Scenes We Love: Pride and Prejudice
Filed under: Romance, Trailers and Clips, Scenes We Love
Pressed into weekend service by the Tony Stark to my Pepper Potts (aka Scott Weinberg), I'm getting my revenge by posting the girl movie of all girl movies ... Joe Wright's Pride and Prejudice.
I know for a lot of people, there is only one version of this story, and that's the legendary BBC production starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle. For me, it's Wright's, although it's taken awhile for me to get past a few touches that are terribly inaccurate to the book and Regency period ... such as everyone's badly dressed hair (I'm looking especially hard at you, Jena Malone), the peeling paint in the Bennet's house, Lady Catherine visiting Elizabeth in the dead of night, everyone running around half dressed in front of each other, etc. I've loosened up on it after every viewing, and after reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies I've shrugged all those minor annoyances off. After all, if you're going to add to the story, it might as well be for purely aesthetic and sexy reasons, like the scene below ... and it better be done well enough to sweep you off your feet.
Incidentally, if you visit Jane Austen's Chawton cottage, the gift shop is full of P&P gifts. The official Mr. Darcy is still Colin Firth, but the Elizabeth Bennet is Keira Knightley. Despite doing a wonderful job, Matthew MacFadyen just can't dethrone Firth from the tea towels.
I know for a lot of people, there is only one version of this story, and that's the legendary BBC production starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle. For me, it's Wright's, although it's taken awhile for me to get past a few touches that are terribly inaccurate to the book and Regency period ... such as everyone's badly dressed hair (I'm looking especially hard at you, Jena Malone), the peeling paint in the Bennet's house, Lady Catherine visiting Elizabeth in the dead of night, everyone running around half dressed in front of each other, etc. I've loosened up on it after every viewing, and after reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies I've shrugged all those minor annoyances off. After all, if you're going to add to the story, it might as well be for purely aesthetic and sexy reasons, like the scene below ... and it better be done well enough to sweep you off your feet.
Incidentally, if you visit Jane Austen's Chawton cottage, the gift shop is full of P&P gifts. The official Mr. Darcy is still Colin Firth, but the Elizabeth Bennet is Keira Knightley. Despite doing a wonderful job, Matthew MacFadyen just can't dethrone Firth from the tea towels.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-12-2009 @ 9:17PM
Wendy said...
Teehee! :D
Reply
4-13-2009 @ 6:31AM
Arwa said...
Colin Firth will be forever my own Mr. Darcy. nothing in the world can ever beat that!
c
Reply
4-13-2009 @ 9:21AM
cissa said...
I love Whright's P&P. It is the movie that introduced me to Knightley's and Wrights' work. I find it fresh and original, and I'll disagree about the messy hair dos. If people didn't shower daily then (and some don't do it nowadays), how could they keep beautiful manes? The scene with the "six inches deep in mudd" says it all. To me, THAT TOO is accuracy.
Reply
4-13-2009 @ 9:26AM
Larry is Darcy said...
I know Firth is the 'official' Darcy. But come on! Laurence Olivier did a pretty damn good job too! Infact a movie review at the time stated "Olivier is Darcy!" . Call me stuck in my ways, but I will always like the 1940 P&P over any other version.
Reply
4-13-2009 @ 2:52PM
Julie said...
Ooooooo! I found Jane Austin and her wonderful P&P very late in life so I've had loads of catching up to do. After the Colin Firth version and then all that red roses stuck in the book stuff with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan I had sworn it off for good. Then along came Whright's version and I fell incandescently in love with Jane, Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy.....This is my second favorite scene, (I love Mr. Darcy coming across the fields in the early morning mist with his shirt open and coat blowing) Oh yeah, Matthew Macfadyn is my Mr. Darcy. Why have we not seen more of this guy?
I love the Jane Austin house story. The book marks and tea towels with Colin Firth crack me up. The most memorable scene in that version is Mr. Darcy emerging out of the lake as I recall...
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4-14-2009 @ 9:24AM
Michele said...
True, no one can dethrone Colin Firth as Mistah Darcy...but I can't wait to see him as Lord Henry in Dorian Gray this time hopefully with a wicked smoldering...
Reply
4-17-2009 @ 10:22AM
karolina said...
awww. i was introduced to Jane Austen in 10th grade, like 3 years ago beacause I have this habit of reading books that are soon going to be films. I love all the film versions but am so fond of the 2005 version. Joe Wright was excellent in his 1st feature film ( well I think it was his 1st one), Knightley was great and I love the score to Dario Marianelli (I think its better than Atonement's really).. But the breakout star to me was Macfadyen he is so versatile. Here, Darcy is shy, impulsive, and adorable. He made me realize that Darcy has to be my second husband..jkjk, but if it were possible of course...
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4-20-2009 @ 10:05AM
Toni said...
I love Joe Wrights version, I lover Matthew Macfadyen!!! I've watched this version dozens of times, I've just read the book and picture these actors as the characters and love, love, love the book. I've just watched the BBC version with Colin Firth and please, I find the actors boring and ugly, well except Elizabeth. Matthew is so much more appealing and sexier than Colin!!! He made Mr Darcy, so, so....his hands, eyes, that rare smile AND THOSE BOOTS!!!.....
Reply
4-20-2009 @ 1:08PM
Sharon Lathan said...
I totally disagree about Firth being on any thrones. Matthew IS Mr. Darcy for me - Firth just got there earlier. Both are merely actors paid to play a role! I LOVE this movie so much that I wrote a series of books about it. The first is now published, if anyone is interested. "Mr. and Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy ~ Two Shall Become One" by Sharon Lathan. For me the life of Lizzy and Darcy lives on in my Saga. Check it out at: www.darcysaga.net
Thank you, Elizabeth, for bringing attention to this amazing movie.
Sincerely, Sharon Lathan
Reply
5-14-2009 @ 9:40AM
Gisele said...
I didn't know there was another Darcy before Matthew!
After the movie I went to see the series, I love Colin's work in everything he does but....Matthew will be forever my perfect Mr.Darcy!
It's nothing personal, but Matthew IS Mr. Darcy, the way I imagined him.
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