Pride and Prejudice mini-series (Jennifer Ehle)

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It’s over twelve years since we watched the excellent BBC adaptation of Jane Austen’s classic novel ‘Pride and Prejudice’. It’s a lengthy DVD, about five and a half hours in all, with six episodes. A friend and her teenage daughter had just read the book and asked if they could see this, so - over the course of three evenings - we watched it together.

Jennifer Ehle stars as the delightful Elizabeth Bennet, the most vivacious and intelligent of the five Bennet sisters. Jane, the eldest (Susannah Harker) is considered to be the most beautiful, but we all thought Lizzie to be considerably more appealing and attractive. We meet the family as the Mrs Bennet (brilliantly played by Alison Steadman) is in raptures at the thought of a young and wealthy man, Mr Bingley (Crispin Bonham-Carter) moving into the neighbourhood.

The story is well-known; Mr Bingley is ready to be friendly with everyone and to fall in love with Mary, but his friend Mr Darcy (Colin Firth) is arrogant, and professes his dislike of country balls and social expectations. Mrs Bennet is loud and emotional, changing her mind and preferences as circumstances alter. Her main aim in life is to see her daughters well-married, but this is for her own sake rather than theirs. She is shallow, unable to think beyond her own prejudices and ideas; a caricature, but in places a very amusing one.

I very much liked Mr Bennet (Benjamin Whitrow) who clearly regrets his marriage, but takes refuge in his study whenever he can. He is extremely fond of Lizzie, and also Mary, but does not enjoy the company of his three younger daughters. Mary, the middle one (Lucy Briars) is the academic, ‘bookish’ daughter, played also as a caricature, offering homilies and advice in situations about which she knows nothing. The fourth sister, Kitty (Polly Maberly), is somewhat bland, but I thought Lydia (Julia Sawalha) very well done.

The storyline is familiar, but I had forgotten some of the scenes and interactions, and also the beauty of the photography. The settings are perfect, the costumes exactly right, as I have come to expect with the BBC, and the main characters realistic. Mr Collins (David Bamber) is smarmy and snooty, exactly how I imagined him to be, and Lady Catherine de Burgh (Barbara Leigh-Hunt) as rude and arrogant as the book demands. Perhaps some of the balls are a little sparse, and the rooms smaller than might be expected, but overall I thought the film very well done.

A film of this length can cover a novel well, and we all felt that it was, for the most part, very faithful to the original. If lines were changed here and there, they still fit in with the original theme, and enabled some lengthy dialogue or thoughts to be included in a way that worked for visual drama.

Definitely worth seeing if you have any interest in Jane Austen’s books, whether or not you have read them. Also highly recommended to anyone studying ‘Pride and Prejudice’ for a test or exam.

Other recommended adaptations of Jane Austen books include:

• Sense and Sensibility
  
• Mansfield Park (BBC mini-series)
• Persuasion
• Pride and Prejudice (2005 film)
• Emma (ITV version)

Review copyright 2019 Sue's DVD Reviews