I watched the entire series of the Lizzie Bennet Diaries last week on YouTube (you can see it from start to finish at
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6690D980D8A65D08). It was awesome! But it also got me to thinking how timeless Jane Austin's
Pride and Prejudice story truly is and just how many versions I've seen recreated for the small and big screen. So here's a recap of my favorites in preparation for the future
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies movie that's in production (which may or may not come to fruition). I've listed the movies/series in the order in which I first saw them. Maybe your favorites are different?
1) Pride and Prejudice (1995) with Jennifer Ehle as Elizabeth and Colin Firth as Darcy
This 300-minute TV miniseries of Elizabeth and Darcy's love story is, in my opinion, the best ever depiction of the book in it's original setting (1800 England). From Jennifer's 100 playful and witty tete-a-tete's with all her friends and family to Colin's 3 million awkward and haughty facial expressions make me want to re-read the original every time (in a good way, because I'm so excited). The
music is catchy (watch yourselves or you'll be humming the theme song as you brush your teeth). Also, the
last scene between Lady Catherine de Bourg and Elizabeth Bennet had me serial-wacking couch pillows and hooting with exaltation.
2) You've Got Mail (1998) with Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks and The Shop Around the Corner (1940) with Margaret Sullavan and James Stewart
I've lumped these two together because
You've Got Mail is a modern remake of
The Shop Around the Corner. You can
read for yourself about how these movies draw from the original P&P, but suffice it to say they're both awesome movies that take P&P into the 1900s. Both movies reduce the number of characters and scene changes quite a bit to get at the heart of the whole Elizabeth and Darcy saga, which makes for much easier-to-digest movie-sized packages.
3) Bridget Jones's Diaries (2001) with Renée Zellweger and Colin Firth (again!!!!)
This movie (and the original Bridget Jones's Diaries book) makes no excuse for it's blatant draw from the P&P novel. According to the author, she even hired Colin Firth because she liked his 1995 Darcy portrayal so much! I must say that this is the most risque version over the tale, and why wouldn't it be with the indomitable British actor
Hugh Grant.
4) Pride and Prejudice (2005) with Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen
If you have to watch a shorter period-version of story, I'd go with this movie staring Keira and Matthew. Although Mrs. Bennet (Elizabeth's mother) is not nearly as annoying and meddling as she should be, I think it's an excellent try. With over 28 main characters to develop, I think any film maker would find it hard to condense the story into 1 hour and 27 minutes.
5) Pride and Prejudice (1980) with Sabina Franklyn and David Rintoul
I have to say that this version is my least favorite. There's very little background music, long lengthy conversations taken verbatim from the book, and a Darcy that I might mistaken for a robot if I were to meet him on the street. The chemistry between almost all of the characters is zilch, and it seems like Sabinia kept forgetting that she was playing the witty, playful, sarcastic Elizabeth and instead seemed to play the all too sweet and sensitive Jane instead. This is not a version I would recommend.
6) Lost in Austen (2008) with Jemima Rooper and Elliot Cowan
So this, the latest BBC version, is quite a stretch. The likelihood that someone in today's world is going to step through a wall in their bathroom into the world of Elizabeth and Darcy is rather small. Also, the scene where Darcy is asked to dunk himself in the pond is quite silly. But overall, the main character, Amanda, does an awesome job and makes this a really cute, rom-com story (you can watch for free but not captioned at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uz-9gmfXjTI).
7) Lizzie Bennet Diaries (2013) with Ashley Clements and Daniel Vincent Gordh
And this brings me to the last of the P&P-related film I've seen. This series was created in conjunction with Hank Green (one of the
Vlog Brothers). What a unique way to re-tell the story from a vlogger's point of view! Don't get freaked out about amateur vlogers portraying beloved characters; these people are trained actors. Although I would have liked more episodes with Darcy, I think that maybe the suspense of not seeing him makes the episodes with him that much more exciting and epic. Also,
the episode where Lizzie explains her parents and
the episode when Bing Lee visits a sick Jane Bennet are "totes adorbs." Plus they're relatively successful at closed captioning the series. In the words and actions of Lydia Bennet, "Whaaaaaattt" [high five].
Not really...:) So which one's your favorite?
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