Saturday, April 11, 2009

Is Your First Pride & Prejudice Movie Automatically Your Favorite?

I'm doing some homework this weekend for my final graded blog post. I am still undecided as to whether or not I will continue once the class is over. I am watching all the Pride & Prejudice movies...all seven of them that can be purchased on DVD that is.

I have sat through the 1940 version and the 1980 version and am now on my favorite version: 1995. I will openly admit that this is the first movie that made me love Jane Austen. When I was a senior in high school I read Mansfield Park and was very disappointed. I thought it was an awful love story. Austen was a thing of the past. Then I watched the BBC/A&E version and fell in love. I wanted to know what happened. I was riveted for five nights. I read TV Guide to see what the next episode would bring. I thought surely the trouble was Lizzy's father died and could not imagine it was Lydia running off with Wickham. It was delightful. The music. The costumes. The actors. I adored it all. While I was studying in Wales I am almost ashamed to admit how many hours I spent watching this film with my two good friends. I will whole heartily admit though that Colin Firth on the big screen is amazing. When he proposes to Lizzy the first time it is almost like he is proposing to you.

When I returned from Wales I contacted my godmother and let her know about my Austen love. She too loves Austen and it is because of her that I am such an avid reader. I raved about the 1995 version and she said I had to watch the 1980 version. David Rintoul was amazing as Darcy and his facial expressions could not be touched. So I spent 4.5 hours watching it with her and could not help but compare it to my first P&P. I found fault with everything. It was not as I wanted it to be.

I have even heard older women say that there was no Darcy like Laurence Olivier, who starred in the 1940 version. Do the youth of today prefer Keira Knightly to Jennifer Ehle? Do they want Matthew McFadyen instead of Colin Firth? Are they bewitched body and soul?

What about those that were introduced to Austen through means that did not keep the book in Regency England? Do some women prefer the Bridget Jones update? Are some women keen on Darcy singing and dancing like he does in Bride & Prejudice, the Indian musical version of P & P? Or do people like the Darcy from Pride & Prejudice: A Latter Day Comedy. Do they find that whimsical update to be what they need? I do find that their Mr. Collins is wonderful. Very Mr. Collins like.

So my godmother and I are at an impasse. I love Colin Firth and she David Rintoul. I love Bride & Prejudice, Bridget Jones's Diary and Pride & Prejudice: A Latter Day Comedy, but the 2005 version I find fault with. It cannot live up to the 1995 version.

Do you have a favorite version? I am interested to see what Lost in Austen has to bring and that will be available the day before taxes are due. I must buy it and see. Another four hours of my life gone to Austen. I do not miss them though or think that they were not well spent. Regardless of which verison I am watching I enjoy the timelessness of the characters and the costumes (except for the 1940 version). I will always prefer the 1005 version, but five hours is sometimes too long to commit to Austen.

So my 16.5 hour Pride & Prejudice marathon continues. I hope I shall finish it all this weekend, but fear I will not. I can always continue it into the next week. Keep reading to see my final graded post....it will be a contest and if you win, you will get a prize! A Jane Austen prize. So look forward and have your own marathon. I must admit you will need it in order to win.

I am excessively diverted.

18 comments:

  1. First doesn't equal favorite for me. Though Greer Garson makes a great Elizabeth, the 40's version stinks! I don't understand how they could make such a mess of the story! Just watched the 2005 version and it was exponentially better...now on to the 1995 version.

    Saving the best for last!

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    1. you are right. with olivier, greer garson and aldous huxley (screenplay), i expected to see a good movie--but, terrible! most of the later ones are better.

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  2. Well make sure you do try the 1980s version. Some people love David Rintoul's facial expressions and think he makes the best Darcy because of it. Also don't forget fun ones like Bride and Prejudice or Pride and Prejudice the Latter Day Saint version. Both offer their own bit of spice.

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  3. How shall I find the 1958 and 1967 versions of Pride and Prejudice (TV series)?

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  4. Sometimes you can find them on Amazon, but they are used copies and are few and far between. Other than that keep looking hopefully they will turn up.

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  5. I watched them all. I have to say 2005 version is my favorite. Perfect Mr. and Mrs. Darcy:) I want to buy it on dvd. I also love that fact it really shows the way they lived back then. The chemistry between them were perfect.

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    1. YES! I LOVE the 2005 version! I think it's the only version that really captured ALL the characters! My favorite Elizabeth, Darcy, and Jane!!!

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  6. I first fell in love with the 2005 version, watched until I knew the entire manuscript by heart (really. I tested myself). Only now do I begin to see what it lacks compared to the 1995 version for instance, and I can't really enjoy it anymore having seen it so many times, but yes, McFadyen is forever more the Darcy for me and nothing beats the sparks flying between him and Knightley. The 1995 is much more Austen-esque, though, that I'll admit!
    <3

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  7. You should check out The Lizzie Bennet Diaries. It is a vlog version of P&P and it is being produced in real time. It is an awesome updated adaptation. Instead of Charles Bingley it is the rich asian doctor Bing Lee. Just one of their delightful switches that makes me LOVE it. Their Collins is DELIGHTFUL too. I'm off to the library to re loan the 1995 version!

