Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I've lost count of how many times I've read Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - it's one of my very favorite books. Comparing the two miniseries adaptations of it -- this one done in the 80s by BBC and the more recent one by A&E/BBC (Pride and Prejudice - The Special Edition (A&E, 1996)) -- there are definite advantages to each. The one you choose depends on what you want. If you want a Hollywood-style romantic comedy, watch the A&E version. But if you want what is closest to Austen's novel (which I prefer, and enjoyed more), watch the older BBC version. The first time I tried to watch the newer version, I turned it off after the first 30 minutes because I kept saying, "THAT didn't happen in the book" over and over again and it was really frustrating me. I finally forced myself to keep watching it with my mom there to be able to vent to as needed (she's also a huge fan of P&P and of the Rintoul version), and got through it OK and then wrote this review afterwards. POSITIVES OF THE A&E VERSION: 1) It is a visual feast: The costumes, sets and scenery are exquisite and make that version worth watching for that reason alone. They obviously had a larger budget than the 80s version, which is done in the old BBC 'stage play' style. 2) Since that version is 75 minutes longer than the BBC version, you get to enjoy that much more of Austen's incomparable dialogue - the best ever written in the English language besides Shakespeare, in my opinion! 3) In the interplays between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, their emotions are much more pronounced and open than in the BBC version... which makes their relationship more openly romantic even than in the novel. This is developed further by some scenes of them individually that weren't in the novel. In the 80s version and the novel, many of the subtleties of their relationship and feelings are left to the imagination. The A&E version is more in the unsubtle style of a typical modern romantic movie, which gives a wonderful new dimension to the story. The "unexpected proposal" scene is absolutely perfect; I think Austen would have loved it! 4) Casting Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy. Although not as strikingly handsome as David Rintoul's Darcy in the 80s version (in the book, Darcy is far handsomer than Bingley), Firth adds more visible emotion to the character which David R. did not, while also maintaining a very aristocratic, refined air about him. POSITIVES OF THIS 80s BBC VERSION: 1) It is much more faithful to the historical setting of the novel. It captures much more accurately the slow-moving, thoughtful, refined, restrained, purist, obsessed-with-manners (but still quite amusing) aristocratic society of 18th century England. This to me gives not only a needed believability to, but also a much deeper understanding of, the characters and story. Austen's novels were very realistic and true to their time and place, so if you want the genuine Austen feel rather than the 'in-your-face' Hollywood style, see the 80s version (or just stick to the book). The A&E version comes across as being 20th century American, just cloaked in 18th century England costumes and sets. Some people have praised this aspect of it, saying that the 80s version is boring by comparison. But I believe that Austen's intent was that the interest in her novels would lie with her detailed character studies and intricate relational plots. That's what made her books so interesting, without all the action-packed gallivanting around and crassness which Hollywood seems to think is a necessity to entertainment. The 80s version recognizes this and retains a historical elegance and dignity; the A&E version does not. (In the A&E version, Bingley's two supposedly high class sisters slouch around, make faces and giggle audibly behind people's backs. Everyone seems to be constantly running, skipping or galloping somewhere. The less-than-savory characters, like Mary, Lydia, Kitty, and Mr. Wickham, look and act like they are from a much lower social class, in ways that go below what would have been acceptable in their class. A visitor to the Bennett home accidentally sees one of the sisters in her undergarments. When Elizabeth visits Pemberley, she sees Mr. Darcy coming from a dip in a pond with a wet undershirt on, rather than just having arrived in a carriage as in the book.) 2) The casting is better in the BBC version and each actor is completely natural and believable in his or her role. In the A&E version, much of the casting does not seem to fit the characters: Elizabeth comes across as being about twenty years older than she is (with a constantly knowing look as if she's already married with children), Mrs. Bennett seems too intelligent to be so silly, Charlotte seems snobby rather than humble, Miss Bingley seems cold and sharp rather than sweetly slimy, and Mr. Collins is like a cartoon and not a believable person. The actors seemed quite competent, just not cast in the right roles, and maybe directed to overplay them. The only exception, as I mentioned above, is Colin Firth as Darcy. 3) The 80s BBC version gives the same attention to each character that Austen's novel does. In the A&E version, only the principal characters are focused on, with the result that many of the characters who we should have gotten to know better seemed to just be cardboard props, and their relationships with each other don't come across as being as intimate and familiar as they really are in the novel. For example, Elizabeth had a much deeper relationship with her father, her friend Charlotte and her Aunt Gardiner than the A&E version portrayed, because it left out some key scenes between those characters. The only ones I could perceive as being really close in the A&E version were Elizabeth and Jane - and in the last half, Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy. This is a great loss, because Austen's novels are not just about romance, but about the relationships between people, and each of their interesting personality quirks. They are character studies -- not just of the main characters, but of ALL the characters. BUT AS ALWAYS, it's a good idea to 1) read the negative reviews as well as the positive, since they are wildly different from each other, and 2) RENT before you buy!