Customer Reviews

Pride and Prejudice (1940) [IMPORT]

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I wrote the review on December 18, 2005 and I'm writing this new review because I feel I must clarify a couple of things. I love this 1944 version of Pride and Prejudice and I think Laurence Olivier and Greer Garson are great as Darcy and Elizabeth and I absolutely love black and white movies and I only mentioned that this was the black and white version because most of the movie versions are in color and I was in no way putting this movie down by saying it was black and white. I'm not one of those people who hate a movie because it's old and black and white, and also, by mentioning the incorrect costumes I was just trying to make a statement that when you read some reviews of the DVD and video tape version of this movie on this web site and some other web sites that allow reviews that you see some reviewers trashing it because the costumes are Civil war period etc, and I was just saying that despite the costumes that people need to get past that and give this movie a chance because they will then see it's really a great movie!

Now that the studio has reissued this movie on a domestic dvd, the import (for which the sound is not synchronized with the picture) is no longer necessary. Stay away from this one.

As I have viewed several of the productions of Pride and Prejudice, my comment for the 1939 version is this: It's just what you think it might be for that time -- the gowns are "Gone With the Wind" -- I have never seen so much yardage. I do enjoy watching old films. However, it's actually very difficult to offer a rating -- because it is like comparing apples and oranges. For the period of time it came from, it was well done. If you view it with the idea of enjoying an old vintage movie, I'm sure you'll find it fascinating.

I recently saw this hard-to-get version of one of Jane Austen's most beloved stories (after "Sense And Sensibility," "Mansfield Park" and "Emma"; see my review of "Sense And Sensibility"). What can I say about this movie that hasn't been said already? Coming off two triumphs (see my review of "Wuthering Heights"), Laurence Olivier is yet again in top form as the arrogant Mr. Darcy, Greer Garson is magic is Elizabeth Bennet, "Tarzan's mate" Maureen O'Sullivan is perfect and the script, by Aldous Huxley, is tailored to the 1 hour, 40 minute time frame. I'm looking forward to seeing the remake. I highly recommend this version for English classes. This version is Not Rated.

This is a magnificent, although loose, adaptation of Jane Austen's novel of the same name. The superlative cast does justice to the witty and sophisticated screenplay by Aldous Huxley. It is a wonderful period piece and a delightful comedy of manners.

The story revolves around the upper middle class Bennett family, who live in a small, provincial town. Mr. and Mrs. Bennett, wonderfully played by Mary Boland and Edmund Gwenn, have five daughters whom they must marry off. So, when Mrs. Bennett receives news of a wealthy bachelor, Mr. Bingley, moving into town, Mrs. Bennett is over the moon with joy. She soon begins maneuvering her daughters, so that perhaps one of them may be taken off her hands in happy wedlock.

Jane Bennett, beautifully played by the lovely Maureen O'Sullivan, manages to engage Mr. Bingley's heart at a local ball. Elizabeth Bennett, intelligent and articulate, manages to capture the interest of Mr. Darcy, Mr. Bingley's even wealthier best friend. Greer Garson is superlative in the role of Elizabeth, while Laurence Olivier is perfect in the role of the arrogant, soon to be humbled by love, Mr. Darcy.

Mr. Darcy, drawn to Elizabeth, falls in love with her, but makes a proposal of marriage filled with such snobbery that Elizabeth, who has since discovered that Mr. Darcy had negatively interfered with Jane's romance with Mr. Bingley, is repulsed and turns him down. Elizabeth later finds out through the machinations of Mr. Darcy's aunt, delightfully played with autocratic hauteur by Edna May Oliver, that perhaps she had misjudged Mr. Darcy, and she overcomes her prejudice against him.

Driven by a love that sees him humbled, Mr. Darcy puts away his pride and overcomes the snobbery he initially felt towards the Bennetts. In the face of a great scandal that threatens to eclipse the Bennett household, Mr. Darcy stands steadfast in his love for Elizabeth, and demonstrates it in a way that provides a solution to the impending scandal.

How this comes about and unfolds is a source of pure cinematic delight for the viewer. The dialogue is brilliant and the acting is superb. This is one of Greer Garson's best performances. It is also one of the finest period pieces ever filmed.

"Pride and Prejudice" 1940, black and white.

