I am a ’super Jane Austen fan’ - by this I mean, I have not only read (& own, of course) all of her books several times over but love ‘Pride & Prejudice’ best by far (like most Austen fans do). I know tons of the lines by heart & could quote word for word on most key parts of the book. My sis and I grew up not only reading her books but reciting lines with each other - what pure literary joy!
As a result I was so excited to watch this adaptation - just as I was to see the 1995 Mini Series & Gurinder Chadha’s Bride & Prejudice. I was particularly excited because the movie has gotten rave reviews from most critics in the world & even has been nominated for two Oscars.
Ahh. But sorrows of sorrows, I came back dissapointed. I don’t know if it was that my expectations were too high or whether I just plain unlucky to be with ** person who was completely non-old-English, jabberred throughout the movie (like almost everyone else in the theatre, what the &@#$^ ??? ) and kept asking me to explain what was happening. Damn.
Since this is supposed to be a review though (& not a personal record of my woes) so I’ll try to be as impartial as possible with a list of Dos & Don’ts:
DON’T:
(01) … expect any depth in any of the characters (except maybe Lizzie’s). I don’t know if it was from lack of time, but none of the characters grew. They all started & ended off at the same point. Mr. Wickham was a complete no-show with only 2 scenes in the whole movie - even Lady Catherine (who was superbly played by Judi Dench) was given more screen time than Wickham!
(02) … expect Mr. Darcy to be good looking or anything like his character in the book. Since in all probability I will never meet Matthew Macfadyen, I can say very boldly, he isn’t good looking & was imo the worst choice to play Darcy. His portrayal went from rock solid nasty to mushy goo and I think Austen would have been appalled (not to mention poor Lizzie).
(03)… expect to understand the story properly if you haven’t read the book. As I mentioned I kept getting asked what was going on. And I was not the only one - there was a couple sitting next to us & they were pretty lost too.
(04) … expect to like or understand the story if you don’t read old-English. A lot of the dialogues are spoken out pretty fast (which is a good thing, bravo Keira) but it’s very annoying if the person next to you is going “huh??”.. or “what?” or “who’s he, again?”
(1995 Mini Series)
DO:
(01) Enjoy the cinematography! Brilliant. Perfect. Lovely. The old Enlish countryside is a treat for anyone’s eyes. The buildings, the interiors. Beautiful, fabulous.
(02) Enjoy the movie if you haven’t read the book & like old-English. Then after that, read the book - you’ll love it even more!
(03) Rent the BBC Mini Series of 1995 starring the ever so gorgeous and Darcy-to-the-hilt Colin Firth. Jennifer Ehle who played Lizzie was simply brilliant (I’d vote her for an Oscar, definetely).
(04) Go if you like Keira. She’s gorgeous & looks even more so in this movie. It’s shot brilliantly & picks up on all her face’s strenghts & she simply radiates beauty. She also keeps to Lizzies character pretty well.
I’ll stop here - just adding this one last bit - I have never missed my sister more in my life. Love you girl.
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February 20th, 2006 at 4:52 pm
hmmm… so i shall not see the movie.. not even for Keira!
February 20th, 2006 at 10:49 pm
I did watch the BBC version i.e the mini series.Was pretty pleased with that one…Havnt watched this yet.
February 21st, 2006 at 7:41 am
Hi, I’ve been following ur blog(albeit silently
for quite a few weeks now and I wanted to chip in right bout here becos I’m a die hard Austen fan too. But then again which female in the English speaking world who grew up in the past thirty yrs isn’t, right? Anyway, I just wanted you to know that I was disappointed too with this version. Loved the Firth-Ehle one though, saw it around 27 times(no, I’m not joking). But I still think it (especially becos like u said, Keira Knightley looked heavenly) was way better than Aishwarya Rai doing her take on Lizzie. Please.
February 21st, 2006 at 9:26 am
I saw Bride n Prejudice in it’s hindi version. Forgot the name now. LA soemthing I think. Ash looked like a uper ice queen. There was absolutely no chemistry between her and the guy who played Darcy (Henderson). She looked gorgeous tho. Like she always does.
February 21st, 2006 at 9:44 am
oh! boy I posted the comment on the wrong post. Please forgive.
February 21st, 2006 at 10:01 am
Watch the original “Pride and Prejudice” movie with Laurence Oliver and Greer Garson. The original is a classic, can’t even compare to the remake. You will fall in love with the classic original movie. Don’t watch the Indian version of Pride and Prejudice, it’s pretty pathetic.
February 21st, 2006 at 10:27 am
@ Lothario:
I don’t know one person who watched the BBC series and didn’t like it!
@ Tess: Firstly, an official welcome
Nice to know you’ve been following the blog!
Secondly nice to meet another Austen fan
(27!! whoa!!) I really loved the Bollywood version though - It was kinda of an Austen cum parody on Bollywood movies. I guess maybe you’ve got to understand Bollywood to appreciate it & I really did 
@ Aparna: Chadha’s film in English was called Bride & Prejudice. The Hindi dubbed version was called “Balle Balle! From Amritsar to LA”.
@ Rahul: No worries abt the mistake - see the admin can move your comments
Thx for telling me about the original, now I just HAVE to get my hands on it!!
@ All - fyi: Here’s my review of Bride & Prejudice (know lot of you didn’t, but I loved it).
February 21st, 2006 at 1:25 pm
dont worry. no harm done. dont think i would have gone for it anyway. waiting for the other oscar contenders tho. and ur review may influence me there, as movies release a week later in this city!
February 21st, 2006 at 10:24 pm
February 22nd, 2006 at 8:23 am
ah yes.. the singapore trip (or was it hong kong).
u have fun there.. and i’l wait for gifts
February 22nd, 2006 at 2:50 pm
March 6th, 2006 at 9:27 pm
What bananas are you talking about? It felt just like reading the book. I came away happy. Please note: The said book was a textbook that I read during BA. One of the few textbooks I have enjoyed in BA. Hate to disagree. But it wasn’t that bad
March 7th, 2006 at 8:45 pm
March 7th, 2006 at 11:36 pm
Gwad help me !! Just watched the new pride & prejudice today…And i wanted to shoot myself halfway thru it.They’ve totally killed the movie.The BBC version was so refined and graceful..and this one seemed so haggard and boorish. I was actually Laughing at some scenes.Maybe it wouldnt be so bad if i had’nt watched the BBC series…But then i still believe that nobody fits Mr.Darcy’s description better than Colin Firth.
March 15th, 2006 at 9:20 am