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| Pride & Prejudice (Widescreen Edition) |
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List Price: $19.98
Buy New: $13.73
You Save: $6.25 (31%)
Buy New/Used/Collectible from $9.44
Avg. Customer Rating:  (based on 417 reviews)
Sales Rank: 34
Category: DVD
Director: Joe Wright (iv)
Publisher: Universal Studios
Studio: Universal Studios
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
Label: Universal Studios
Format: Ac-3, Color, Dolby, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled)
Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD
Running Time: 129 minutes
Number Of Items: 1
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.1
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.2
UPC: 025192807220
EAN: 0025192807220
ASIN: B000E1ZBGS
Release Date: February 28, 2006
Theatrical Release Date: November 23, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Literary adaptations just don't get any better than director Joe Wright's 2005 version of Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice. The key word here is adaptation, because Wright and gifted screenwriter Deborah Moggach have taken liberties with Austen's classic novel that purists may find objectionable, but in this exquisite film their artistic decisions are entirely justified and exceptionally well executed. It's a more rural England that we see here, circa 1790 (as opposed to Austen's early 19th century), in which Elizabeth Bennet (Keira Knightley) is one of several sisters primed for marriage, with an anxious mother (Brenda Blethyn) only too desperate to see her daughters paired off with the finest, richest husbands available. Elizabeth is strong-willed and opinionated, but her head (not to mention her pride and prejudice) lead her heart astray when she meets the wealthy Mr. Darcy (Matthew Macfadyen), whose own sense of decency and discretion (not to mention his pride and prejudice) prevent him from expressing his mutual affection. They're clearly meant for each other, and as Knightley's performance lights up the screen (still young enough to be girlishly impertinent, yet wise beyond her 20 years), Austen's timeless romance yields yet another timeless adaptation, easily on par with the beloved BBC miniseries that has been embraced by millions since originally broadcast in 1995. Individual tastes will vary as to which version should be considered "definitive," but with a stellar supporting cast including Judi Dench and Donald Sutherland, this impeccable production achieves its own kind of perfection. --Jeff Shannon
Description
One of the greatest love stories of all time, Pride & Prejudice, comes to the screen in a glorious new adaptation starring Keira Knightley. When Elizabeth Bennett (Knightley) meets the handsome Mr. Darcy (Matthew MacFadyen), she believes he is the last man on earth she could ever marry. But as their lives become intertwined in an unexpected adventure, she finds herself captivated by the very person she swore to loathe for all eternity. Based on the beloved masterpiece by Jane Austen, it is the classic tale of love and misunderstanding that sparkles with romance, wit and emotional force. Critics are calling it "Exhilarating. A joy from start to finish" (Carina Chocano, Los Angeles Times).
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Customer Reviews: Read 412 more reviews...
 Pride and Prejudice June 30, 2006
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This adaptation is quite disappointing. I am a great fan of Jane Austen's work and this version is so drab and the actor's portrayals are unconvincing and boring.
The A&E version with Colin Firth & Jennifer Ehle is far superior.
 Visceral, lively, sexy June 29, 2006
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
This gorgeous movie has such a force of life that it blows previous adaptations away. While the relatively confined manners are still present, the barely civil passionate undercurrents are also obvious. Other versions were all empire waistlines and lifeless speech. This version will poke you right in the solar plexus and shake you about.
The director claims, in his audio commentary, that he intended to put darker shades on the story than Jane Austen did. The film is intended to be as subjective as possible--all from Lizzy's point-of-view. So, the characters, the music, even the weather in each scene, communicate her feelings.
Very sexy movie.
 I love this movie! June 28, 2006
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
This movie is definitely one of my all-time favorites! I'll mention that I hadn't read the book before I watched the movie, but I knew about it since it is a frequently discussed classic. I'm in the middle of reading the book now, and I love it just as much as the movie. I think Wright did a wonderful job with the layout of different scenes and the original shots were excellent. Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy (don't know the actor's name) had perfect chemistry! Besides the obvious romance, watching the whole Bennet family in action was so entertaining and eye-opening to the common characteristics found in every family. You have to see this one!
Disappointed... June 27, 2006
4 out of 8 found this review helpful
I was really disappointed with Keira Knightley's performance here. Where's the extreme intelligence of Elizabeth Bennet? She giggled too much and failed to portray the other important aspects of her character.
As for the ending, it was just too much. Excessive romanticism for a Jane Austen novel. Pride and Prejudice is not a Harlequin romance.
 gets the plot details right but misses much of the humor June 26, 2006
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
***1/2
It seems like every time we turn around these days some filmmaker has produced yet another adaptation of Jane Austen's most beloved novel "Pride and Prejudice." And even though some of the versions have been quite good actually, one can still wonder if this glut is really all that necessary. The book's two most recent incarnations came in the form of miniseries produced by the BBC, the first in 1980 and the second in 1995. However, since 1940, there has not been a "straight" (i.e. set in the proper time period) version of "Pride and Prejudice" designed specifically for the big screen. Well, now we have one, written by Deborah Moggach, directed by Joe Wright and starring Keira Knightley in the lead role.
This latest version is distinguished from the earlier efforts primarily by its grittier, grimier and grungier depiction of life in early 19th Century rural England. With its peeling paint and dusty furnishings, the film certainly has a less prettified look than we are accustomed to seeing in movies based on Austen works. Yet, perhaps because we have been spoiled by the marathon lengths of those earlier miniseries, this film, at a mere two hours and seven minutes, feels hurried and rushed as it attempts to cope with Austen's complex tale of the five Bennett sisters and their mother's frantic efforts to marry them off. We are moved so quickly through the story that some of the more subtle details of character and theme get lost along the way. Still, it's quite remarkable just how much of the plot Moggach is able to cram into a little over two hours, so that even the staunchest of Austen purists will have little to complain about on that score.
What they may have reason to complain about is the fact that the film fails to capture much of the unique humor that distinguishes the novel. For the most part, the scenes are played much too seriously and "straight," particularly those involving the odious Mr. Collins and the insufferably condescending Lady Catherine de Bourg, who together supply some of Austen's most bitingly witty commentary on the superficiality of England's class-conscious society. Tom Hollander gives a spiritless, leaden performance as the sycophantic minister, and Judi Dench plays Lady Catherine as if she were taking a stab at Lady MacBeth instead. The same goes for Donald Sutherland as Mr. Bennett, whose pivotal role as the droll, dry commentator on the absurd Mrs. Bennett's matrimonial obsessions seems to have been lost on the actor. Matthew Macfadyen fails to make an impact as the haute Mr. Darcy, although Brenda Blethyn hits the right notes as the grating mother driven to despair at the prospect of her daughters ending up old maids.
In the coveted role of the high-minded, strong willed and extremely judgmental Elizabeth Bennett - certainly the most brilliant and fully realized of all Austen's creations - Knightley clearly means well but doesn`t seem quite up to the task. Her annoying giggle and epicene expression make her far too silly and modern to successfully portray the rational but often misguided 19th Century heroine Austen intended Elizabeth to be.
Yet, despite all these weaknesses, "Pride and Prejudice" makes for a reasonably entertaining film, thanks, primarily, to the strength of the original source material and the liveliness of Wright's direction (the ball scenes are exceptionally well done). The film moves quickly and does a decent job telling its story. Perhaps if we didn't have better versions to compare it to, this "Pride and Prejudice" would stand up better on its own. It's far from a failure, but watching this condensed version instead of the two BBC miniseries is a bit like reading the Cliff's Notes instead of the actual novel. You may be able to get the general gist of the thing, but not that wonderful flavoring that makes the original so special.
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