Conflict allows for the greatest display of unresolved sexual tension. The harder they fight, the harder they fall.

I think with movies especially (as opposed to made-for-TV miniseries) the producers invest so much $$$ going in that they have to be reasonably confident that they will recoup their investments. One way to to do that is to make the main characters in what is essentially a romantic comedy as charming and attractive as possible. They are probably afraid to make Darcy appear too arrogant. Maybe that’s why “Bride and Prejduice” used the second approach.

But I loved the film, and loved watching Naveen Andrews dance!

I must say that as charming as I found the Keira Knightly film, I despised whatever idiot played Darcy. (I don’t even want to remember his name.) I don’t know whether to blame him, the script, the director, or all three but he spent the entire film looking lovesick, never once managed to look arrogant–

And a Darcy who is not arrogant and whose attraction isn’t cloaked beneath disdain for the entire first half of the story simply is not Darcy.

P.S. I adore the Andrew Davies script for the proposal, if for no other reason. Having read the proposal chapter in Austen’s novel and how much of it was told rather than put in actual dialogue, I think the dialogue that Davies wrote for Darcy was superb.

I did mention that the adaptation was by Andrew Davies

Ooops. My bad. Thanks for the review, Janine. It brought back many pleasant memories. I haven’t seen this version for years – perhaps it’s time to dust off the box set and re-evaluate the actors.

Re: Matthew McFadayen. I thought he had a very interesting, intense, take on Darcy. He seemed more vulnerable? I don’t know if that’s a good thing to a purist, but as an interpretation of a very well known literary figure, it was different and it won me over.

However, when it comes to P&P– the 1995 version got me through a very rough period in my personal life. I came home and every night became lost in Jane Austen’s story. For me, this is THE adaptation. I also didn’t particularly care for Fay Weldon’s although I don’t remember why. I’ve read her fiction and enjoyed it, but somehow her P&P didn’t feel quite right.

I have most of these shows on DVD and have watched them repeatedly. In fact I think this set is a reissue because I picked a set up at a Sam’s Warehouse around Christmas one wear for a very reasonable price.

Ok, it was almost the same set– No Lorna Doone which I never liked anyway, that book was hard slogging, and no Victoria and Albert– instead it had Horatio Hornblower– more eye candy there.

Thanks for the recommendations of The Scarlet Pimpernel and the adapation of Ivanhoe. The only thing I’ve seen Ciaran Hinds in was the HBO series “Rome,” where he played Julius Caesar. I thought he was good there, but as I didn’t love the show, I should probably check him out in Ivanhoe.

I understand that Mr. Collins and Mrs. Bennet’s characters were written for comical effect, but I feel that it is possible to be very funny and at the same time convincing, and for me, Steadman and Bamber’s potrayals (Bamber’s especially) were not that convincing as real, living, breathing people. I don’t think I had that problem with the characters in the book, though it’s been a very long time since I read it.

I did mention that the adaptation was by Andrew Davies, when I said:

Nonetheless, there were times I wished that Langton and screenwriter Andrew Davies had found a way to make the story feel as though it was moving along at a good clip.

I’ve heard excellent things about the 1979 BBC adptation with the Fay Weldon screenplay from a friend of mine, who says that it captures the satire of the book better than any other version. I haven’t seen it yet, but thanks, Stephanie and Estara, for the recommendation.

This version of P&P, with Colin Firth, is quite popular and when I went to IMDB to look up the cast and find out exactly how Crispin Bonham Carter was related to Helena, I saw that there were many rave reviews from viewers. I wish I could say I loved it as much as most people seem to, but I did like it, and I do recommend it (albeit with my few caveats).

And I so agree with Susan/DC about Hinds in Ivanoe.

In other words, I second Stephanie’s recommendation.

But no one has mentioned the old black and white with Sir Lawrence Olivier and Greer Garson. That one is actually my favorite. It’s not historically accurate, and they veered from the book quite a bit, I know. But I love it because I think they captured the feel of the book the best. I think Jennifer Erhe totally missed Lizzy’s playfulness, and Colin Firth totally failed to show the passion that was simmering under the surface. (Although I will grant that that version was the most accurate to the book, in terms of script.)

I think that’s why I liked the Kiera Knightley version, too. Yes, they changed it, and some valid points are made here… but I think they did well to capture the point of the story, and the emotions, and portray them to a modern audience that doesn’t know enough about the regency world to catch all those subtle nuances. I mean… I LOVE those nuances in the book, but my husband would never catch on to them. He had a rough time catching on to the Colin Firth nuances, too. But the other two versions that weren’t as faithful to the time period, he liked, because he understood them.

I suppose I see it as a different way of being faithful to the book.

It’s funny, a friend and colleague of mine, whose scholarly specialty is the influence of and responses to Austen, says that she now divides the social response to Pride and Prejudice into two periods: pre-Colin Firth and post-Colin Firth, because that miniseries, particularly his Darcy, have had such an impact.

I must second Susan/DC’s recommendation of this version of Ivanhoe, too. It’s very good. If you like Ciaran Hinds (or if you don’t know who he is and want to), I strongly recommend the 1995 adaptation of Austen’s Persuasion, in which he stars opposite Amanda Root. That’s my favorite of Austen’s novels anyway, because I find the romance in it so compelling. I didn’t know Hinds had been in Jane Eyre — when I rush out and buy this collection (even though I already have Pride and Prejudice), I will watch that first.

But I digress…

I loved this version of P&P and think it’s the best of the lot. I mean…Colin Firth! I do think Mrs. Bennet and Mr. Collins were played for comic effect in the novel, so that they’re portrayals in the miniseriew are spot on. I loved Mr. Bennett. I thought he was particularly good.

I remember the first time I encountered this miniseries–on PBS back when I was teaching in Atlanta. I started watching as I was getting dressed one morning…needless to say, I called in (I had no first period class) and feigned illness so I could watch to the end!

Then I bought the DVD for myself. And last month, for a contest, I gave away a 10-year anniversary edition of the adaptation.

And I still giggle every time I remember what Collin Firth said about the direction given him: To look at Lizzy as if he had a painful erection.

Mileage varies, and fortunately, there seems to be a P&P to suit just about every taste.

Heh. I confess, I haven’t seen any of the earlier versions, but I suspect you’re right.

Which reminds me of an exercise at school, when we had to watch three different versions of Little Women (another much filmed book) from the 30s to the 90s, and compare/ contrast. I hated all of them, for various reasons.