Pride & Prejudice (DVD) (2005) (Region 1) (US Import) (NTSC)

This is just a gift for a daughter, unhappy with the UK edition. The better ending, two extra minutes.

love the movie, love the US ending. the DVD works just fine ^_^

Like most people who love literature I was well aware that Jane Austen could write, but the idea that Keira Knightley can act and hold her own against the likes of Dame Judy Dench was a revelation. Granted, Knightley has not particularly been called upon to turn in great acting performances in most of her films. In "Love Actually" she is basically required to look pretty and her best moments are reaction shots rather than dialogue. She has many more moments such as that in "Pride & Prejudice," but she also proves herself proficient at the witty dialogue. Knightley filmed this version as her final film as a teenager and the results are comparable to when Franco Zeffirelli cast the teenage Olivia de Hussey in "Romeo & Juliet." This becomes the most romantic version of "Pride & Prejudice" because we are not surprised along with Lizzie when Darcy shows up and makes the most backhanded proposal of marriage in the history of Western literature. The screenplay by Deborah Moggach (Emma Thompson receives special thanks in the credits, apparently for script doctoring) makes one significant change in the proceedings by simply having the moment when Mr. Darcy (Matthew MacFadyen) falls for Lizzie clearly written on his face. At the Meryton ball she finds the perfect moment to throw the callous words that she has overheard back into his and with the rapier still skewering her victim she turns on her heels and walks away in triumph. When next he sees her she has walked over to Mr. Bingley's house to care for her sister Jane (Rosamund Pike), who has been taken ill because of the matrimonial machinations of their mother. Lizzie's hair is down and she is positively glowing. When we see the look of Darcy's face it is clear that he is beyond smitten, even though through the veneer of upper class manners the signs are decidedly subtle. From that moment on his affection becomes transparent to us, although Lizzie is surprised to learn of its existence. Joe Wright also creates a motif where the first time Darcy and Lizzie touch, as he helps her into a carriage, resonates by an emphasis at key moments throughout the film of Darcy's hands. Elizabeth Bennett is the most delightful of the Austen heroines because she has the virtue of not backing down. Indeed, I believe Darcy first takes real notice of her because she stands up to him at the ball. When she refuses to back down from Lady Catherine De Bourgh (Judi Dench) at the dinner table it struck me that one of the reasons she is so attractive to Darcy is because she is not trying to be. Certainly Mrs. Bennett (Brenda Blythen) has taught her five daughters it is how to be on their best behavior to catch a husband, and in a world of such propriety her candor is refreshing. Darcy's curt dismissal of her looks as being tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt him, becomes ironic because for my money it is her brains that make Elizabeth Bennett a real beauty both to him and to us. The screenplay necessitates cutting much of the action to reduce the tale to a two-hour film. I appreciated being spared the unfortunate incident of Mary at the pianoforte as well as the constructed scene for the final fadeout and my only minor complaint would be that Lady Catherine does not utter her exit line from the novel when she takes her leave of Elizabeth in their final confrontation although I fully understand that the words cannot be uttered under those circumstances and the fact that Lady Catherine shows up immediately on hearing the rumor makes up for being denied the pleasure of hearing Dame Judy declaim that line. I had heard that the Jane Austen Society was less than pleased by Knightley's posture in this film, but one of the strengths of this production is that the Bennetts clearly live in the country. There are dirt roads that lead to their home, where a large hog wanders through the front door, and when Mr. Darcy and the Bingleys make their first appearances at the local ball the dancing has an exuberance (not to mention slapping of hands) that makes it patently clear that we are far from the hallowed halls of Pemberly or the civilized life of London. But the outside locations are as sumptuous as the gilded rooms in this film, and cinematographer Roman Osin makes both look gorgeous. For those who consider "Sense & Sensibility" to be the current cinematic benchmark for Austen adaptations I can report that "Pride & Prejudice" is its superior in terms of both romance and comedy by virtue of both crying and laughing more at this 2005 film.. Where Ang Lee's 1995 film comes out ahead is in its depiction of sisterhood, as Jane and Lizzie cannot rival Elinor and Marianne in their bonds of affection, which is understandable since it is more central to that Austen novel. Even so there is a cute moment of confidences shared beneath the covers and Lizzie's spirited defense of her sister's shyness. However, this one really is all about Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy. I am not at all surprise that Kngihtly received a Best Actress nomination for her performance in this film. As is invariably the case with such films the cast of supporting players is superb. Brenda Blethyn's Mrs. Bennett is comically painful, but Donald Sutherland as Mr. Bennett has a touching final scene with his daughter, Tom Hollander is toadally obnoxious as Mr. Collins, and my wife really wants to slap Jenna Malone's Lydia a couple of times. The best thing I can say about this version of "Pride & Prejudice" is that I went back to the theater to see it again, and the only other movie I did that for was "Revenge of the Sith" (I was using it for class). This one was better.

