Product Details

• Actors: Colin Firth, Jennifer Ehle, David Bamber, Crispin Bonham-Carter, Anna Chancellor
• Format: Anamorphic, Color, Special Edition, Closed-captioned
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: A&E HOME VIDEO
• DVD Release Date: September 25, 2001
• Run Time: 300 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2,320 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005MP58
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,317 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "Pride and Prejudice - The Special Edition (A&E Miniseries)" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Jane Austen's classic novel of 1813, Pride and Prejudice, still wins the hearts of countless schoolgirls with its romantic story of Elizabeth Bennet and her Mr. Darcy. Now, the 1996 BBC miniseries is winning over adults, with its faithful adaptation, gorgeous scenery, and superb acting.

The essence of the story is the antagonism between Mr. Darcy, a wealthy single man who believes Elizabeth to be beneath him, and Elizabeth, who upon being insulted at a dance by the aloof Darcy refuses to associate with him in any manner. Austen evokes incredible tension with the wit and flirtation of the two characters, and director Simon Langton (who also directed Upstairs Downstairs) successfully translates the repartee and conflict in this six-hour miniseries. Dialogue, for the most part, is painstakingly replicated, except when fleshing out and smoothing for modern sensibilities was necessary. Darcy, for instance, is drawn out, giving his personality significantly more depth. The acting sweeps you away to Regency England: Jennifer Ehle (of Wilde) is convincing as the obstinate Elizabeth, who, despite her mother's attempts to marry her off, spurs the attentions of Darcy. And Colin Firth (of The English Patient) will have women everywhere longing for a Mr. Darcy of their own.

For those who have been on an Austen binge--enjoying such excellent adaptations as Sense and Sensibility and Persuasion--this miniseries will round out the ultimate Austen video library. For those new to these romantic period pieces, this version of Pride and Prejudice will have you hooked and longing for more. One caveat, however: plan to watch it in an entire day, because very few have the self-control to not watch all six hours in a single sitting. --Jenny Brown

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Product Description

Jane Austen's classic comedy of manners—a delectably witty story of life, love, and marriage among the 19th-century English gentry—is now one of the most lavish and expensive miniseries in history. Co-produced by the BBC and A&E, directed by Simon Langton ("Upstairs, Downstairs"), newly adapted for the screen by Andrew Davies ("Middlemarch"), and filmed on location in Derbyshire, this groundbreaking production, originally seen on A&E, stars Jennifer Ehle as Elizabeth Bennet, Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy, Julia Sawalha as Lydia, and Susannah Harker as Jane. Boxed set is 5 hours on 6 cassettes or 5 hours on 2 DVDs.

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

240 of 242 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Restored Edition Review! What an Improvement! April 27, 2010

By Quo Primum

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

Today we received on its release date, the newly restored version of Pride and Prejudice with Collin Firth and Jennifer Eyhle. And we are delighted. The colors and complections are healthy and vibrant. The sound is clear and offers extra enjoyment for the dance and singing scenes. And special mention must be made of the detail that is now available to be ejoyed. It is a historic costumers delight now, since the fine fabrics and textures can now be appreciated - it is far clearer and better detailed than the earlier versions of this spectacular mini-series.

And no advertising at the beginning - put it in and it starts.

I think they did a fantastic job restoring this, and this version has addressed the earlier complaints of the yellow or washed out color palate. I have also not noticed the deletion of any scenes from the original on video when it was first released. This is definately the version the collectors to keep.

FOR SOME REASONE AMAZON IS ATTACHING THE REVIEWS FOR THE 2001 DVD EDITION. THIS REVIEW IS FOR THE NEWLY RESTORED VERSION OF APRIL 2010.

