Jane Austen's perennial classic novel, Pride & Prejudice, has been reinterpreted many times, including the recent 2005 Keira Knightley version.
I had the fortune to come across my 3 DVD set of the BBC's version of this great book. Produced as a television mini-series ten years before the aforementioned cinematic endeavor, I find this version of Pride & Prejudice far superior. In all fairness, part of that comes from the fact that the BBC version is close to five and a half hours long, following the original story to almost script-like accuracy. The fact that shorter version must combine or omit scenes is understandable in this light, but why not get the full effect of the brilliance of Austen's story-telling!?!
The BBC version also includes the very brooding persona of Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy, and the engaging Jennifer Ehle playing Elizabeth Bennet to perfection. Also, nothing against the great Dame Judi Dench, but I refuse to believe anyone else as Lady Catherine de Bourgh after seeing Barbara Leigh-Hunt's scene-stealing performance here. I confess to sometimes skipping ahead to the third disc just to watch the scene in the garden where Elizabeth and Lady Catherine come to blows.
If you're going to try and cheat a literature course by watching the movie in lieu of reading the book, it might as well be this version.
Sergio del Limónar
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