Here are a few of my thoughts on Pride and Prejudice, which I am reading--for the second time in the last year--in my British Literary History II class.First of all I have to give praise to Jane Austen for her absolute brilliance. In her creation of this story, she wrote one of the best love stories in history, as proven by it's popularity these days--I know of only one girl that has not read it. Jane Austen also gave life to some of the most fascinating characters that I have ever read. And she is a master of dialogue which feels authentic but so often drips with wit and sarcasm. . . which makes the interplay between her characters so fascinating.
I know of a few guys who have read this book and not liked it, but for the most part I think Pride and Prejudice has a real appeal for the male gender. Personally, I relate to Mr. Darcy. I understand him. In fact, I relate so well to him that Internet personality tests tend to give him as an example of my personality type. It's a shame that I don't have his whole rich thing going on. . .
As far as the filmic adaptations go, I have to disagree with pretty much every woman that I have ever talked too. The 2005 version directed by Joe Wright and starring Kiera Knightly is by far the best. I know that it isn't as true to the book, but it is a far better as a film. I do think that Colin Firth is absolutely brilliant as Mr. Darcy in the older TV mini-series but that isn't enough to sway me--I think Matthew Macfadyen is highly undervalued for his role as Mr. Darcy. But characters aside (I'll come back to them), the 2005 movie is beautifully filmed while the other two major versions feel like sophisticated soap operas with simplistic camera work and staged scenes counterbalanced by intelligent dialogue. The new version also has an excellent musical score which was, I believe, nominated for an Academy Award. Now, back to the characters. Kiera Knightly is BY FAR the best Elizabeth Bennett of any version, and not just because I am more attracted to her. If you look in her eyes--where Elizabeth Bennett exists, that's why Darcy fell for her in the first place, her "fine eyes"--you'll see that Kiera Knightly becomes Elizabeth Bennett to the core. None of the other actresses who have portrayed Elizabeth have captured the same tomboyish wild spirit that Kiera Knightly did, which is unfortunate, because that was an important aspect of Elizabeth Bennett's character. Donald Sutherland is also quite good as Mr. Bennett, though his role is much reduced from the book, and Judy Dench is perfect as Lady Catherine De Bourgh. Rosamund Pike is also an excellent Jane, and I really liked Tom Hollander as Mr. Collins.
Anyway, I didn't intend to blab that much about the film, but it's pretty well done; an excellent job of putting Jane Austen's story into a 2 hour film.
The long and short of things is that Jane Austen is pretty cool, and reading Pride and Prejudice is not a painful experience, even for guys.
4 comments:
I absolutely love the latest version of "Pride and Prejudice." The music and cinematography is incredible! Thanks for the blog comment, and so far my week is improving :) See you in Latin!
I have to disagree about the movie versions, not your comments on the book. The BBC version is way better than the one with Keira Knightley. We'll discuss it on Sunday.
I agree with Analei!!! The new movie is just crammed with the story and very fast paced...but then they use long slow shots (that I admit is good cinematography) just to try and make it feel slower. And I have to disagree with you on the characters. Every single character in the old one is cast much better than the new one. Their personalities are much truer to the book and they act much better. The acting in the new one felt modern, and fake!!! Even much of their clothing seemed to have a modern feel. The BBC version is true to the story!
I expected to really dislike the newer version, but I found several things I liked quite a bit. I liked that it was a little bit grittier, as far as setting--seemed more realistic to the period, what real life during that time would have been like. I liked some of the character depth that was added. Dislike Keira Knightly, and hated that stupid last "Mrs. Darcy" scene, but the music was awesome throughout.
I've tried to figure out which of the two is better, BBC or Knightly, but it's like comparing apples and oranges. Their strengths are in different areas, in my opinion.
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