It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a producer in search of a good fortune, will try to adapt Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. But if you need proof, then look up the number of adaptations that this story has inspired!
If you’ve read my last post, you know that I loved the book Pride & Prejudice – a little too much maybe. But even that is putting it lightly. Truth be told, I was obsessed! So naturally, I re-read it, several times. And then I did the next best thing – check out the screen adaptations – and boy were there a few of those!
So today I am going to do quick reviews of the 3 adaptations of this classic, that I have seen. I would love to hear your thoughts, if you have seen them too. Or any others that you recommend. Well, outside of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Yeah, no. Let’s not go there.
Source: ReactionGIFs
Bride & Prejudice (Featuring Martin Henderson & Aishwarya Rai)
I have to say this before anything else – this is NOT a real adaptation. Yes, there are many parallels that can be drawn, but it is, at best – a very watered down version of the classic. It is more like a drop of Pride and Prejudice in a tub of water – that’s the amount of dilution.
Moreover, in this one, there is this whole Indian/Foreigner angle, which essentially turns it into something else altogether. Not a bad plot line at all, but not Pride and Prejudice.
And as handsome as he is, Martin Henderson is no Darcy ( to be fair, I need to mention here, that in my mind – there is just ONE Mr. Darcy, so no one else would work anyway, but we will come to that later).
As far as the rest of the cast, I believe they got the basic character sketches right, much better than the next adaptation that I am going to mention. Also, peppy Bollywood numbers are a definite improvement over stuffy balls (though there are far too many of them).
OVERALL – It is a decent one-time watch, but not a true adaptation. So if you don’t mind a diluted/altered version, as of this writing, this one is available on Netflix in English (streaming plan), and it’s always available on Amazon here – Bride and Prejudice.
Pride & Prejudice – Movie (2005) ( Featuring Matthew MacFadyen & Keira Knightley)
This is the first thing that pops up on google if you try to search Pride and Prejudice adaptations, and Matthew MacFadyen will come up as Mr. Darcy, which I feel is SO unfortunate, because I really disliked this adaptation in so many ways!
The irony here is that while this is more of a true adaptation than the earlier one I mentioned, they have done a horrible job of translating it on screen – they tried to copy the content, but butchered the essence of the story.
The character sketches are not true to the book – the most annoying alterations were to the lead pair – Lizzy was shown as this overly giggly, yet tomboyish character (though Keira Knightley acted well); and Darcy – ugh! – I am sure that Jane Austen must have turned in her grave seeing Matthew MacFadyen cast as Mr. Darcy. He doesn’t look the part, nor can he act!
There was only one thought in my mind – Make it stop. Make. It. Stop. Tell the bad man to go away, someone – please!
OVERALL – Don’t watch this version of Pride and Prejudice. Just don’t do this to yourself. But if you have rebellious tendencies, this one is also available on Netflix (streaming plan), or you can get it on Amazon here – Pride and Prejudice Movie. (Just know that you have been warned.)
Pride and Prejudice – BBC Mini Series (1995) (Featuring Colin Firth & Jennifer Ehle)
This is as good a time as any to mention this – there is just ONE Mr. Darcy, and it is Colin Firth, in the very BEST adaptation of the classic – the BBC mini series.
This mini series by BBC consisting of 6 episodes of 50ish minutes each, is I believe, the gold standard for book to screen adaptations – not just of this book, but any book.
Admittedly it has almost 6 hours of run time, which enables it to faithfully translate the story to screen, include all the plot twists and turns, and also retain Austen’s dialogues.
But really, there is so much more to love – perfect casting, great acting, and Colin Firth! Yes, I know, I have mentioned him earlier, but he is worth mentioning again – just look at him!
If you haven’t seen this – GO WATCH IT NOW! You can thank me later!
It is available on YouTube (as of this writing), or you can always get it on Amazon here – Pride and Prejudice BBC Mini Series. (This one is worth buying to keep it in your collection.)
Have you guys watched any of these adaptations? Or any others, outside of these three? Do share your thoughts in the comments. I would love to hear from you!
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Shilpa Garg
Am I the only one who has not seen any of these adaptations? OMG!!
Oh, I have seen the Tele serial Trishna which used to come on Doordarshan when we were in school.
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Shanaya Tales
Oh you totally should see the BBC version. Please, please do. You will love it.
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Eli@CoachDaddy
So, I should probably see the original first … right?
Shanaya Tales
Yes, yes! Absolutely. You will not regret it. At all. 😀
Shanaya Tales recently posted…The many screen adaptations of Pride and Prejudice
Shailaja
COMPLETELY agree with the review of all three. I LOVED Firth as Darcy and even dream about him (Okay too much information!) The Ash Rai one, the less said the better. The second one I didn’t watch because I dislike Keira Knightley and by the sound of it, it was nothing great that I missed. I recommend the BBC version to every single person. Every single person.
