The Novel Brought to Life

<http://thecia.com.au/reviews/p/pride-and-prejudice.shtml>

         Being such a classic, widely read book, Pride and Prejudice has been made into a number of film versions. The 1940 version starring Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier took liberties with the story, trying to make it more of a light, beautiful, feel good movie. It elicits much less of an annoyance with the character Mrs. Bennett.  In this particular version, the costumes, instead of the empire-waist gowns indicative of the regency era in which the novel is set, are more indicative of the the mid-nineteenth century with their full skirts and victorian detailing. Most other cinematic versions of the novel display more accurate costuming. Another version of Pride and Prejudice succeeds in displaying much more accuracy. Released in 1995 as a mini-series by the BBC, it directly quotes the novel in many places and goes to great lengths to include everything that takes place in the book. In fact, the makers of the movie tried to make it so accurate and comprehensive that to watch the whole thing would end up lasting five hours. The latest adaptation of the novel is the 2005 version pictured above starring Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen. This version reminds me of the 1940 version in that it's only 127 minutes long and it cuts down the story a bit. However, it still doesn't commit many inaccuracies, making it the perfect movie for Jane Austen fanatics to show their significant others. Whichever of these versions viewers choose, they're sure to come away having enjoyed themselves.