People will inevitably compare this with the 1995 BBC adaptation and i was unwilling to watch this for the first year of its release because i was sure the 1995 version could never be equaled. I love both versions and would not pick one above the other but they each bring something different for the viewer. I think Colin Firth did a wonderful job portraying Mr Darcy but Mathew Macfadyen is definitely well cast and brings more of a vulnerability to the character which reminds me of Pamela Aidens take on Darcy in her spin-off books. I love Keira Knightley as Lizzy; her acting is top notch and the chemistry between the two leads sparks on screen. The cinematography is very elegant and perhaps portrays a 'truer' version of British societies - both country and town - with their choice of film locations. There are some very romantic moments such as the proposal in the rain and Darcy helping Lizzy into her carriage. What i found interesting was that i didnt mind not seeing the leads kiss at the end - it was a tender moment which reflects the mechanics of their relationship; not based on physical attraction but of two like-minded people. It would have been nice to see the double wedding at the end but the excellent two hours or more spent watching this masterpiece more than makes up for that.

This is one of my favourite romantic movie: classical Austen's story à la "boy meets girl" but in the 19th century of course; good actors, good editing, no length or boring scenes, pace and action meet the romantic! Just one remark: this is an US import, so this movie contains the American ending, not the British one... hence you see them kiss in the end (instead of listening to Mr. Bennet last phrase); The bonus material is also shorter and not as interesting as the one in the British one (although part of it is the same). A part from this, the quality of both image and sound is just brilliant! I recommand it.

If you are looking for Jane Austen's beautiful book translated faithfully to film, this is not the movie for you. But this adaptation `Pride & Prejudice' is wonderfully done. This movie has great casting, good writing and good direction. I did enjoy watching this shorten version of the film even though some subplots do not even exits in this movie. It would be impossible to place all that Jane Austen has going on in her novel into two-hour movie. One thing the director did do is film everything from the view of Elizabeth Bennet, played by Keira Knightly. And the dance hall scenes and social etiquette were accurate for the time period chosen, 1797. You could see what a middle-upper class family had to go through if they had daughters. I also thought that Matthew Macfadyen played a captivating Mr. Darcy and Donald Sutherland as Mr. Bennet, though looking soft spoken and soft on Elizabeth, and it showed he did marry for love. The scenery and music are highlights of the movie. This is a movie many will see more then once. Though Elizabeth Bennet in this movie seems to have more modern sensibilities then the book gives her, Keira knightly still does well. Especially considering every woman that has ever read this books has her own view on the character. But the chemistry you feel from the screen form Elizabeth and Darcy jumps out at you, there strong love suppressed by misunderstandings and preconceived notions.... if I might be so bold as to say, their Pride & Prejudice. This book is a masterpiece and sets the standard for all romantic novels, so no movie could ever stand up to its standard. But for a two-hour entertaining movie, it was very good.