AIBU - Pride & Prejudice.

[2020iscancelled]

A much beloved book
A fantastic BBC adaptation mini series

Then the horror of THAT awful, awful Keira Knightly film.

I knew it was bad but I rewatched it recently and it is just terrible.

I will concede the film itself is fine, the locations beautiful and no issues with the acting per se. But it is so far away from the real P&P it’s actually criminal.

So AIBU?

YABU - it’s wonderful and sums up the story to perfection.

YANBU - it’s an abomination

Didn't think the casting was good- disliked donald sutherland's version of mr bennet, (found him a bit sleazy somehow) matthew macfaddyens's mr darcy, ( wimpy and miserable) and though i usually love judy dench, thought her lady catherine was poor- (a bit half hearted - )personally find kiera knightly rather beautiful- not perfect looking, like rosemary pike, but beautiful - just like lizzie and jane i suppose

I do like Rosamund Pike as Jane, Carey Mulligan as one of the sisters and the actress who plays Mrs. Bennett, but oh the horror that is Keira Knightley!! 😳 Her demonic smile....shudder..

So OP, YNBU. Give me the BBC production with Colin Firth in, any day.

YANBU

"Many of the 450 members of the Jane Austen Society of North America, who caught a preview in early October, were so taken aback by the unexpected onslaught of mush"

I actually liked KK in this. I remember reading the director specifically stopped her pouting & I think it was a good move.

If you love the book, I don’t understand how you can tolerate the KK film.

I agree.

As for KK, I quite like her actually, but she isn't Lizzie.

I thought it was lovely. I really enjoyed it. And I enjoyed the book and the BBC adaptation. I don't need to compare them, I can appreciate merits

Having said YANBU I think film Jane was better than BBC Jane. I like KK but not as Elizabeth Bennet. She's perfect in Atonement, just as I pictured the character in the book.
Mr. Collins is perfect in the BBC version.

The film was my first introduction to P&P. I loved it and wanted more. Having since read the book and watched the BBC series, those are better.

@FadedRed

Loved it. The BBC Colin Firth one is excruciatingly slow, tedious and unconvincing. But I realise that is a minority opinion on MN so I’ll get my coat....

Totally agree! I loathe the BBC mini series, no chemistry between the lead actors and all the 'smoldering looks' make me cringe.

The film is beautifully shot, and I love the soundtrack.

I liked most of the cast, but the two leads didn’t work for me. Fine in other things, but not here. KK is beautiful, but her habit of moving her jaw about was quite distracting in the role of Lizzie, it added to the informality she played her with. And MMCF was too sexy and emoting for a role that Colin Firth got spot-on.

It looked gorgeous and Sutherland, Blethyn, and Pike were wonderful.

no chemistry between the lead actors
Well that's unfortunate as they were an item at the time

It's not my favourite adaptation but it's better than the 1940s one.

I love the 1980s BBC one though (first one I saw)

Nothing is as bad as that terrible Mansfield park film.... I almost walked out of that one

I can’t remember much about that KK film, TBH. I loved the TV version: Jennifer Healey was indeed perfect as Elizabeth. Couldn’t get away with Susanna Harker as Jane, and Alison Steadman wasn’t great. I thought Adrian Lucas made a perfect Wycombe, but my favourite of all was Mr Collins. I can’t remember the guys name, is it David Bamber? – He was simply perfect. I really enjoyed the Laurence Olivier film version: Jane was so beautiful, you can imagine her being discussed as a local beauty all the men wanted to marry. Greer Garson was very good at Elizabeth, Olivier was great at being pompous and proud, but the thing that they did that annoyed me was they made Lady Catherine a ‘goodie’.

*Ehle, not Healey!

I love it and Joe Wright is a genius, his Anna Karenina with KK is lovely too. YABU!

Keira Knightley is a poor Lizzie (I like her in other films but hated her in this). She is too posh, modern and pretty to be our Lizzie. She also seemed really controlled and stiff in this production (she is in a lot of her films to be honest but it kind of works for her other characters). But if there was ever a production where they gender reversed the story I think she would be a great female Darcy 😍😆

• Adrian Lukis!!! Autocorrect driving me mad.

love the 1980s BBC one though
I liked it at the time apart from that weird scene with Mr. Collins falling in the pond

I think the Colin Firth version is the best though.

Rosamund Pike is perfect as Jane, all other characters I prefer in the BBC version although I do quite like KK as Lizzie - she has the dancing eyes required.

There isn’t, I don’t know what the poster who said that is referring to...

There is in the american ending.

... no chemistry between the lead actors ... and yet they were supposedly involved at the time.

rather apt name there @Plonque sice the pp you bitched about wrote a sentence with 11 words, yet yours was only 10 so maybe you were refering to yourself.....

It was the bit where they had pigs running through the house that got me. I'm assuming to make it clear they were from a slightly lower social standing than Darcy and co. for the Hollywood market who might not pick up on it otherwise.

I didn't particularly like it but then I'm not a Jane Austen fan. She is a good writer but I find her storylines a bit miserable.