This is my favorite version. Though the 1996 version is just as good. Both versions are different enough, that even if you have already seen one version, the other will be enjoyable too. The 1980 version is stiff and missed the humor completely. I liked the 2006 version too, but this version and the 1996 version are a step above.

One must first know, that by a common practice of the times in England (early 1800's), the five young ladies of this family and their mother, were prevented from inheriting their house by an ancestor, who had willed the house to their father, with the restriction that the house always go to a male relative. The girls have no brother, and their father is elderly. In those days, business was all a man's world. Jobs were not available to women, mainly just: cooking, cleaning, or if you got lucky, as a nanny for six children. So the five, young women were motivated to get married before their father died, and not end up in the street. Yet, some of the girls are not willing to accept just any man. This version sees their mother, desperate and scheming to match her daughters with husbands. It is a funny version. (Disclaimer: the reviewer does not suggest the plight of women in England at that time was funny; don't send me letters).

To those who enjoy the story, each of these versions is excellent. The 2006 version has the most inviting dancing, and the best humor scene. The 1996 version has the best Mr. Collins fawning over Lady Catherine de Bourgh, and a lovely Elizabeth.

It is too bad this 1940 version is in black and white, as it has the most charming dresses (accurate or not), and pretty gardens. The elegant Elizabeth floats across the room in her flowing dress. Greer Garson is a wonderful Elizabeth. This version shows most believably how Elizabeth wins Mr. Darcy's affection with her character, topped with her piano playing. I like the different story twist here with Lady Catherine de Bourgh, played so well by the superb, character-actress, Edna May Oliver, with her grand, bouncing, steps. Mary, behind the spectacles, is played by the attractive actress, Marsha Hunt. Mary seems indifferent compared to her sister's efforts at finding a man. However, Mary is just as determined, believing that if she improves her mind, by her reading, and displays her singing, a good man will find her. Mary's singing is portayed as tiresome, but is really quite good and entertaining. I wish they had had more of it. This has some good lines, from Mr. Collins to Lady Catherine de Bourgh: "So kind of you, so condescending, so patronizing" (to lower herself from a place of superiority to interact with his inferior position, outside her social group). You must also know ahead of time, that the word "prodigiously", often meaning "a lot", here means "amazingly, by some miracle". A charming, wonderful film, you will watch again and again.

Pride and Prejudice is a famous classic novel by Jane Austen and there are several movie adaptations one of which is this black and white version from 1940 starring Greer Garson as Elizabeth Bennett and Laurence Olivier as Mr. Darcy and though this older version isn't as good as the newer versions, the version from the 80's that starred Elizabeth Garvie and the 90's version that starred Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth are definitely better but this older version is good too. Yes the costumes from this 40's version are from the wrong period and look like rejects from Gone With the Wind and are definitely more American Southern Civil war period and not Regency England but the story and acting are great and I think that the incorrect costumes can be overlooked and I recommend that Jane Austen fans have an open mind and give this movie a chance!

Please note, this Pride & Prejudice features a star that is a much older Elizabeth Bennett (supposed to be 20 years old) and a very autocratic Mr. Darcy. Greer Garson is fascinating and I enjoy her movies greatly, but she was too old for Elizabeth Bennett or at the very least directed towards playing the role with much silliness to overcome her apparent age. Yes, she captured Lizzy's role in the Bennett household, but not the youthful lack of worldliness, thus her oversight of her family's fau paus'.

Yes, Laurence Olivier was great at most every part he played. However, as Mr. Darcy, Olivier was autocratic rather than representative of England's 19th Centure landed gentry. Mr. Darcy was not an aristocrat, he was a Gentleman with a great inheritance and estate. Indeed very full of himself, but not a titled personage. In some ways, Olivier seems to overplay the part - Mr. Darcy while a main character, is not THE main character.

Personally, the film was disappointing and I love old films and the Hollywood glamour films. I watched a VHS tape with great anticipation and saw the end of the film very disapponted. Disappointed with Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier and with the screenplay which dramatized events that Jane Austen did not write into Pride and Prejudice. Not an unusual circumatance, especially in older films, but disappointing just the same.

Acquire and watch because you like Greer Garson or Laurence Olivier, but don't expect to find a great deal of Jane Austen here.