"Pride and Prejudice": adaptation, release years, main actors and movie ratings

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The most famous novel by English writer Jane Austen is Pride and Prejudice. Screen versions of this work traditionally attract the attention of film critics and fans of British literature. In this article, we will talk about the most famous films based on this novel, as well as the actors who appeared in the lead roles.

What is the novel about?

During the existence of cinema, several adaptations of "Pride and Prejudice" were released. The novel itself was written in 1813. It tells the story of a young Mr. Bingley who comes to Netherfield Park. This information immediately attracts the attention of the Bennet family, which has three daughters. 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 daughterJane Bennett, who loves him back. 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 her neighbors, since only Mr. Bingley shows sincere concern for both, the rest of the family looks down on them.

Feelings for Elizabeth

Mr. Darcy feels sympathy for Elizabeth, but the girl is sure that he despises her. In addition, on a walk, the Bennet sisters meet young Wickham, who talks about Darcy's dishonesty. It turns out that he did not fulfill the will of the late father, refusing Wickham the position of a priest. Elizabeth develops a bad idea about Darcy, which is a metaphor for prejudice in the novel. And he himself feels that the girl does not belong to his circle, feeling proud.

Soon at the ball, the forthcoming marriage between Jane and Bingley becomes obvious to those around. At the same time, the complete lack of knowledge of etiquette and manners in the whole family, with the exception of Jane and Elizabeth, catches the eye of everyone. 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 come true

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 we are talking about Jane and Bingley. Her dislike for him further increases when Darcydeclares his love and asks for her hand, Elizabeth resolutely refuses. She accuses him of meanness, ruined her sister's happiness. Darcy explains her act, after which the girl radically changes her opinion about him.

When Elizabeth travels with the Gardiners a few months later, they stop at Pemberley Manor, where his master, Darcy, suddenly visits as well. The girl feels that she is beginning to feel sympathy for the gentleman, but their communication is interrupted due to the news of the shameful flight of the youngest of the three Bennet sisters with Wickham.

At the end of the novel, Darcy proposes to Elizabeth again. This time, his pride and her prejudice are overcome. The girl gives her consent.

In black and white

In total, eight adaptations of "Pride and Prejudice" were released. The very first - in the UK in 1938. It was a TV movie.

In 1940, the full-length film "Pride and Prejudice" appears. The film adaptation was directed by American director Robert Leonard. The well-known British writer Aldous Huxley took part in writing the script for the film. The role of Elizabeth was played by the Englishwoman Greer Garson, who was one of the main stars of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in the 1940s. The role of Mr. Darcy went to the legendary Laurence Olivier, winner of four Oscars.

At that time, Garson was 36 years old, so it was not easy for her to reincarnate on the screen as a 20-year-old girl. It is frankly worth recognizing that in this adaptation of "Pride and Prejudice"Elizabeth looks much older than her years, but otherwise the actress did a good job.

The film received a mixed reception from the public. In 1941, he received one Academy Award in the Best Production Design category. The award went to Paul Gresse and Cedric Gibbson. However, most viewers criticized the picture. And it is for the artistic entourage and the work of costumers. Austen's fans insisted that in this film adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, the costumes do not correspond to the time in which events unfold, the interiors have nothing to do with Victorian England of the 19th century.

Critics insisted that the American director could not feel the atmosphere of Great Britain at the beginning of the previous century, which is why manners and lush crinolines appeared inconsistent with the era. However, this adaptation of "Pride and Prejudice" has a fairly high IMDB rating - 7, 4.

British series

In 1952, the English television channel BBC released a six-episode film adaptation of the novel of his compatriot. Campbell Logan produced and directed, starring Peter Cushing and Daphne Slater.

After that, in the UK itself, several more attempts were made 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 made by Joan Kraft.

1980 version

Fans of the work claim that when comparing the adaptations of Pride and Prejudice, the 1980 version looks advantageous. This is another attempt by the English BBC.

This five-episode series was created by Cyril Coke. The duration of each series was about 55 minutes. On the screen, the film was released from January 13 to February 10.

The main male role in the film adaptation of "Pride and Prejudice" (1980) by David Rintoul, the female - by Elizabeth Garvey, for her it became one of the most successful and memorable works in her career.

Critics and viewers noted that the actors look organic, but the plot itself turned out to be too long. Picture rating 6, 6.

