Product Details

• Actors: Greer Garson, Laurence Olivier, Edward Ashley, Marten Lamont, E.E. Clive
• Directors: Robert Z. Leonard
• Writers: Aldous Huxley, Helen Jerome, Jane Austen, Jane Murfin, John Van Druten
• Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, Digital Video Transfer, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
• VHS Release Date: August 12, 1997
• Run Time: 118 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (225 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6304508573
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #178,327 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Jane Austen's wonderful novel has been adapted to the screen many times, with this 1940 version representing the golden age of the Hollywood studio era. Greer Garson, then just on the cusp of her stardom, plays the headstrong Elizabeth Bennet, smartest of five daughters who must be married off. Laurence Olivier is that difficult fellow Mr. Darcy, whose mulishness about the Bennet girls begins to thaw when he gets a dose of Elizabeth's sense and sensibility. The film is done up in the glamorous MGM house style, which means we're stuck with the less-than-inspired direction of Robert Z. Leonard (The Great Ziegfeld), redeemed somewhat by a collection of handsome sets (Cedric Gibbons and Paul Groesse won the Oscar for Interior Decoration) and the dandy photography by Karl Freund, one of the greats. Anyone accustomed to the 1995 miniseries version of Pride and Prejudice will need to adjust to the swifter demands of a two-hour movie, and to be sure this version, like the 2005 Keira Knightley remake, simplifies some of Austen's scenes. It's one of the few films, by the way, with Aldous Huxley as a credited screenwriter. Edmund Gwenn is lovely as Mr. Bennet, and Mary Boland brash as Mrs. Bennet; Garson, although MGM liked to corset her in fine-lady roles, manages to let Elizabeth's sauciness come through. Actually, the movie's weak spot is Laurence Olivier's elaborate performance as Darcy, which feels too theatrical. Not that it matters; Austen's story is so good, the film sails through to its delicious finish with all flags flying. --Robert Horton

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

109 of 119 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Forget the Details.... This is a MASTERPIECE, July 14, 1999

By 

Tamara Andre "tamarandra" (Florida) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Pride & Prejudice [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I have seen this movie possibly 50 times, and will see it another 50. I first saw it when I was a wee lass, and it was seeing this movie which caused me to read the to the book.....and for bringing me the mesmerizing literature of Jane Austen, I will be eternally grateful. I have since read the book even more times than I have seen the movie... and every other Jane Austen book. She is my favorite author by far, and the book is my favorite. I am reading it now, yet again, and will probably read it every year of my life.

I think the movie is the best of the lot. I realize that the movie was made in the 1940's, and the sets and costumes are not totally accurate, especially when compared to the fine latter day versions (I especially like the Colin Firth one)... But all in all, this movie, the 1940 original with Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier, is in my opinion, head and shoulders above all other film adaptations.

Not because it is more faithful in those details I previously mentioned, but because for all that, I feel like I am stepping back into the past when I watch it, and the essential ideals and concepts and stories which are the cornerstone of Pride and Prejudice are intact and inviolate here as they are in few other movies.

There is a passage in the book, "Elizabeth, having rather expected to affront him, was amazed at his gallantry; but there was a mixture of sweetness and archness in her manner which made it difficult to affront anybody". This seems to me to sum up not only our dear Lizzy, but Greer Garson as well. She IS ELIZABETH!! Never once when insulting Mr. Darcy did she not seem charming and goodhearted. She is the perfect Lizzy, and in my opinion, most every castmember is the same.. perfect for their roles.

I just love it.

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An undeniable Hollywood masterpiece of wit & wisdom!, July 21, 2006

By 

randomartco "period film aficionado" (Greater Washington D.C. area) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Pride and Prejudice (DVD)

This is classic old-school Hollywood masterpiece at its best: with a total run time of 117 minutes, this is altogether a much-condensed version of Jane Austen's beloved tale, "Pride & Prejudice." I love A&E's 6 hour version (which is more accurate to the book), but this shorter version is just such fun to watch & enjoy!

When there are 5 unmarried daughters in any upper-class Regency family, it is sure to lead to trouble! For Mrs. Bennett, the news of a rich, young bachelor (Mr. Bingley) moving to town, sends her into quite a tizzy! She spends all her time scheming & plotting to marry her daughters off to any suitable gentleman in the neighborhood who will take them: Jane, the eldest & prettiest, Elizabeth (our heroine), the second & wittiest, Mary, the third & bookish, Kittie, the fourth & silly, and Lydia, the fifth & silliest. Mrs. Bennett has such a time keeping all her daughters in line, and all (*gasp*) without the help of a governess! The antics of the Bennett family are sure to have you rolling in stitches...

Greer Garson is simply excellent as Elizabeth "Lizzie" Bennett, and Laurence Olivier is wonderful as Mr. Darcy: Elizabeth is just so independent & intelligent, while Darcy is proud & haughty. Their quick-witted, sometimes tongue-in-cheek dialogues are so entertaining to watch & enjoy! All the cast is simply excellent: Miss Bingley so snotty, Lady Catherine de Bourg so supercilious, and on and on...

This is one I have been waiting ages for the DVD release! This is highly recommended as an amazing piece of Hollywood movie history!!

68 of 76 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Crummy DVD, December 26, 2005

By 

Greg Smith (Chatham, New Jersey) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Pride and Prejudice (1940) [Import] (DVD)

This is a review of the quality of the DVD. It is a foreign import of very bad quality. Do not buy it. The sound does not match the lips. The picture is of low quality. I was not patient and wanted this wonderful picture on DVD. So please wait until the official American DVD is available, which I hope is soon.