Pride and Prejudice (Special Edition) [DVD] [1995]

I bought this video on the recommendation of a friend, and I will never be sorry for taking that advice. It was simply that good.At a run time of over five hours, I expected that there would be some slow spots, but there were none. From beginning to end, this film was completely engrossing. Nor does it suffer from once having been a televised mini-series. The breaks between episodes and between commercial interruptions are visible, but they are integrated masterfully into the continuous work.The screenplay is delightfully faithful to Austen. If there were any lines of dialogue omitted, I did not miss them. The characterisation is established early on, and is portrayed consistently throughout the film.The locations are perfect. Longbourne is stately, of course, but the contrast between it and the more luxurious estates, Netherfield Park, Pemberley, Rosings Park, is profound. The furniture and set-dressing, too, is appropriate for the time period and the affluence of the owner. The attention to detail is outstanding.The casting was inspired. Colin Firth, while he might not possess classic male beauty, simply radiates charisma. Jennifer Ehle is everything that Eliza Bennet, a "local beauty" could be expected to be, and possesses the animation to make the viewer believe that she is every bit the clever, independant woman she is supposed to be. Crispin Bonham-Carter as the amiable, handsome, and somewhat vapid Mr Bingley was also a good pick. Allison Steadman and Benjamin Whitrow were likewise well cast. There could have been no better choices for Caroline Bingley and Mr Collins than Anne Chancellor and David Bamber. Julia Sawalha might have been a bit old for the 15 year old Lydia Bennet, but her playful, unaffected manner make it easy to overlook that. Susannah Harker and Adrian Lukis were the only characters that did not fit, to my eye. Harker's acting saves her, as she does a wonderful job portraying the sweet-natured, serene-countenanced Jane Bennet, but neither is quite as handsome as they are reputed to be.The acting throughout was so good that I could not say who did the best job.The directing is where this really shines, though. The tendency with Austen is to have too heavy a hand. Austen is witty and funny, but she is subtle. Simon Langton could not have done a better job preserving everything that makes Jane Austen such a pleasure to read. He keeps the action moving forward, no mean feat over such a lengthy film, but allows Austen's own wit and humor to shine through.The soundtrack fits the piece perfectly. I especially enjoyed how Melvyn Tan's piano skills appeared to vary, depending on the performer actually sitting in front of the instrument. Music held a prominent place in the novel, and in the film, it almost had the place of another actor, rather than mere accompaniment. It was never a distraction, as it was in the 1986 BBC Northanger Abbey, nor did it overpower the scene, as it did in the 1995 BBC Persuasion. Instead, it subtly supported the action on the screen.The costumes, too were faithful and well done, but I did notice a few things that I might have wished were different. Jennifer Ehle does not have the right complexion for earth tones, and I felt that her beige frocks and tan spencers washed her out terribly. Also, Darcy is the only young man who wears dark trousers, besides Mr Collins, the clergyman. Every once in a while, he's put in a pair of buff or grey ones, but for the most part, they're all black. Most of the other male characters wear pale-colored trousers with formal attire. Yes, this really is all I found to complain about, which should say something.

A rare situation where I HAVE to own something is found right here... after repeatedly checking this out at my thankfully massive library system, I figured I should kill my OWN discs that I had full control over the scratched up condition of (meaning it won't be IN that state, let alone have grease from some other movie watcher's popcorn buttery fingers, requiring many things to get washed carefully before being put in my machinery!) and watch whichever parts at any time... I'm so glad I looked at reviews before I chose this version. It's beautifully restored and looks gorgeous, far moreso than what I first watched so many years ago on PBS, grateful partner of the BBC for so very long...Firth&Ehle are astounding in this. The fellow I'm forgetting who plays Wickham is also incredible. I can't say I adore the mother--they threw her hysteria into overdrive a bit with the crow-like screeches she made and hypochondria in full gear, but the father, Mary (poor girl who played her did it almost TOO well), icky Mr. Collins and Lady Catheterinmyheart of DerPompousshire and, while there is always a lot of debate on the "beauty" of Jane in this adaptation... I liked the Jane&Mr. Bingley characters, too. They were flawed, but their flaws were very wonderfully shown by excellent acting. Granted, I can't tell regional accents in England apart, so I can't say if it was entirely true to the book, but I really don't care about that... Frankly, this took a book that I cringed through in school (somehow Wuthering Heights and my 7th or 8th grade honors English self got along fine, but Austen and I had issues!) and made it beautiful... It took away the things I didn't care for ABOUT the book and kept lovely dialogue with expressions that I fully admit put stupid little stars in my eyes in key moments, moments I binged and saw a good hundred times after 4-6 complete viewings of every episode... click back to that moment in #4 and play through... ahhhhh *swoon*... pretty sure, even though I DID return to life and put it away many months (egads!), 4&5 are the ones that will break first... Anyway, watch on your own (heck I shouldn't advertise it, but I think it's probably still on youtube albeit in lower quality!) and if you bookmark/repeatedly go back to parts, this is worth the $7-12 (camelcamelcamel is super for price tracking and telling you when things drop in price!!)FWIW, this is always going to be MY P&P--book is still in my collection for some reason, but it won't likely be read again as I've already done the comparison between it and this--but particularly for youngish audiences (teens, 20somethings, or young at heart), I also recommend watching the modern day adaptation called Lizzie Bennet Diaries--they're all free, and it is incredibly clever and at the time it was released, wow, it had a transmedia adventure like no other (the website lets you follow it ALL or you can just do the videos... though some off-screen things DID happen in Tweets and such--like an adventure game, adaptation style). Just watching the videos, though, is quite worthwhile so long as you don't expect it to be the same era or exact circumstances. Still, well done and worth watching while you wait for this to arrive at your door!