The most famous novel of the English writer Jane Austen is "Pride and Prejudice." Screen versions of this work traditionally attract the attention of film critics and admirers of British literature. In this article we will talk about the most famous films shot on this novel, as well as the actors who appeared in the main roles.
What is the novel about?
During the existence of cinema, several adaptations of "Pride and Prejudice" were published. The novel itself was written in 1813. It tells of a young Mr. Bingley who comes to Netherfield Park. This information immediately attracts the attention of the Bennet family, in which three daughters are raised. Parents hope that the young man will marry one of them.
They meet at a ball when Bingley arrives with his sisters and a friend, Mr. Darcy. The young aristocrat is conquered by the eldest daughter of Bennett Jane, who reciprocates. When a girl is invited to dinner at Netherfield Park, her mother sends her on horseback. On the road, Jane gets caught in the rain and catches a cold. The girl is left to recover in the Bingley family. Sister Elizabeth, who came to visit her, feels uncomfortable in the company of neighbors, since only Mr. Bingley shows sincere concern to both, the rest of the family look down on them.
Feelings for Elizabeth
Mr. Darcy is sympathetic to Elizabeth, but the girl is sure that he despises her. In addition, on a walk, the Bennet sisters get acquainted with a young Wickham, who talks about Darcy's dishonesty. It turns out that he did not fulfill the will of the late father, refusing Wickham as a priest. Elizabeth has a bad idea about Darcy, which is a metaphor of prejudice in the novel. And he himself feels that the girl does not belong to his circle, feeling pride.
Soon, at the ball for others, the upcoming marriage between Jane and Bingley becomes apparent. At the same time, a complete lack of knowledge of etiquette and manners in the whole family catches the eye, with the exception of Jane and Elizabeth. Suddenly Bingley leaves for London. Elizabeth begins to suspect that the purpose of this was the desire of his sisters and Darcy to separate them from Jane.
Fears are justified
In the spring, her fears are confirmed when Elizabeth learns from cousin Darcy that he takes credit for saving a friend from an unequal marriage. The girl understands that it is about Jane and Bingley. Her dislike of him increases even more, when Darcy confesses her love and asks for her hand, Elizabeth resolutely refuses. She accuses him of meanness, destroyed sister's happiness. Darcy explains his act, after which the girl radically changes her opinion about him.
When Elizabeth sets out on a trip with the Gardiners a few months later, they drop into the Pemberley estate, where his master Darcy suddenly visits. The girl feels that she begins to feel sympathy for the gentleman, but their conversation is interrupted due to news of the shameful flight of the youngest of the three Bennett sisters with Wickham.
In the final of the novel, Darcy again proposes to Elizabeth. This time, his pride and her prejudice are overcome. The girl gives her consent.
In black and white
In total, eight screen versions of Pride and Prejudice were released. The very first - in the UK in 1938. It was a television movie.
In 1940, the feature film Pride and Prejudice appeared. The film adaptation was filmed by American director Robert Leonard. The famous British writer Aldous Huxley took part in writing the script for the picture. The role of Elizabeth was played by the Englishwoman Greer Garzon, who was one of the main stars of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in the 1940s. The role of Mr. Darcy went to the legendary Lawrence Olivier, winner of four Oscars.
At that time, Garzon was 36 years old, so it was not easy for her to reincarnate on the screen as a 20-year-old girl. Frankly, it is worth recognizing that in this adaptation of "Pride and Prejudice" Elizabeth looks much older than her years, but the rest of the actress did a good job.
The film was mixed by the public. In 1941, he received one Academy Award in the category "Best Work by Artistic Director". The award went to Paul Gresse and Cedric Gibbson. However, most viewers criticized the picture. And it is precisely for the artistic surroundings and the work of costumers. Fans of Austin's work insisted that in this film adaptation of the novel Pride and Prejudice, the costumes do not correspond to the time in which events develop, the interiors have nothing to do with 19th-century Victorian England.
Critics insisted that the American director could not penetrate the atmosphere of Great Britain at the beginning of the previous century, because of which manners and magnificent crinolines appeared that did not correspond to the era. However, this film adaptation of “Pride and Prejudice” has a rather high IMDB rating of 7.4.
British series
In 1952, the English television channel BBC released a six-part film adaptation of the novel of its compatriot. Campbell Logan became the producer and director; Peter Cushing and Daphne Slater played the main roles.
After that, several more attempts were made in Great Britain to recreate this famous literary work on the screen. Each time again in the format of a television series. In 1958, a frankly unsuccessful attempt was made, in 1967, another version was removed by Joan Kraft.
1980 version
Fans of the work claim that when comparing the film adaptations of "Pride and Prejudice", the 1980 version looks advantageous. This is another attempt made by the British television channel BBC.
The creator of the series of five episodes this time was Cyril Coke. The duration of each series was about 55 minutes. The film appeared on the screen from January 13 to February 10.
The main male role in the film adaptation of “Pride and Prejudice” (1980) is in David Rintul, the female role in Elizabeth Garvey, for her this became one of the most successful and memorable work in her career.
