Pride and Prejudice (1995)

"For what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbours, and laugh at them in our turn?"

The village of Hertfordshire is excited by the arrival of wealthy Mr. Bingley (Bonham-Carter) and his party.  He recently purchased a home in the village and everyone wants to make a good impression.  Mrs. Bennet (Steadman) is the most excited, determined that one of her 5 daughters: Jane (Harker), Elizabeth (Ehle), Mary (Briers), Kitty (Maberly), and Lydia (Sawalha) will catch Bingley's eye.  Bingley is instantly smitten with Jane, who returns his affections, while Elizabeth immediately dislikes Bingley's exceedingly wealthy friend Mr. Darcy (Firth).

Mr. (Whitrow) and Mrs. Bennet do not have any sons, so their estate will pass to the next male relative: Mr. Collins (Bamber).  Mr. Collins visits the family with the intent of taking a bride, but the girls find him ridiculous.  Collins sets his attentions on Elizabeth, but she is fascinated by Wickham (Lukis) from the newly arrived militia.  As she avoids Collins, she continually runs into Darcy.  Can she find happiness with any of the men in her life?


I fell in love with Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" when I was in high school.  I was then introduced to the 6 hour BBC miniseries (it is billed as a TV show, but I consider it a miniseries), which is the best version of the book.  While no film can match the book, this captures the spirit of the novel and characters, and shows a deep love for the novel.  The novel is broken into 6 hour-long segments, so you can watch it in pieces, or binge watch all 6 hours at once.

The casting is perfect.  Jennifer Ehle is smart and funny, and has a mischievous twinkle in her eye.  While Colin Firth is handsome and a little awkward, but in the best way possible.  David Bamber embraces the odd quirks of Mr. Collins and is funny throughout, through his mannerisms and facial expressions.  Julia Sawalha is perfect as the uninhibited Lydia, and is the right amount of annoying, while Polly Maberly whines well as Kitty and Lucy Briers is the right amount of disgusted as Mary.  Crispin Bonham-Carter is endearing and adorable as Mr. Bingley and Susannah Harker is sensible and loving as Jane.  The smaller characters are equally well-cast.

The soundtrack is beautiful and strikes the right mood in every scene.  The costumes and dancing are beautiful.  And they were mindful of the time period.  There are little details here and there that I don't love... but as a whole, this is a wonderful adaptation of a beloved novel.

This is Austen's best known novel (she wrote 7 novels).  People love the novel so much that they have written sequels, adapted it to TV and film, and modernized the story countless times.  The novel is still the best, but I appreciate the creativity.  I have to admit, I also enjoy the Keira Knightley version... and I thought "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" (the book, not the movie) was hilarious.  This is still the best version of the book and worth watching.

Pride and Prejudice (1995) 327 minutes
Director: Simon Langton
Starring: Jennifer Ehle as Elizabeth Bennet
Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy
Susannah Harker as Jane Bennet
Julia Sawalha as Lydia Bennet
Alison Steadman as Mrs. Bennet
Benjamin Whitrow as Mr. Bennet
Crispin Bonham-Carter as Mr. Bingley
Polly Maberly as Kitty Bennet
Lucy Briers as Mary Bennet
Anna Chancellor as Miss Bingley
Lucy Robinson as Mrs. Hurst
Adrian Lukis as Wickham
David Bamber as Mr. Collins
Lucy Scott as Charlotte Lucas
Lucy Davis as Maria Lucas