to opine that the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice is not very good?

[ScribblyGum]

Watching it with dd1 (15) as evidence of what constitutes a great romantic story after sitting through the utter shite that is the Harry Styles fan fiction movie After.

I know P&P is lots of other stuff but I wanted to show her something that I believed was excellent telly.

Four episodes in and I’ve come to the terrible realisation that actually it’s really dated, boring, badly acted and all in all a bit crap.

Far, far too much dull mimsy dancing.

Colin Firth is hot but doesn’t bring much to the part apart from posh snooty emotionally constipated hotness.

Alison Steadman's acting is just silly.

The music is too loud. Are the costumes a bit crap too? Not sure, there’s some bloody weird turbans going on on Caroline Bingley's head.

God it’s so BORING. Neither of us can be arsed to finish it.

I bet the Keira Knightly version is better

Matthew Macfadyen is proper gorgeous as Darcy.

Darcy is an absolute git though. And Lizzie is also pretty unlikeable.

Persuasion is my favourite Austin book.

I've seen the BBC one quite a lot as DD2, 14, enjoys it. Were she to do P&P for GCSE (is it still on the syllabus?) I'd be much happier with her watching the BBC version than the KK one.

OMG seriously this is like a cosy warm blanket on a cold day !!I still love watching it after all these years and when I see Colin Firth nowadays it always surprises me he looks so much older 😂

I know exactly what you mean by "dated".

What I love about the film is the way in which Joe Wright has shifted the setting back slightly earlier: the novel was originally drafted in 1797 and then extensively redrafted before its publication in 1813, and Wright has gone for that pre-1800 setting very effectively, I think.

Going to watch it now
Agree about Jane tho

I liked it when I was younger but now that I'm older and have read the book I think it's spoiled by the fact that the actresses are all much, much too old.

Lizzie is only supposed to be 20 but Jennifer Ehle was 26. Jane is supposed to be 22 but the actress was 30 and very obviously pregnant!

I think I prefer the Kiera Knightly film.

I also prefer the Joe Wright film. I love the soundtrack, the cinematography is beautiful, and the costumes are brilliant.

The BBC series is so stilted, and Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth have no chemistry (which is ironic because they dated). I cringe at all the hammy looks they exchange. You can basically just watch the first and last episode, and not miss much at all.

I dint think either Darcy or Elizabeth are well cast... I think Colin Firth was attractive when he did Mamma Mia but he didn’t ring my bell at all in the 90s. I also actually prefer the Keira Knightly version (/blasphemy).

I love the KK version as a film in its own right, and agree that Alison Steadman overdoes it in the BBC version. However as an adaptation of the book the BBC version is unbeatable. While DD was revising for GCSE Eng Lit, we watched the whole thing in a day and I read through the text while I watched and the fidelity to the tiniest little details of the book is phenomenal.

My flabber is gasted.

That look between Lizzie and Darcy over the piano is seared into my soul.

You're verging on territory here, OP!

Clearly YABincrediblyU

I actually like the film too Mrs Bennett is too shrill in the tv adaptation

YABVVVVVVVU.

However, if you/your DD are after something that has a lot of fun with P&P, in an intelligent way, I very highly recommend a series from a few years ago called Lost in Austen.

For its faults - I love it

I loved Lost In Austen except that I got very cross with the constant claims that our heroine was “a huge fan of Jane Austen” when what she actually was was a huge fan of P&P because none of the other novels got a mention.

Also Wickham is repulsive in the BBC version. I know he’s a complete cad and bounder, but he’s supposed to look lovely.

And being very true to a book isn’t necessarily a good thing - look at the difference between the first and third Harry Potter films.

You are so right op.
BBC version is turgid, redeemed slightly by the wet shirt scene.

The K K film however is passionate and credible and visually delightful.

YANBU Hated it the first time round. Awful casting. Nothing to recommend it.

Firth isn’t hot. He’s a trainspotter who left his jumper cords and anorak in the waiting room and had to borrow a suit from lost property.

YABVVVU
The kk version is not better. It’s a cardboard cut out in comparison. Jennifer Ehle is amazing and Colin Firth dreamy. I love the Alison Steadman portrayal.

Oh I love the BBC version.

"I would as soon call her mother a wit!"

Mrs Bennet would only have been about 40. I agree that Alison Steadman is over the top in the tv adaptation.

The problem with the bbc version now is that it is quite slow paced compared to modern tv/film. I had to get back into the rhythm of it when I rewatched recently. It is true to the story in the way the KK film was not.

But I LOVED the costumes in the film, they were so accurate in representing the comparitive wealth of the characters. It was beautifully shot and Matthew McFadden is seriously hot. The rubbish about Lady Catherine turning up in the middle of the night and the appalling ending with a weeping Mr Bennett is a low point.

Turgid. Perfect description.

Will seek out Lost In Austin, thanks mrsmalcolmreynolds

YVVVVVVVVU