Critics and viewers noted that the actors look organically, but the plot itself was too long. Rating picture 6.6.
Among the most talked about
Nowadays, viewers have access to many adaptations of Pride and Prejudice. No matter how many filmmakers and TV series creators try to recreate the novel on the screen, they have achieved real success only once. It happened in the mid-90s.
Among the best adaptations of "Pride and Prejudice" Austin fans call the 1995 6-episode drama mini-series. It was shot by Simon Langton for the BBC channel. It is this work today is still considered a reference and exemplary. The picture was especially successful in Russia. In our country, it was shown in 1997, when the audience was not spoiled by the excess of melodramatic scenes on the screen.
Jennifer Elle, who was 26 years old at the time of filming, appeared in the role of Elizabeth. Although this difference was not as significant as in some other cases, it was still visible on the screen that she had outgrown the very young Miss Bennet.
Best Mr. Darcy
The on-screen incarnation of Mr. Darcy is considered truly impeccable. If we say which screen version of Pride and Prejudice is better, many choose this one, since Colin Firth played the main role here. At that time, he had been playing films for about ten years, but this work was the first for him to bring fame and popularity. Today, he is one of the most famous British actors, an Academy Award winner for Best Actor in the historical drama Tom Hooper, The King Speaks!
Shortly after the release of this series, Firth was recognized as the sexiest actor in England. The episode in which he comes out of the lake in a white and wet shirt became the most memorable in the history of British television.
Secret of success
Even if you take all the film adaptations of "Pride and Prejudice", the work of director Simon Langton will stand out on the list. The merit in this is not only the actors, the creators managed to achieve amazing historical authenticity. Rural landscapes, luxurious interiors and magnificent costumes seem to have come down from the pages of a work of the early 19th century. In a different way you start to relate to romantic feelings and love affairs, which seem more sincere.
It is noteworthy that this film is considered the starting point for the writer Helen Fielding, who spoke about Bridget Jones's love adventures. Her novels have a direct reference to Jane Austen, as one of the main characters is called Darcy.
One of the best adaptations of Pride and Prejudice has a very high IMDB rating of 9.0.
Starring Keira Knightley
In 2005, British director Joe Wright directed a full-length drama based on the novel by Jane Austen. In another attempt to recreate the old England on the big screen, the main female role was played by Keira Knightley, the star of “Pirates of the Caribbean”, who was nominated for the Academy Award for her role in this film for the first time in her career the next year. True, she failed to win. The statuette was awarded to American Reese Witherspoon for her role as June Carter in James Mangold’s biopic drama “Cross the Line”.
Considering the great success that Colin Firth was expecting, who played Darcy ten years ago, the lead actor in the 2005 melodrama was chosen with particular care. The creators took eight months to do this, until it was decided to give preference to Matthew Macfadyen. It is interesting that his debut in the movie was the role in the classic novel of another Englishwoman of the beginning of the XIX century Emily Bronte. It was a screen version of Wuthering Heights. In 2012, McFadien played Oblonsky in Joe Wright's melodrama "Anna Karenina" based on the work of Leo Tolstoy.
Viewer ratings
Many critics noted that, even despite an impressive budget of almost thirty million dollars, this picture could not reach the level set by the Langton series in 1995. The staging turned out to be frankly weak: the costumes looked sloppy, the organization of life was ill-conceived. For example, livestock was walking around in the Bennett’s house, which was unacceptable for a noble family, albeit not rich. Doubts were caused by the appearance of the heroines, who often appeared unshod and unkempt at guests, which was unimaginable at that prim time.
Another obvious blunder of the creators of the film adaptation is a free interpretation of the relationship of unmarried Elizabeth with her potential groom. Their communication is too frivolous and even vulgar. For this reason, the scene of a kiss of the main characters was cut out in the English box office, which was considered completely inappropriate. Interestingly, the episode was removed at the insistence of the director himself, who suggested that he could be criticized for it. At the same time, he left the stage for rental in Russia and the USA.
Many viewers were attracted to the new film adaptation of "Pride and Prejudice" due to the participation of Knightley in it, but in the end they were disappointed.
Against zombies
In addition to the direct adaptations, film adaptations of the novel by Jane Austen have repeatedly been released. In 2003, Andrew Black's comedy melodrama Pride and Prejudice was released, the actions of which have been postponed to our time. In 2006, the relations of the heroes of the classic English novel developed in India in the melodramatic musical by Gurinder Chadha “The Bride and Prejudice”. Elizabeth Bennett gets the name Lalita Bakshi.
But the most amazing is the 2016 melodramatic horror film Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. This is a film adaptation of Seth Graham Smith ’s eponymous novel, which in turn is a parody of Austin’s work. The author in it combines a classic book with martial arts and elements of the zombie horror.
The film was shot by Burr Stear. In it, Elizabeth appears in the image of a martial artist, acts along with the tough zombie killer Mr. Darcy. When the zombie apocalypse is on the threshold of their homes, they have to step over their pride in order to unite on the battlefield once and for all. In this picture, the main roles went to Lily James and Sam Riley.