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Shanaya Tales
Yes yes yes! I can understand! 😀 I don’t even want to admit how much time I have wasted watching Firth’s GIF (above), let alone the mini-series! 😛
Shanaya Tales recently posted…The many screen adaptations of Pride and Prejudice
Shelley
BBC and Colin Firth did it best, but I enjoyed the other adaptations you mentioned as well. Matthew MacFadyen was a poor choice, but I found myself slowly falling in love with him. At least when I wasn’t falling asleep. I literally fell asleep in the theater.
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Shanaya Tales
Hehehe..yes – it was slow, and his acting was pretty wooden, but at the end of the day – he was Darcy – so I understand. 😀 No comparison to the BBC one though. 😀
Shanaya Tales recently posted…The many screen adaptations of Pride and Prejudice
Rekha
The book wins any day.
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Shanaya Tales
Oh yes. The book trumps everything, but the BBC adaptation is as good as adaptations get. 🙂
Shanaya Tales recently posted…The many screen adaptations of Pride and Prejudice
Ankita
Ahh, a never ending addiction of Mr. Darcy! I loved the second movie, the best: the one with Keira Knightley. Thanks a lot for sharing your obsession with Pride and Prejudice. Every time I hear this name, my heart goes down the fantastic journey I had while reading this creation of Jane Austen.
Shanaya Tales
Oh is it? I did like Keira in the second one, but couldn’t see MacFadyen as Darcy. Possibly I am too hung up on Firth, but I loved him as Darcy, and in my mind – he is it. 🙂
Shanaya Tales recently posted…The many screen adaptations of Pride and Prejudice
debraj
Colin Firth ..ultimate Darcy
Shanaya Tales
Ahh yes! He is the one and only!
Shanaya Tales recently posted…The many screen adaptations of Pride and Prejudice
Susan Gourley
I own that version already. And you are right. Colin Firth, is Mr. Darcy. He does the ‘over proud’ attitude down just right. The other characters are well cast in that version also. Now I want to watch it again when I should be writing. I’m blaming you.
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Shanaya Tales
Hehehe..I don’t even want to admit how much time I have spent staring at Firth’s GIF, never mind the mini-series. 😛
Shanaya Tales recently posted…The many screen adaptations of Pride and Prejudice
Ruchi Singh
Shanaya, I just remembered there was a TV serial on Doordarshan in 80s called Trishna adapted from Pride and Prejudice, I liked it, after that I read the book . 🙂
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Shanaya Tales
Yes, Lata & Suzy also mentioned Trishna. I missed it. Can’t find it online either. 🙁
Shanaya Tales recently posted…The many screen adaptations of Pride and Prejudice
Ruchi Singh
Unfortunately I have seen the first two, but not the last one. Even I found Mathew MacFayden too wooden, but Keira acted well. I think I’ll watch Colin Firth’s and will read the book again! Your enthusiasm is infectious 😀
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Shanaya Tales
Ruchi – YOU HAVE TO SEE THE BBC VERSION. REALLY!! GO.WATCH.NOW. 😀
P.S. Sorry for all caps, but this needed to be emphasized. 😛
Shanaya Tales recently posted…The many screen adaptations of Pride and Prejudice
Devika
Cool post! I have to admit I really liked the version with Keira and Matthew too, though I agree that Lizza came out all wrong.
Shanaya Tales
Yeah, the sketch for Lizzy was all wrong, but Keira acted well. I did not like MacFadyen though – he was too woody for me. Or possibly I was just plain biased, because I had seen the BBC version, and blocked out all the other Darcy contenders except Firth. 😛
Shanaya Tales recently posted…The many screen adaptations of Pride and Prejudice
Suzy
I’ve seen all 3 and enjoyed them all. And like Lata I also watched Trishna on doordarshan and enjoyed that too.
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Shanaya Tales
I missed Trishna. Can’t seem to find it online or even a dvd version. Such a pity! 🙁
Shanaya Tales recently posted…The many screen adaptations of Pride and Prejudice
Rajlakshmi
How many times I have watched Colin Firth express his love for Lizzy!!! It’s beautiful!!! oh the words!!
I haven’t watched the second one… and couldn’t complete the first … well becasue it was too bollywoodish
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Shanaya Tales
Yeah, Bride and Prejudice was NOT Pride and Prejudice. At all. And you haven’t missed anything by not watching the Matthew MacFadyen one. The BBC one is the gold standard. Firth is drool worthy! I keep re-watching the scene where they met at Pemberly! I have a problem! 😛
Shanaya Tales recently posted…The many screen adaptations of Pride and Prejudice
Mithila Menezes @Fabulus1710
I have watched the mini series with mom.. Not regularly, but that made me want to read the book!