Among the most talked about

There are many adaptations of "Pride and Prejudice" available to viewers these days. No matter how much the creators of films and TV shows try to recreate the novel on the screen, they achieved real success only once. It happened in the mid-90s.

Among the best adaptations of Pride and Prejudice, Austen fans name the 1995 6-episode drama mini-series. Directed by Simon Langton for the BBC. It is this work that 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 yet spoiled by an excess of melodramatic stories on the screen.

The role of Elizabeth appeared Jennifer Ehle, who at the time of filming was 26 years old. Although this difference was not as significant as in some other cases, it was still noticeable on the screen that she had outgrown the very young Miss Bennet.

Best Mr Darcy

The screen incarnation of Mr. Darcy is considered truly impeccable. If we talk about which adaptation of Pride and Prejudice is better, many choose this particular one, since Colin Firth played the main role here. At that time, he had been playing in films for about ten years, but this work was the first for him, which brought fame and popularity. Today, he is one of the most famous British actors, winner of the Oscar for Best Actor in Tom Hooper's historical drama The King's Speech.

Shortly after the release of this series, Firth was recognized as the sexiest actor in England. The episode in which he emerges from the lake in a white and wet shirt has become the most memorable in the history of British television.

The secret of success

Even if you take into account all the adaptations of "Pride and Prejudice", director Simon Langton's work will stand alone in the list. The merit in this is not only the actors, the creators managed to achieve amazing historical accuracy. Rural landscapes, luxurious interiors and magnificent costumes seem to have descended from the pages of a work of the early 19th century. You begin to relate to romantic feelings and love affairs in a different way, which seem more sincere.

It is noteworthy that this film is considered the starting point for the writer Helen Fielding,about the love affairs of Bridget Jones. There is a direct reference to Jane Austen in her novels, as one of the main characters is named 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 made a full-length drama based on the novel by Jane Austen. In yet another attempt to recreate old England on the big screen, the lead female role was played by Keira Knightley, the star of Pirates of the Caribbean, who was nominated for an Oscar for the first time in her career next year just for her role in this picture. True, she failed to win. The statuette was awarded to American Reese Witherspoon for her role as June Carter in James Mangold's biographical drama Walk the Line.

Given the resounding success awaiting Colin Firth, who played Darcy ten years ago, the lead actor in the 2005 melodrama was chosen especially carefully. It took the creators a whole eight months until it was decided to give preference to Matthew Macfadyen. Interestingly, his film debut was a role in the classic novel by another Englishwoman of the early 19th century, Emily Brontë. It was an adaptation of Wuthering Heights. In 2012, Macfadyen played Oblonsky in Joe Wright's Anna Karenina melodrama based on the work of Leo Tolstoy.

Viewer ratings

Many critics pointed out that, despite an impressive budget of almost thirty milliondollars, this picture could not reach the bar 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, in the Bennets' house, livestock walked around, which was unacceptable for a noble family, albeit a poor one. Doubts were raised by the appearance of the heroines, who often appeared barefoot and unkempt in front of 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 an unmarried Elizabeth with her potential fiancé. Their communication turns out to be too frivolous and even vulgar. For this reason, in the English box office, the kiss scene of the main characters was cut, which was considered completely inappropriate. Interestingly, the episode was removed at the insistence of the director himself, who assumed that he could be criticized for this. At the same time, he left the stage for distribution in Russia and the USA.

Many viewers were attracted to the new adaptation of Pride and Prejudice because of Knightley's participation in it, but were ultimately disappointed.

Zombie Vs

In addition to direct film adaptations, film adaptations of Jane Austen's novel have been repeatedly released. In 2003, Andrew Black's comedy melodrama "Pride and Prejudice" was released, the actions of which were transferred to our time. In 2006, the relationship between the heroes of the classic English novel develops in India in Gurinder Chadha's melodramatic musical "The Bride and Prejudice". Elizabeth Bennet is named Lalita Bakshi.

But the most surprising is the 2016 melodramatic horror film Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. This is a film adaptation of the Seth Graham-Smith novel of the same name, which, in turn, is a parody of Austen's work. The author in it combines a classic book with martial arts and elements of zombie horror.

The film was directed by Burr Steer. In it, Elizabeth appears as a martial artist, acting in concert with the tough zombie killer Mr. Darcy. When the zombie apocalypse arrives at their doorstep, they must overcome their pride to unite on the battlefield once and for all. In this picture, the main roles went to Lily James and Sam Riley.