Orgulho e Preconceito

The movies are too short to capture the beauty of the book. And the new mini series by A&E and BBC is just plain tacky! This series, however, has it all! The most important aspect is the quality of the acting. Elizabeth Garvie and David Rintoul are excellent. They ARE Lizzy and Mr. Darcy. But the great acting doesn't end there. The quality of the cast is superb. From the most important stars all the way down to the most menial of the servants. Every actor and actress does a great job of capturing the mood of the era.

Please see this production. Buy it if you can. It is being shown on the Romance Channel, too. See it at all costs!

I find this version of Pride and Prejudice extremely good. Lizzy Bennet as portrayed by Elizabeth Garvie really dose have 'fine eyes' and Mr Darcy is a 'big tall fellow' and suitably haughty. It's a shame that the Colin Firth and Jennifer Elle BBC adaptation has taken precedence in the public mind - as this is superior in many ways, though the acting is perhaps more stilted and the costumes and scenes seem more 'staged' to a modern eye. Fay Weldon has kept in much more of the famous lines actually written by Jane Austin and there has been no attempt to try to modernise the story with inclusions of such things as cut away bedroom scenes of Lydia and Whickham, or Darcy in a wet shirt!

Without doubt, this is the truest to the original novel by Jane Austen of all the versions made to date, and equally the quietest, the most stately and sedate. I won't worry about the story; anyone likely to watch this now will know already what it's about. It seems more and more likely to my sense that Elizabeth Garvie's Lizzie best represents the vision Jane Austen had of her brightest, most sparkling character: the sweetness is there, an interesting but not a perfect face (just as it should be); though perhaps just a little of the liveliness and archness that Austen wrote about is missing that you can find more easily in either Jennifer Ehle's excellent 90s TV Lizzie, or even Keira Knightley's more recent film outing. But in her bonnet and parasol, her curls wilfully asserting themselves, she's almost exactly what I imagined (apparently not everyone agrees).

David Rintoul's Darcy is on first watching, excessively stiff and not particularly entertaining to watch. There is so little mobility in his face, and on occasion even in his voice, that only careful repeated viewings reveal nuances in his performance. I do find myself liking his portrayal more now: it's very subtle, to be sure, no diving into pools or striding open-shirted through dawn meadows, but once you're used to the subtlety, the great formality provides a backdrop against which Darcy's own wit and growing interest in Lizzie stand out in the gentlest relief, like the pattern on a damask cloth.

So rich a text is bound to be full of favourite moments; and Weldon's script manages to include much of the wit – and some of the humour – of Austen's original, while also teasing out themes on marriage and happiness which suit her personal brief as a great feminist writer. I particularly love Lizzie's singing (I think it's dubbed but Garvie's acting of the singing is itself a pleasure to watch). The supporting cast is on the whole very good; I liked Uncle and Aunt Gardner and thought Mr Bingley and his sisters well cast. Mr Bennett was a little severe, and didn't seem to take the requisite pleasure in tormenting his wife.

I didn't find Mr Wickham very charming; but then I never do. It seems to me they never make him handsome enough – how else could he charm her so much as to blind her to real goodness and excellence? I guess the makers of these programmes are always afraid he'll steal the limelight from Darcy – but since that's exactly his function in the book, take the risk! Perhaps this version has receded into time and been superseded by later attempts that speak more directly to women now. But I'll be keeping it on my DVD shelves for a long time to come, to remind myself how well a little stately simplicity can work.

I have a soft spot for this version. I saw it when it was on Masterpiece Theater with my dad (who died last year) and the rest of my family.

Garvie is the best Elizabeth I've seen. Ehle's Elizabeth had more verve, but I felt Garvie's Elizabeth was truer to the character of the novel.

I would have loved to see her opposite Firth (I know she was too old in 1995, so it is just fantasy casting!), who I liked as Darcy better.

Firth was able to portray the changes in Darcy which Elizabeth's angry rejection brings about better.

I didn't think Rintoul managed to convey this as well.

I liked Mrs. Bennet better here, she was more restrained than the 1995 version. Jane was far superior in this version too.

However, the 1995 version is still my favorite and NOT because of Firth.

I think the 1995 version stuck closer to the novel than this one did.

A few examples: The scene where Elizabeth gets the letter from Jane alerting her to Lydia's elopement. In the book and the 1995 version, Darcy walks in on her right after she learns the news. In this version Elizabeth runs to Pemberly looking for her Aunt and Uncle and runs in to Darcy's sitting room.

Darcy walking in on her is important, it doesn't make sense she would share her troubles with him if he hadn't caught her unawares. Especially considering her mortification over her family AND that Wickham was involved. (This bugs me in the 2005 movie too, in that version Darcy is sitting with the Gardners, which again, makes no sense. Why would she tell him once she found her Aunt and Uncle?) The conversation with Lady Catherine is cut down in this version. Elizabeth's anger is much more muted here than in either the book and the 1995 version.

The second proposal scene. In the book and the 1995 version Elizabeth, Darcy and Kitty go walking with Jane and Bingley. Kitty runs off to see Maria Lucus, then Elizabeth thanks Darcy for his role in Lydia's marriage.

In this version, Darcy sends a note to Elizabeth to meet him in the grove, which she does. This eliminates her fears over Darcy's feelings for her, she is more sure of herself because he has made the first move (by asking her to meet him). In the book and 1995 version, she breaks the ice by thanking him, and later in the book teases him that she made the first move in assuring their happiness. He denies this by saying he was about to bring up Lady Catherine's visit but she beat him to the punch (not in those words of course, LOL).

There is no final scene between Mr. Benett and Elizabeth where he asks for her assurance that she really loves Darcy. It is a touching scene in the book which illustrates the father/daughter bond.

This is not to say this version isn't very good, it is. I love this story and don't think there can be too many versions, if done well.

I agree with another reviewer in that I wish they would dramatize the end of the book better, the story doesn't end after second proposal. I would love to see Collins come running back to escape Lady Catherine's wrath at the news and his subsequent behavior towards Darcy.

I don't know why for example, the 2005 USA release of the movie had to end with such a silly scene at Pemberly to show us a kiss. They could have easily stayed truer to the novel and had Collins come upon them in the grove in a clinch for example. LOL!! In conclusion, while the 1995 version remains my favorite, this one is extremely well done and worth the time

I was surprised by some of the comments left about this adaptation. Elizabeth Garvie was fantastic as Elizabeth - so much more in the spirit of the novel than Jennifer Ehle or Greer Garson (the worst by far), both of whom just seemed petulant and, frankly, unintelligent. In fact, all of the actresses playing the Bennet girls were better cast than were those in the A&E version, although Susannah Harker as Jane Bennet was almost as good as Sabina Franklyn. Come to think of it, apart from Anna Chancellor (Miss Bingley in the A&E version - she was perfect), I think all of the actors in the BBC version were better cast. It's true that David Rintoul is very stiff. But that's really how, when reading the novel, I always envisioned him. I'm sorry to ever choose anyone over Colin Firth but I have to. His Mr. Darcy just lacks dignity. And subtlety. He's so very obvious. Really beautiful but, I'm sorry, really not Fitzwilliam Darcy.

It is also true that the production values in this version were low but really, it was the late 70s and made for the BBC! So, basically, that's too silly an argument against.

Overall, if you loved the book and want to see a version that's truly captured its spirit, see this version. If you just like looking at a lot of beautiful people standing about in beautiful clothes in beautiful surroundings, pretty much not getting the point, watch the A&E version.

By the by, the A&E version is also good for putting you to sleep.