So I started reading the book while I was prepping for Boards. I gave it up half way, but now after reading this post I might just go back to reading it. I stopped at that part when Mr. Darcy proposed to her. It’s supposed to get interesting after that, isn’t it? 😀
Shanaya Tales
Oh yes. The first half is a slow burner. Post proposal is where it starts to get interesting. Don’t give up there! And once you read the book, do check out the BBC adaptation. You will not regret it. 🙂
Shanaya Tales recently posted…The many screen adaptations of Pride and Prejudice
Rubina Ramesh
How do you expect that you will mention Darcy and I will not keep on staring at the screen? The ultimate dream man. Sigh..! There a few in the Netflix too and I have watched them multiple times.But NOTHING beats reading the book. Right ?
Shanaya Tales
Oh yes. The book trumps everything, but the BBC series is pretty close to perfection. 🙂
Shanaya Tales recently posted…The many screen adaptations of Pride and Prejudice
Beat About the Book
Couldn’t read much of your post because I went into a Darcy haze when I read ‘Colin Firth’. Will come back when I recover.
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Shanaya Tales
Hehehe..okay, you are excused. 😛 Mostly because I have wasted (well, not wasted) much time staring at his GIF. 😛
Shanaya Tales recently posted…The many screen adaptations of Pride and Prejudice
Damyanti
My favourite romance of all time!
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Shanaya Tales
Oh yes. Mine too. 🙂
Shanaya Tales recently posted…The many screen adaptations of Pride and Prejudice
Sreesha
I saw the one with Colin Firth and Keira Knightley back to back. Of course, Mr Darcy is Colin Firth, there’s no doubt about it. But I liked Keira in her role – maybe cos I’m a tad partial to her.
Helen Fielding intended Bridget Jones to be a modern retelling, and I do agree there are some parallels (for one, the main guy is an arrogant, moody dude named Mark Darcy, also played by Colin Firth in the movie). I didn’t like the book(s) but the movie was fantastic (the first one – the sequel not so much). The sequel was a retelling of another Austen novel. I can’t recollect which one.
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Shanaya Tales
I liked Keira too. She did her best. The sketch was wrong, which is not her fault. Haven’t read/seen Bridget Jones. Will look it up. Thank you. 🙂
Shanaya Tales recently posted…The many screen adaptations of Pride and Prejudice
Lata Sunil
Shantala, so glad you watched the Colin Firth version. Isn’t he the best? It seems there is a black and white movie too of P&P. Will check it out. As for Keira Knightly version, I watched it for about half an hour and didn’t like it. I couldn’t take in her giggly self. But, long ago, before even Ramayan was shown on TV (before you were born I think), there was a Doordarshan serial called Trishna which was based on P&P. The setting was Mumbai. It was very good. In fact, I saw that serial first and got hooked to Pride and Prejudice. But, sadly, no online thing exists.
Shanaya Tales
Oh yes. He is the best. No competition whatsoever! 😀 I think I disliked Matthew MacFadyen all the more, because I had discovered perfection, and then his wooden acting just annoyed me. But I must say this – though the sketch for Lizzy was all wrong, Keira Knightley did her best. I did like her, just not as Lizzy.
P.S. Tried to hunt down Trishna. No luck. 🙁
Shanaya Tales recently posted…The many screen adaptations of Pride and Prejudice
Deepa
I also watched the old Hindi serial Trishna based on Pride and Prejudice. It was quite faithful to the original and had a very handsome Mr. Darcy (played by Tarun Dhanrajgir). Elizabeth Bennet was played by Sangeeta Handa and Lydia Bennet was played by Kitu Gidwani. I couldn’t find any video clips of the show but there are some pictures of the Indian Mr Darcy – Tarun Dhanrajgir on the web.
Shanaya Tales
Oh a faithful adaptation sounds wonderful. Too bad I can’t find it anywhere. 🙁
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Nabanita
I’ve watched the one with Knightly in it..haven’t watched the one with Firth..but if you say so, I’ll make it a point to watch it..the book of course trumps everything for me 🙂
Shanaya Tales
Oh you should! Don’t skip the BBC one! Yes, the book does trump everything, but this is pretty close to perfection. You will not be disappointed. To see it is to love it. When you do see, please drop me a line. I would love to know what you thought about it. 🙂
Shanaya Tales recently posted…The many screen adaptations of Pride and Prejudice