call me an idealist(I am), but no matter what way you look at it, outside of reading the book and Collin Firth's spot-on Darcy, I'd say this is the probably the best version you'll ever get.

It holds true to the spirit of the book, and although there are many omissions, and some missing characters, this keeps in all the key scenes, and stays true to the characters. Not only that but Keira Knightley's Elizabeth Bennet, has to be the best portrayal to date; as does McFayden's Darcy. This coming from an avid Colin Firth fan as well. I love Colin Firth, and he will always be dear to my heart, but Matthew McFayden knocks him right out of the water(pun intended) in my book! He is restrained, yet sexy, prideful and haughty, yet tender and kind of sensitive. He walks a very fine line, as only Firth has been able to walk before, but Mr. McFayden does it even better.

The other characters, such as Lydia(Played by the always marvelous Jena Malone) and Mrs. Bennet, were not quite as a annoying. The relationship between Mr. Bennet and Lizzie seemed much more clearly defined as well. Although I did enjoy the A&E's Mr. Collins, this one seems more appropriate to the period, and much more believable. Judi Dench is simply wonderful, and is the definitive Lady Catherine.

The characters in this version seemed much more suited to the era then in the A&E versions, the contrast between the Bennet's finfancial state and the Upper Class(Darcy & Bingley), was much more obvious, which was nice. The characters know their places, and they act like it. The dances also come off as more real and natural, not so staged as in the A&E version.

If all else fails to entice you, the Scenery is to die for! The English Moors are so beautiful their worth seeing the film for that alone! The scene were Mr. Darcy comes out of the mist to meet Elizabeth has to be one of "The most geourgeous" in cinema history.

So my hope for you is, that no matter how many times you've read the book, no matter how many film(Tv or movie) versions you've seen, you can appreciate this on its own. Yes, I did make comparison's, but merely to appease the Austin fanatics, I prefer to take things on their own, and not make a lot of comparisons. So enjoy this movie drink in the scenery, the marvelous music, and the wonderful acting.

God Bless ~Amy

When I saw that there was yet another version of Pride and Prejudice being released, I was a bit skeptical that anything new could be done to bring Austen's book alive on screen. I loved the book, and I loved the old Olivier version of the film. My skepticism disappeared as I watched the film, however.

Yes, the script departs from the novel, but that's to be expected. What I truly enjoyed was that the characters were portrayed in a way that I'd always imagined. Mr. Bennett is long-suffering and sweet, with a wry wit. Mrs. Bennett is a hilarious busybody, who really does love her daughters. Jane is beautiful and dignified. Elizabeth is sassy, smart, and stubborn. Mr. Darcy is (very) handsome and dashing, while still being endearingly socially awkward. Mr. Collins is wonderfully icky.

Another thing I enjoyed was that many of the scenes were beautifully shot. Mr. Darcy's quick doubletake when he sees Elizabeth at the party, and the close shot of him flexing his hand after helping Elizabeth from the carriage are wonderful. The near-kiss scene during the rainstorm could make even very sensible women feel a bit fluttery. The gorgeous scenery-- magnificent old houses, gnarled old trees, foggy meadows-- add to the romance of the film.

I do have two quarrels with the film, however. The two youngest Bennett sisters are a bit too giddy, and their giggling becomes tiresome after a while. Also, the ending was more sappy than romantic.

I first watched the film last night, ordered it today, and can't wait to watch it again.