The greatest love story of all time lives on in the Pride & Prejudice 2-Disc Collector's Edition! The Academy Award®-nominated film based on Jane Austen's masterpiece novel has been repackaged and expanded to a 2-disc edition with all-new bonus features. Academy Award® nominee Keira Knightley stars as heroine Elizabeth Bennet, who upon meeting the handsome Mr. Darcy (Matthew Macfadyen), believes him to be the last man on earth she could ever marry. But as their lives become intertwined, she finds herself captivated by the very man she swore to loathe for all eternity. And now, their romance shines brighter than ever before in this must-own collector's edition of the film critics said, "Makes you believe in true love and happily-ever-after" (Stephen Holden, The New York Times).
Literary adaptations just don't get any better than director Joe Wright's 2005 version of Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice. The key word here is adaptation, because Wright and gifted screenwriter Deborah Moggach have taken liberties with Austen's classic novel that purists may find objectionable, but in this exquisite film their artistic decisions are entirely justified and exceptionally well executed. It's a more rural England that we see here, circa 1790 (as opposed to Austen's early 19th century), in which Elizabeth Bennet (Keira Knightley) is one of several sisters primed for marriage, with an anxious mother (Brenda Blethyn) only too desperate to see her daughters paired off with the finest, richest husbands available. Elizabeth is strong-willed and opinionated, but her head (not to mention her pride and prejudice) lead her heart astray when she meets the wealthy Mr. Darcy (Matthew Macfadyen), whose own sense of decency and discretion (not to mention his pride and prejudice) prevent him from expressing his mutual affection. They're clearly meant for each other, and as Knightley's performance lights up the screen (still young enough to be girlishly impertinent, yet wise beyond her 20 years), Austen's timeless romance yields yet another timeless adaptation, easily on par with the beloved BBC miniseries that has been embraced by millions since originally broadcast in 1995. Individual tastes will vary as to which version should be considered "definitive," but with a stellar supporting cast including Judi Dench and Donald Sutherland, this impeccable production achieves its own kind of perfection. --Jeff Shannon
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
A fine romance, but not an 'Austen adaptation':
I love Austen and have read the book and seen the BBC adaptation more than once. Since this movie is so much shorter, I knew there would be compromises, but I had still hoped that the film would bring Austen's loving, amused, witty and razor sharp view of the British society in the late 1700's across. The book is not just about two people who go through personal changes and external adversities to find each other in the end. Their romance is a case in point of the silliness, pretentiousness, the pride and... more info
Doesn't measure up to the BBC version:
If you love the BBC version with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle, you'll be disappointed with this one.
Romance's convoluted course:
Saw this with my girlfriend. She cried at the end. This is a well made film. There is one breathtaking shot of Keira Knightley's character posed on the edge of a cliff, with a magnificent backdrop. I would love to have a poster sized print of it up on the wall. An excellent stay at home date movie. Very humorous too.
Lovely film adaptation.:
I own the mini-series version of Pride and Prejudice with Colin Firth, which is more true to the book, but I think this is the more entertaining film. Other reviewers have discussed the difference in performances by actors who are closer to the actual ages of the characters in the book and the more realistic setting. One difference between book and movie that I appreciated was the director's take on the relationship between the Bennet parents and his expansion of the minor characters. Here, Mr. Bennet is... more info
