Lizzy and Darcy. . .
I bought myself a copy of Pride and Prejudice 1980 on DVD several weeks ago on eBay. For the last fortnight or so, I have been anxiously awaiting its arrival. I was just beginning to get a bit worried, until it finally arrived on Thursday!
My brother teased me about it a bit - he seems to think it's absurd that I find it necessary to have not one, nor two, but THREE different version of P&P on DVD.
I've been telling my brothers and sisters that they wouldn't like P&P80. In the past, I have found this to be a somewhat effective method of getting them to watch and enjoy my favourite DVDs. I tell them they won't like it, so to prove me wrong, they sit down and watch it, and more often that not, they end up liking it in spite of themselves. In this instance, my plan wasn't so successful.
The opening credits begin, with hand-drawn pictures of Regency ladies and gentlemen doing various activities in the background. "Oh, is this a cartoon version of Pride and Prejudice?" says someone. The first episode begins.
"Lizzy and Jane look ugly."
"Mr. Darcy looks weird."
"Mr. Bingley looks duhhh. . . "
"Mr. Wickham has BLOND HAIR!?"
"This is boring."
They all deserted the couch, one by one, except for one or two of my sisters.
The general consensus among my siblings seems to be that a.) This version (1980) of P&P is boring b.) The 1995 version is much better c.) Mr. Darcy in the 1980 version has funny hair.
I tried to tell them that the actors looks (or lack thereof) were not important, neither were the ugly costumes and wigs; the acting was good, and it stuck faithfully to the book, etc. etc. Unfortunately they weren't convinced. One of my sisters enjoyed it with me, but the rest of them weren't impressed. *Wry smile*
Oh well! I enjoyed it! I bought it with my money for my own enjoyment, if my brothers and sisters don't like it, that doesn't matter.
*Laughs evil laugh--Mwuhahah!* I'm going to make Janeites out of them all yet! Just wait and see. . .
~To read my review of P&P80, click here
Current Mood: 
Devious
8 comments:
Which one of the P&P versions that you own do you like best? Surely there's one you prefer to all the others.
:-) I've discussed this very important issue in-depth in other posts. See my review of P&P80, and this post where I compare P&Ps 1995 and 2005.
My favourite version of P&P would probably have to be the 2005 one. It's by no means a perfect adaptation of the novel, but I feel that it captures the spirit of the book better than any of the other adaptations. Keira Knightley and Matthew MacFadyen are not quite my ideal Lizzy and Darcy, but I like them better than Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth.
What I really appreciate about the 1980 version is that it picks up certain nuances of the novel that other adaptations ignored. I also think that the supporting cast for P&P80 were superb - Judy Parfitt as Lady Catherine is perfect, and the guy who plays Mr. Collins is the funniest, most repulsive Collins ever.
I know that for the vast majority of Jane Austen fans, the 1995 adaptation is the best, but for me, the 2005 version does a better job capturing my vision of the novel.
That sounds a bit like me and my family, but usually it would be my older brother left watching with me!
LOL! My almost-14-year-old brother will watch most Jane Austen movies, but this one was bit of a stretch, I'm afraid!
I have tried that same trick with my husband a few times...it works occasionally, but more often than not, it ends with him mocking the video. :D oh well at least we have some people who will watch it with us, whether they care for it, or not!
LOL! Ditto.
I started watching a video version of it from the library but I couldn't get into the movie and I didn't finish it.
The 2005 version was the first one I saw but after watching the 1995 one it became my favourite.
I've started reading the novel and when I finish it I'll try the 1980 version again.
I can relate to your owning multiple versions as I have three versions of Sense and Sensibility!
Robert - if I hadn't read the novel, I probably wouldn't have enjoyed Pride and Prejudice 1980 that much. But because I had read the book, I was really able to appreciate certain aspects of P&P1980.
Good luck reading the book! :-)
Hehe, I have two version of Sense and Sensibility, and two versions of Emma. . .
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