Pride and Prejudice — PBS The Complete Jane Austen (Masterpiece Theater)
Sunday, February 10th, is the first night of the showing of Pride and Prejudice as part of PBS’s The Complete Jane Austen on Masterpiece Theater. This particular version of Pride and Prejudice is the A&E version and will be shown over three Sundays (Feb. 10, 17, and 24.). Luckily, this is one of my favorite versions and I own a copy that I watch at least once a month and sometimes more. I’ve also seen then version starring Keira Knightley, the BBC version, the 1940 version with Greer Garson, and the Bollywood version Bride and Prejudice (who could resist Pride and Prejudice with elephants — I couldn’t).
The only version I own is the A&E one so that may account for why I like it best but it could also be Colin Firth’s Mr. Darcy. Somehow of all the Mr. Darcy’s I’ve see in the movies — it’s Colin Firth’s portrayal that plays in my head when I reread the book. He has that haughty, stern, aloof shyness with a hint of passion that appeals to me in a Mr. Darcy.
Tonight’s movie ended after Elizabeth Bennet refuses the proposal of Mr. Collins. So, if you miss tonight’s episode and can’t find it on a repeat, if you read the book up to this point, you’ll be all set for next Sunday’s showing.
Every version of P&P is the director’s and writer’s vision of Austen’s story. Luckily for us, each finds the romance to be a key feature and while the characteristics of the characters may change and in the case of Bride and Prejudice the setting and time period — they each have the core story intact.
So, whether you rent, buy or just watch your own copy of the A&E version of Pride and Prejudice, you’ll find because it has five and a bit hours to devote to the novel, it maintains a consistency with the novel that many of the other movies cannot because they are limited coming as close as possible to the standard 90 minute movie length.
Meanwhile, I started to reread the novel because I’ve realized that I often think of this version BEING Pride and Prejudice and as much as I enjoy this film, I’d rather the book represent the true version for me.