Customer Reviews

Pride and Prejudice

5 star:		(672)
4 star:		(58)
3 star:		(29)
2 star:		(19)
1 star:		(26)

 

 

I can watch this version of Pride & Prejudice repeatedly and never get tired of it. One of the best DVD purchases I have made. It is by far and without a doubt the best version of Pride & Prejudice there is. Hours and hours of great drama and Colin Firth plays an excellent role as Darcy. In fact, the whole cast is very well suited for their roles. This is definitely a don't miss DVD and well worth the purchase.

FORGET THE PREVIOUS TRANSFERS OF PRIDE AND PREJUDICE (1995). THIS 2009 BLU-RAY IS A REVELATION AND PUTS THE DVD VERSIONS TO SHAME! IT HAS BEEN METICULOUSLY RESTORED AND COLOUR CORRECTED FROM THE ORIGINAL 16mm NEGATIVE AND THE RESULTS ARE STUNNING. IF YOU DO NOT YET OWN A BLU RAY PLAYER AND YOU ARE A HUGE FAN OF THIS MINISERIES, GO OUT AND BUY A PLAYER AS SOON AS YOU CAN TO PLAY THIS BLU-RAY 2 DISC SET - YOU WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED. ENOUGH SAID.

The story and production are the best I've seen. Unfortunately, Amazon is selling a DVD with very poor quality reproduction. It's not defective, just poor color. When I saw the original broadcast on PBS the color was excellent. These copies are average at best, still worth seeing though, it's THAT good.

This is my favourite adaptation of the novel, but it really deserves a better transfer. This 10th Anniversary Edition is a marginally better transfer than the original DVD release, but both versions look very washed out. It's difficult to understand why when the clips from the film used in the "Biography" Jane Austen documentary look great. It's a sad day when the VHS version looks better than the DVD. This new edition has some good extras, but no interviews with Jennifer Ehle or Colin Firth. Also, the packaging is not great (it's a bit difficult to get the discs out), so you'll want to think about buying new DVD cases.

I love this movie - it's one of my all-time favorites. I was so looking forward to owning this as my very first DVD. However, this DVD presentation is very poor. The images are washed out - the actors' faces are white with very little color and the whites of the dresses sometimes merge with the light backgrounds! And the music sounds a bit muted. There is a "Making Of..." piece included on the DVD in which they use full-screen video images where the color is normal - faces are pink, not white, and the scenery is rich. The contrast with the movie presentation is astonishing - you really see what your missing! I don't recommend you buy this DVD. I'm going to wait for another version which will hopefully have corrected color.

Of all the Jane Austen movies, the 1996 miniseries "Pride and Prejudice" is arguably the best and most detailed. While remaining faithful to the original comedy of manners, the story remains steadily-paced and exceptionally acted. It's sort of a thinking-girl's romance movie.

The Bennett family is in an uproar when wealthy Mr. Bingley (Crispin Bonham-Carter) moves into the neighborhood, and Mrs. Bennett is especially happy when he takes a liking to eldest Jane (Susannah Harker). But her forthright, independent sister Lizzie (Jennifer Ehle) immediately butts heads with wealthy, aloof Mr. Darcy (Colin Firth), who scorns the rural village.

A flurry of proposals, road trips and friendships arrive, with Lizzie fending off her slimy cousin Mr. Collins, and befriending the flirty, hunky Wickham (Adrian Lukis), who claims to have been wronged by Darcy. Lizzie believes Wickham's account -- and she's in for a shock when Darcy unexpectedly proposes, and reveals what Wickham won't tell her.

And finally things take a scandalous turn when Lizzie's idiotic younger sister Lydia (Julia Sawalha) elopes with Wickham! The family is plunged into disgrace, which also wrecks any chances of marriage for the other daughters. The only one who can set things right is Darcy, who will do whatever he must to make amends to Lizzie.

It's obvious from the very first scenes -- when Lizzie jokingly comments that "a man of good fortune MUST be in want of a wife" -- that this is an adaptation that was done with love. The subplots, characters and atmosphere of "Pride and Prejudice" are all here.

The plot unfolds slowly, one piece at a time, but with several subplots that tie together as the story progresses. For a miniseries, it's actually rather spare and lacking in filler. And the dialogue -- based on Austen's -- is wonderfully well-written ("Beauty is not the only virtue. She has just inherited a fortune of ten thousand pounds, I understand." "Now THAT is a definite virtue!")

The time period is recreated with loving detail, from the muddy roads to the sweeping mansions with elaborate grounds. Even the hairstyles are recreated. And the entire plot is steeped in the mores of 19th-century England, with the attitudes toward marriage, love, and propriety that bound everyone (especially women).

The casting of the leads is absolutely perfect for this movie: Ehle and Firth are nothing short of amazing. Both are witty, smart, and a bit snotty in their own ways. Firth's Darcy is a selfish man who gradually becomes warm and kind, while Ehle's Lizzie is strong, independent, and Darcy's equal in every way. And neither will marry for anything but true love.

They're also backed by an excellent supporting cast, with slimy clergy, screeching moms, sly seducers, sardonic fathers, innocent sisters and aristocratic old harpies adding colour to it all. Sawalha is especially good as the 19th-century Valley Girl, and Alison Steadman gives a grating but suitable performance as the whiny, marriage-obsessed Mrs. Bennett.

"Pride and Prejudice" is the cream of the Austen crop, and an understatedly romantic movie as well. Definitely to be watched, again and again.

Having watched the DVD many many times, it was time to see what all the hype was about the Blu-Ray version.
Suffice to say, I've thrown the DVD away. The conversion from DVD to Blu-Ray is like day and night.

Colours pop, sound is clear, they've done an awesome job of remastering every frame of the original 16mm film.

If you have a Blu-Ray player, and are toying between the DVD and Blu-Ray, do not even think of buying the DVD.
Blu-Ray all the way.

I love A&E's pride and prejudice and like most people, wasn't impressed with the DVD version. B/c of that, I didn't think the bluray would be all that great either, but my hubby got it for me last week and it is AMAZING!!!

The colour!! The detail!! All is restored!! I couldn't get over how beautiful the cloths were, how clear the scenes are. Granted, sometimes the conversion in faces isn't the best best, but compared to the 10th anniversary DVD release, this is head and shoulders better. It is beautiful!!!

If the DVD disappointed you, the bluray will not!! It is beautiful and worth getting!!

This review is not about the content, but the the wonderful digitally remastered version(Blue Ray) made from the original negative of the TV series.
The colour is glorious: with crisp images creating a wonderful depth perception. The original DVD set had murky dull yellowish green undertones and muddy dark colours. This Blue Ray edition has true colour and is a joy to view!!!!The sound also is clear and nuanced. One can actually hear the sound of the wind blowing when Elizabeth is running through the woods.
Well worth having in your Jane Austen collection.

After reading the Blu-ray reviews and being highly disappointed with my supposedly-restored DVD version of P&P, I splurged on the Blu-ray version. OH MY GOD! The picture quality is amazing! It truely is restored! Elizabeth, Darcy, the English country side and those fabulous costumes are just as vivid as I remember seeing on TV over 10 years ago! My boyfriend who has never seen P&P started watching it with me while I was on Disc 2, and after finishing that requested to watch it from the begining! An new Austen fan! The Blu-ray version is totally worth the money. Disc 2 also has a special feature detailing that until Blu-ray technology came along, they just couldn't make P&P look that great in digital. For people that don't own P&P yet, don't waste your money on the DVD version, get a Blu-ray player and truely enjoy this P&P and fall in love with Darcy and Elizabeth again!