330 of 337 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars First and Last Impressions May 18, 2002

By Louis Pierotti

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

There aren't enough superlatives in the English language to adequately describe the brilliance of this production. As a student and teacher of Literature, Theatre, and Film I can confidently and categorically state that this is the finest film adaptation of any classic novel ever produced. The screenplay is remarkably faithful, the art direction spellbinding, the costuming and settings are breathtaking, while the casting showcases the strongest ensemble of actors I have ever witnessed. Bear in mind that this is all coming from someone who has never seen an adequate film version of any classic novel, to the extent that I no longer thought it possible. Ladies, beware Colin Firth as the definitive Darcy for he is guaranteed to make you swoon. Jennifer Ehle, as Lizzy, stole my heart. Please don't tell my wife but I have never been so deeply in love with any actress. Her elegant and powerfully understated portrayal of Elizabeth Bennet does Austen's scintillating satire of manners great credit. In the context of recently produced Austen films I would say that Roger Michell's production of Persuasion was endearing, Emma Thompson's Sense and Sensibility was a treat for both, but Simon Langton's production of Pride and Prejudice is the most sublime, definitive, and unparalleled production of P&P yet produced. It is just pure Austen. Both First and Last Impressions remain the same on this one, it is a true classic. An absolute MUST for all Jane Austen fans. Yes, Virginia I have two copies. The 1996 edition and the 2001 Digitally Remastered "Special Edition." Although the audio is somewhat better on the remaster I would argue that the color and resolution are richer on the original. I wonder if the 2010 "Restored" Blue Ray version would be a good excuse to buy a third copy? Hmmm....

1,662 of 1,777 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Wait for Extra Special Edition December 25, 2002

By A Customer

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

The current BluRay (BD) edition is fantastic - it is the "Extra Special Edition". Beautiful color and sound have been restored compared to the DVD edition that I initially reviewed in 2002 (below). There's pretty much nothing about my original review that is relevant any longer, unless someone is going to buy a second-hand copy of the 1996 Special Edition set. We still love the production, and give the BD version 5 stars.

I would not have thought that anyone would still be reading the 9 year old review below except for all of the comments ... apparently Amazon has cross-linked the reviews of all editions of this film, making this the 'most helpful critical review'. For those who said that I copied the review - not true. I reviewed a single product, back when we did not even have names attached to our reviews. (My amazon review ID now is "Karl".)

Do buy the BD release - it is wonderful. Five stars. (The 3 stars are not editable and refer to the 1996 release.)

Karl

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The original 2002 review of the 1996 Special Edition DVD set follows...

This BBC/A&E production is one of the most well made films my wife and I have ever seen - superb acting, costumes, sets and location, music, directing, editing!! Like others here, we have watched the A&E VHS edition over and over. (It is a 'chick flick', but I enjoy romantic movies, too.)

Our excitement over getting the DVD faded upon loading both the VHS tape and DVD and comparing the images and sound. The widescreen image on the DVD is definitely more clear on our 50" high res screen, and it is a pleasure to see the full images framed as the Director intended.

HOWEVER, the colors are not just washed out. The digital remastering has changed the color tone of the film as if someone used a Photoshop/Premier digital filter without knowing what they were doing. The VHS and original not only had rich color saturation, but also had a warm tone that felt 'right' with the period film. The DVD is not only washed out, but has a strong blue-white tone to it that gives a cold modern feel to the scenes.

To get the image to look close to decent on our TV, I had to turn the color saturation up as far as it would go, bring the contrast down and the brightness up. It then almost matched the VHS images except for the blue-ish rather than warm overall cast.

The sound is tinny, much of the lower frequencies that are on the VHS sound track being chopped off.

There are no subtitles at all (we frequently turn them on for other DVDs when we cannot quite make out the dialog) - much less alternative language tracks.

So, why is this edition 'Special'? The only additions, other than the abysmal digital remastering (digital destruction) are:
(1) an 8-page booklet (that mentions only 3 of the actors)
(2) some text-only biography screens, that mention only 2 of the actors
(3) a 20-some minute 'making of' feature that gives the producer most of the credit (and she did of course put the team together, but the director/editor/actors/choreographer/costumers/etc produced the art) - and which still only visits with 4 of the actors - out of this tremendously talented cast.

What was supposed to be a 'special' Christmas gift, ended up being a tremendous disappointment. We can only hope that A&E and BBC will produce an 'Extra Special' edition that gets the color and sound back to the director's intention (did he even get to review this DVD?). That, and a rebate for all of us who bought this defective edition, would make us happy enough. Adding subtitles, profiles of everyone else involved in the production, and stills of the various homes, heritage buildings and towns used would be (delicious, but optional) gravy.