Pride and Prejudice

24 Jan 2010 1 Comment

by marisacarpico in Unseen DVD's Tags: Colin Firth, Jane Austen, Jennifer Ehle, Pride and Prejudice

The cover of the box set.

There are about a million adaptations of what is arguably Jane Austen’s most popular novel, so let me be specific. The Pride and Prejudice I’ll review today is the five-hour BBC miniseries starring Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy and Jennifer Ehle as Elizabeth Bennet, which I received the DVD for Christmas a few years ago. I don’t remember the exact circumstances that put the movie on my wish list, but it could have been because that same year I asked for the 2002 mini-series Doctor Zhivago starring Keira Knightley. Zhivago is one of my favorite novels and Knightley is one of my favorite actresses so clearly that version was essential to my collection. Whatever the circumstances, considering I likely received the DVD’s in 2003, I’ve been meaning to watch this film for quite a while. I’ve made numerous attempts over the years. I meant to watch it in 2005 when the Knightley adaptation appeared and I read the book for the first time, but I never managed to get the disc into the player. I even made an attempt with my former roommate last year, but alas we only watched a little over an hour. It’s not that I don’t enjoy the story, I am a woman and thus genetically required to like it, but five hours always seemed like such a huge commitment.

I’ve seen the Knightley version countless times and the more familiar I became with that version, the more apprehensive I was to watch this one. Though the BBC version and Firth’s performance as Darcy are highly acclaimed, I feared my familiarity with the 2005 version would hinder my enjoyment. Indeed, as I moved through each hour, I constantly compared them. The Knightley version has a sort of breathless passion. The story is modified to focus on the emotions and make them stronger. There is a modern feel to the film that rejects some of the repression so present in Austen’s novel. The most remarkable moment in that film comes during the first proposal scene when, after Elizabeth declares she would never marry Darcy, their sexual tension nearly erupts and they briefly move in for a kiss before regaining their composure. Such a moment would be preposterous in the BBC version.

Likely because of its longer running time, the Firth version is a far more faithful and therefore sexually repressed adaptation. The film moves at the same pace as the novel, slowly meandering towards the final resolution. Where the Knightley version shows Elizabeth and Darcy’s love as an ever-present and electric passion, the Firth version shows the gradual development of a deep love. Both films are undeniably romantic, but they portray different conceptions of romance. Where the more recent version portrays the couple as being in denial of their attraction, the earlier version paints it as something that gradually develops as they become acquainted. The love that grows between the characters changes them for the better.

Unlike the equivalent moment in the later version, the conversation during which the couple finally admits their love is basically unchanged from the novel. They simply walk along the road divulging everything they feel for each other in a wonderful release of emotion. They acknowledge their prejudices explain how their feelings have changed. There is no physical contact, but their excitement and love are no less obvious. In fact, they may be even more keenly felt because it has taken so long to say the words.

As to the DVD extras, they are very disappointing which is hardly surprising considering the film was released in 1995 before DVD’s became so popular. The only extra is a 26-minute documentary on the film’s production that doesn’t offer nearly enough insight into the making. So viewers will have to rely on Firth and Ehle’s considerable chemistry to keep them interested. And that’s actually not a problem.

Film: 7.5
DVD: 3