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Pride and Prejudice

B

bluewillow

New Member
Has anyone seen BBC/A&E version of Pride and Prejudice? It was first shown in Britain on BBC in 1995 (6 part series). It stars Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy and Jennifer Ehle as Elizabeth Bennet. Andrew Davies (circle of friends, middlemarch) wrote the screenplay. It's a fantastic adaptation. I am prejudiced in that I love Colin Firth, but other than his portrayal of Mr. Darcy to perfection, the whole production is a delight! It's available on VHS as well as DVD.
This is the production that actually inspired Helen Fielding's 'Bridget Jones' Diary', where she based the Mark Darcy character on Colin Firth's performance as Mr. Darcy (hence he also plays Mark Darcy in the movie). Anyway, I know the production is not as well known here in the US, but I was just wondering if anyone saw it and what you thought of it?
 
Ah, my favorite book. I did see the BBC/A&E version. I thought it was great. I also like Colin Firth. He plays a great Darcy. Funny you should mention Bridget Jones' Diary. I just watched it last weekend. I wondered about the character's name being Darcy and the similarities between the two. Glad to see you solved that mystery for me.

Have you seen Sense and Sensibility? I think that is the best Austen adaptation to date. I loved Alan Rickman (spelling?). When he said "Give me something to do, or I shall die", or something like that, I was forever after a fan. (sigh) How romantic.
 
Pride and Prejudice is one of my favorite books too. I did see Sense and Sensibility and I thought Emma Thompson did a good job with the screenplay. Although I am a sucker for the Darcy character, I must admit that Col. Brandon is a very juicy character, with more layers than some of the other Austen characters. And Alan Rickman did do a great job with the character. If you like the Austen novels, there is a website, which you may already know about: www.pemberley.com They discuss all things Austen, her novels and adaptations, and about the Regency period in general.
 
I've seen both Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility, and I must say I liked both very much.

Pride and Prejudice was the reason I fell in love with Colin Firth, Sense and Sensibility is to blame for making my infatuation with Alan Rickman even worse, and I blame Emma for making me feel ashamed for my crush on Alan Cumming!

I haven't read the books though, which is probably a shame (I think I started Pride and Prejudice, but for some reason I never finished it --probably because the library wanted their book back :rolleyes: )

I really like costume movies. I think I watched another series after watching Pride and Prejudice, but I can't seem to be able to remember the name of it... Pity, really.
 
I love these films and found that they had the same effect on me as on lies; serious swooning for Colin Firth and Alan Rickman! Even better, they finally convinced me to read the books that my mother had always told me I'd love (Mother's always right! :D), and I plan to re-read them again in the near future.

I've also seen a good version of Mansfield Park (not the BBC one, which I hated) with Frances O'Conner as Fanny Price. Has anyone else seen this?
 
I started liking Alan Rickman after seeing Sense and Sensibility. I swoon right along with you, Deerskin! I would never have pictured Col. Brandon so dreamy. (Sorry to all you guys out there. It's a girl thing. Though, I'm sure you have at least one female literary equivilant.)

I have to say, Deerskin, that I didn't care for the Mansfield Park film you're talking about. I was very disappointed when I saw it. Did it follow the book? I thought I read all of Austen, but I don't remember that one.
 
I saw the version of Mansfield park with Francis O'Conner. I only thought it was ok, didn't particulary like it. From people who have read the book and watched this version. I heard that they've taken a lot of liberties with the book. I myself haven't read the book yet, it's on my shelf to be read so I'll find out soon enough.

Another adaptation of Jane Austen I like is 'Persuasion'. I think that's my second favorite of Austen's work after 'Pride and Prejudice'. It stars Amanda Root as Ann Elliot and Ciaran Hinds as Captain Wentforth. It's pretty true to the book, of course they've left things out, changed things here and there like all adaptations but I think it captured the spirit of the book really well. It's not a grand of a production as 'Pride and Prejudice' and Ciaran Hinds is no Colin Firth or Alan Rickman, but it's worth watching I thought!
 
Colin Firth mmm.........I must admit that i'm a sucker for a good period drama and colin firth.He's handsome in a very classic way.I very much enjoyed the screen adaptation and was blown away (by colin firth).
 
after i saw the A&E pride & prejudice on tv, i had to get the dvd so i bought it and have watched it a few times. i never get tired of seeing colin firth declare "In vain have I struggled, it will not do. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you" *siiiighhhhh* i LOVE colin firth. P&P the movie was probably the best adaptation i've ever seen. i didn't notice anything different from the book at all

i also have Sense & Sensibility - coincidently, i watched it again on Saturday. i'm a HUGE fan of alan rickman, who i learnt of only after seeing him steal the show from kevin costner in robin hood, prince of thieves. i think i like S&S the movie more than the book.

i also saw the f. o'conner Mansfield Park movie after reading the book. they did take liberties, but i enjoyed the movie anyway
 
Another owner of the DVD here...like Jennem, I never tire of watching the movie time and again. I'm so lucky to have a husband who'll watch with me (first time, we watched an hour per night and he was as excited as I was to see the next installment).
 
It's been a long time since I saw Sense and Sensibility but Pride and Prejudice is one of my most favourite books and I love the BBC adaption of it. I think Colin Firth is the ultimate Darcy and I don't think I could see him played by anyone else. I thought Jennifer Ehle was very good as well, all the parts are acted superbly and Colin Firth just makes you want to be on the set with him. Fantastic!
 
Oh yes, I know this film well. I have Pride and Prejudice parties with my friends every once and a while, and we have all fallen in love with Darcy/Colin. I love Jane Austen's work, especially her male characters, because she makes them so easy to fall in love with. Her female characters aren't without merit though. I throughly enjoy them too. I just finished reading Emma, and although it was tough not to see Clueless playing in my mind the entire time I read the book, I really enjoyed it. Austen makes for some very insightful quotes too. Another BBC series that I would highly recommend is Daniel Deronda, which is originally by George Eliot, and is a beautiful story, as well as an excellent film. It stars Romola Garai (Nicholas Nickleby, I Capture the Castle), Hugh Dancy (Ella Enchanted, King Arthur), and Hugh Bonneville (Mansfield Park, Doctor Zhivago).
 
I've seen that a few months ago..I got the vcd from my friend...
I love the film and I love Colin...He's just so handsome!
not kind of cool but very classic........and I love Mr Darcy...
just the way I love Colin. they are so alike!
 
Has anyone seen this yet? I went and saw it a few nights ago, with some trepidation, however, I was really impressed.

I would be interested to hear the opinion of anyone else who has seen it.

Do you think it was true to the book? (Yes, I know it left a lot out, but even so with what it included, would you say it was a good representation of the book?)

Or would you prefer the BBC production?
 
I have the 1980 BBC version of P&P and I can't decide if I like it better than the 1995 version. I like the 1980 Jane better than the 1995 one, but I'm not sure which Lizzy I like better. I think the 1980 one does a better job of explaining Lizzy's thoughts, especially after she reads Mr. Darcy's letter. In the 1995 version, she tells Jane, "at that moment I did not know myself, how I wanted you!", which left me puzzled as to what she meant, because I didn't remember the book (it had been a while since I read it). In the 1980 version her thoughts are voiced-over as she reads the letter and it became crystal clear what she meant by not knowing herself.

I think that if someone merges the two versions with the best of each, it would be absolutely perfect!
 
Actually, Keira Knightley was a very good Elizabeth in the new one. I thought all the characters were very well cast.
 
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