Pride and Prejudice: Amazon.ca: Greer Garson, Laurence Olivier, Edward Ashley, Marten Lamont, E.E. Clive, Marjorie Wood, May Beatty, Maureen O'Sullivan, Ann Rutherford, Marsha Hunt, Heather Angel, Mary Boland, Robert Z. Leonard, Rudolf Ising, Aldous Huxley, Helen Jerome, Jane Austen, Jane Murfin, John Van Druten, Sarah Y. Mason: DVD

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31 Reviews

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(7)
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3.8 out of 5 stars (31 customer reviews)

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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Captures the spirit of the book perfectly!, Oct 26 2004

By

Allison Montgomery (Vancouver Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pride and Prejudice (VHS Tape)

This is a fun movie - full of all of the sarcasm, wit and spirit with which Jane Austen so expertly wrote the original. No, it is not a word for word or even scene for scene depiction as is the BBC version, but it is the only movie version that is true to Jane Austen's characters. Elizabeth is intended as an intelligent, beautiful and passionate woman, not the brow beaten scullery maid which Jennifer Ehle appears to be attempting to depict in the later version. Greer may be a little old but she carries it off. And Colin Firth - while handsome and talented - I'm sure would be the first to admit he is no Laurence Olivier in either regard.

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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars An inferior adaptation of a great book, April 18 2004

By

JLind555 - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pride and Prejudice (1940) (VHS Tape)

There are three film versions of Jane Austen's immortal "Pride and Prejudice" extant, and this one, the first, is by far the weakest. It would be hard to tamper with the great story, which is so well known as to need no rehashing here; but although the film tries to follow the story, Aldous Huxley proved incapable of incorporating Austen's incomparable dialogue into the film script, as the two later versions were able to do with remarkable success. There are other, more egregious shortcomings, in this film, which are:

1) Casting Greer Garson as Elizabeth Bennet. Whoever had this idea should have been put in the stocks and pelted with water balloons. Elizabeth Bennet is 20 years old in the book, and Greer Garson, on the wrong side of 35, looks absolutely ridiculous trying to play a young ingenue. Who was she kidding? She doesn't even look like Austen's description of Elizabeth. Vivien Leigh might have made a great Elizabeth, if she wasn't already fixed in the public mind as Scarlett O'Hara. Which brings us to:

2) The 1860-ish costumes. Were they trying to move the timeline up? Somebody should have told the costume department that Longbourn and Tara were six thousand miles and sixty years apart. "Pride and Prejudice" was set sometime between 1790 and 1810 (Austen's biographers are in disagreement as to the exact date), but the costumes in this first version of "Pride and Prejudice looked like leftovers from the set of "Gone With the Wind". A big no-no.

3) The casting of Lawrence Olivier as Darcy was a mistake. Austen describes Darcy as being tall and handsome. Olivier was handsome but he didn't look much taller than Garson. Or maybe Garson was too tall. Whatever... it was a total mismatch.

4) The whole scene at Pemberley, which is central to the book, was eliminated. So how did Elizabeth's one-eighty from loathing to love take place? The movie doesn't say and we're left totally unconvinced.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that "Pride and Prejudice" is one of the best-loved books in English literature. It certainly deserved a better film adaptation than this one. Fortunately it has not one, but two: the BBC version of 1985 starring Elizabeth Garvie and David Rintoul (my personal favorite), and the A&E film of 1995 starring Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth. Watch either or both of these after seeing the Garson/Olivier movie, to see what a good film adaptation of a great book really is.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars What a pity, April 24 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Pride and Prejudice (1940) (VHS Tape)

What a pity that you don't offer a NO-star rating. Probably this is wonderful if you saw it first before 1960, but after the BBC/A&E versions, it is just ludicrous. Even smirky, arch Laurence Olivier can't save it. Awful costumes, faky sets. Don't even waste your money on a used video.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Pride and Prejudice
I had a VHS copy of this movie, so was glad when I could get a DVD of the movie.

Published 9 months ago by Gayle Bray

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best P & P
This is one of my all time favorite movies. The characters are so unique and hilarious. I think the mother is the best. Read more

Published on Aug 16 2009 by Suzanne D. Darnell

4.0 out of 5 stars No that bad
I have seen this movie. I thought it was great. It was very different from the others, but all in all, it was good. I was able to tape it of tv, and i still have it. Read more

Published on Sep 30 2004 by Hillary Reid

2.0 out of 5 stars It is a truth universally acknowledged that this movie is
Misleading, to say the least.

I saw this movie last week on Turner Classic Movie channel, expecting to see a nice little 40's style rendition of that book we oh-so dearly... Read more

Published on Dec 29 2003 by kweekway

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic reproduction w/ its own twist
After reading the novel, this 1940s version was the first version I saw, followed by the 1996 A&E version. Read more

Published on July 24 2003 by meemog5

4.0 out of 5 stars With Prejudice and little pride
This adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice is painful to watch...the good elements (supporting cast, Oliver's Darcy) are to die for, but the Hollywood elements (the... Read more

Published on July 21 2003 by Desta Elliott

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favorite movies of all Time!
This is a great version of Pride and Prejudice in a close-to-two-hours movie. The characters are all wonderfully cast. I much prefer this Mrs. Bennett and Mr. Read more

Published on Jun 18 2003 by T. Reynolds

3.0 out of 5 stars Miscast Elizabeth
Greer Garson stars as Elizabeth Bennet in this 1940 version of Pride and Prejudice. She plays the clever and witty eldest of five daughters, who are all looking for rich... Read more

Published on May 25 2003 by Kona

2.0 out of 5 stars It is not the book...
This movie is fine if you separate it from the book. Olivier is great and Garson is acceptable. I could not, however, separate it from the book. Read more

Published on May 23 2003

5.0 out of 5 stars a great and romantic movie
Greer Garson is wonderful as Lizzy Bennet and Sir Lawerance Oliver, is romantic and wonderful as Mr. Darcy. The costummes and scenes are lovely. It tells a very good story.