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  8. Anonymous from May 28, 2012, I could not agree with you more! McFayden is too good to be true and Knightley is just perfect. Chemistry is unbelievable! The 2005 movie is...dare I say, sexy? The 1995 version lacks the spark from the 2005 movie; however, it does follow the book very closely and is nicely filmed.

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  9. We are now approaching the 200th anniversary of P&P in 2013. My first P&P was the 2005 and I looooooove it. I find the chemistry between Lizzie and Darcy much more intense there. However, I do say that Colin Firth comes across as more arrogant and self-assured than Matthew MacFayden and hence more Mr Darcy-ish.

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  10. Pride and Prejudice is my most favourite book ever! I have not seen every on-screen adaption but my personal favourite is the 1995 version with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle. They bring the characters of Elizabeth and Darcy come alive! And also because it was made in parts, the movie follows the book very closely which the 2005 version does not. Colin Firth makes an amazing Mr. Darcy and Jennifer Ehle an equally charming Elizabeth. The adaption reminds you exactly why you love Pride and Prejudice so much. :) :)
    I will see the 1980 version now. :D

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  11. I really appreciate your post here. I have read P&P every year for more years than I can remember; I guess that is an indication of my fondness for it. I would hasten to add that I also have read all Austen’s other books several times as well. But when it comes to the movie versions of P&P (and I've seen many of them over & over again), the one I like most is the 1940 adaptation with Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier, mostly because it captures the humorous spirit of the book far better than all the others. I am blogging about all the versions on my site, since 2013 is the 200-year anniversary of P&P. I am doing an extended conversation on the book, the movies and characters, and will continue throughout the year. Please come take a look - I would welcome any comments and observations: noeandcindywrite.blogspot.com
    Noe

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  12. i was very intregued by the idea that the first film you watch will automatically be your favorite. in the case of pride and prejudice that is what happened with me as from the first time i watch it (2005 version) i fell in love with the characters and plotline. it has always been my favorite but i wanted to see what others were like so i have also watch a little of the tv series with colin firth and i found that he was a far to cheery darcy, i know that he has a solumn expression in most of it but his expression never seems as distand and full of pride as Matthew McFadyen's (this may be because i remeber colin firth from other films where he is smiling i am not sure). I also feel that the character of jane is far too plane for the person described in the book and that the actor in the 2005 film has a better grasp of the character. i also love many of the characters in the film that i never felt the same about i the tv series. i always wonder why i like the film so much and have not had the same connection to the tv series i am not sure if it is because of the fact it was th first version i watched or if it is soem other reason. i just thought i might share my views on this as i would like to know why others prefere the 1995 tv series.

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  13. Here's the deal about the 2005 Kiera Knightly Pride and Prejudice if you are a true Regency and Jane Austen fan than it's not really Jane Austen and it's not really Regency. There are so many things that happen that wouldn't have happened in Regency times and it's really much more Thomas Hardy meets Jane Austen than Jane Austen. They have all the dirt and the muck and it's not really Austen. Is it true to the time....yes, but it's not true to Austen. She didn't focus on the dirt and the muck. She focused on the people. She was a study of character. The A & E version is much truer to Austen's own prose. I mean Darcy NEVER said "You bewitched me body and soul." EVER NEVER EVER. And Elizabeth walking outside in her nightgown and meeting a man?!!?! No! This would completely ruin her. Completely. She would not have been accepted in society. Even if Darcy did the right thing and married her.

    I think this is my biggest issue with the 2005 version. It didn't stick to the true story and it really took liberties with how Regency people acted. I want realism in my historical movies and I want the REAL Jane Austen as she was intended to be. I don't want a director to not put the actresses in the proper clothing because he hates an empire waisted dress. I don't care. That's what Regency women wore. Jane Austen is good. There is no need to try to make her more realistic or to mess with historical accuracy. Let Jane's work speak for itself. The 1995 version did this.

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  14. Love Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth. Before that it was Greer and Lawrence. Keira doesn't do it for me at all. Matthew did look good walking out of the fog, but that i not a true Austen scene. Losted in Austen is fun spin, worth the watch. It's a nice break if you are like me and watch
    P&P every month like you've never seen it before

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  15. My favourite is the 1980 adaption.With David Rintoul and Elizabeth Garvie.As Lizzie and Darcy.There was more of a depth to the story.With Lizzy talking of her wrong doings to herself.Although Colin and Jennifer were well paired in the 1995 adaption.
    And the 2005 pride and Prejudice.Was made quite speedily.It didn.t take too long to make.Hence the mistakes of Lizzy.She could never shout at her mother like that.About The marriage of Mr Collins.In those days it was unheard of.
    The 1940 adaption was agreeable.But I prefer the somewhat later versions.1980 being my favourite.As for Death comes to Pemberley.I found it absolutely ridiculous.What Poor Jane would make of that.Heaven forbid.It was terrible really atrocious.It never made any sense whatsoever.And had nothing to do with the real script of Pride and Prejudice in anyway or form.

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  16. After I read the book as a little child, the first film version of P&P I ever saw was the 1967 TV version and I love this version best. I could not forget the image of Celia Bannerman as being the original Lizzie Bennett. She was absolutely beautiful and perfect as Lizzie. Now, almost 50 years later, I checked out this version on youtube but there are only snippets of the show and they are of bad quality. Would appreciate if anyone can tell me how to get a dvd of that 1967 version in full.

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