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cfmanasseh
Reviews
Pride & Prejudice (2005)
Hollywood Nonsense
Oh dear! I have no choice but to give this movie a generous one star. This latest adaptation of PnP forgot to adapt the novel. They copied some dialogues from the novel here and there and then added some really dumb ones as if the novel didn't have enough spectacular lines. Babe the pig made a special appearance. Where did that come from? They made the Bennets as poor as the servants as if to justify Keiras malnourished state. Mr Bennet looks like he's on drugs. Mrs Bennet is not annoying enough to be Mrs Bennet. Dame Judi Dench's talent was wasted. Mr Bingley is a complete moron. I don't know why they bothered to put George Wickam in the picture, he didn't make any impact at all. Elizabeth is no better than her younger sisters. Keira should have eaten first before doing this film or perhaps her anorexic state is due to so much housework they made her do.Mr Darcy never had a strong presence and I never once thought he was handsome. Mathew Macfadyen tried very hard to make Darcy romantic but forgot to be proud in the process. The whole cast look as if they just came out of the washing machine. There are so many things that made this film a failure as an adaptation and I am not even going to compare this to the much loved 1995 BBC mini series because there is no comparison. This film made a mess of itself all on its own.
Pride and Prejudice (1980)
"The Terminator" as Mr Darcy
I've been duped by some of the reviews I read about this earlier production of PnP. This 1980 production of Jane Austen's most popular novel is the worst adaptation of any book I have ever seen.After watching the 1995 production of PnP, I was inspired to read the book and to look for other PnP adaptations. The 1940 movie was laughable, it was not close to the book at all and this 1980 version was just plain awful. Some may think that this earlier production is close to the book and I agree it is, only because everyone recited the whole book word for word but it failed miserably in capturing the true spirit of the book. Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice is described as sparkling comedy of manners but there was nothing sparkling about this film. The whole cast acted in slow motion, it bored me to tears.It would be good as a stage play but as a film It was pathetic.
There were so many aspects in which this version failed in comparison to the 1995 adaptation. The whole cast was forgettable. Mr Darcy , oh dear! It was like watching The Terminator act as Mr Darcy. Arnie could have played Mr Darcy and we wouldn't know the difference. The director did not give Jane Austen's hero any personality even though Jane Austen herself mentioned in her book the many different subtle emotional struggles that Mr Darcy felt during the course of the story.She described Mr Darcy as proud in the beginning but David Rintoul was so severe the whole time. Colin Firth was spot on. He is the definitive Mr Darcy. He made us understand the true Character of Mr Darcy and in the end we truly believe that he is the best man for Lizzy.
I would like to mention some scenes which the 1980 film failed miserably. The first proposal of Mr Darcy, both Lizzy and Mr Darcy acted without any feeling , without passion whatsoever. Another scene was the confrontation between Lizzy and Lady Catherine. Lady Catherine sounds like she was suffering from sore throat and Lizzy was almost smiling while being abused by Lady Catherine. It was a lifeless , boring confrontation.And lastly, after reading Jane's letter when Lydia eloped with Wickam, Lizzy went running to Pemberly and cried to Mr Darcy and I thought David Rintoul would at least show some kind of emotion but it was wishful thinking, he was determine to act like a zombie.
Even without watching the 1995 PnP , this earlier adaptation would never have encouraged me to read the book.
Pride and Prejudice (1995)
The Best Adaptation Ever
What can I say, I have never seen better book adaptation than the 1995 production starring Colin Firth/Jennifer Ehle. It inspired me to read the book. In fact read the book over and over and I must say that the movie really gave justice to the book.I've seen other PnP adaptation after seeing this but they were all very disappointing. The 1940 movie is not close to the book at all and the 1980 production is just plain awful. There is no comparison at all, because the latest adaptation is just superior in many ways. The music, the sceneries, the costumes and most of all the casting is just superb. Two very powerful scenes are the first proposal of Mr Darcy and the confrontation between Lizzy and Lady Catherine. It was done beautifully and with so much passion. They showed natural human emotions that were lucking in the 1980 adaptation.Another scene that was acted beautifully was the one after Lizzy read Jane's letter when Lydia eloped with Wickam. Colin Firth put so much life in his portrayal of Mr Darcy. A few people mentioned that David Rintoul's portrayal of Mr Darcy is the right one. I'm sorry to disagree but even Jane Austen mentioned all the many human emotions that Darcy felt from the time he met Lizzy especially the part when Lizzy was looking at his portrait she remembered the times when he smiled towards her.Jane Austen described him as proud but not zombie like. He was only proud in the beginning but he showed all kinds of emotions during the course of the story.Colin Firth showed all Mr Darcy's emotion to perfection.He is the perfect Mr. Darcy . In the end everyone had no doubt that he is truly the best man for Lizzy and if you feel that the main characters deserve each other then you feel satisfied that they found their way to each other,it makes a romantic story.
But the main characters are not the only positive thing in the 1995 production, the whole cast even the supporting characters did a terrific job. This film is better than perfect.