Pride & Prejudice, Jane Austen and a Nut in the Making
If there’s one book I can name as a favourite then it would be Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice. I’ve already read the book and seen the film (which stars Keira Knightly) over five times and that can still be an understatement.
It’s quite funny, actually, cuz I remember when I went to Australia without my copy, I endeavoured to buy a new one simply because I had wanted to read it again. LOL. Also, during that same time, I had wondered, nay, wished that they’d make a film out of the book, so, imagine my elation when I found out the movie came out when I was there.
I had made plans of seeing it alone even when I really don’t do that (watching movies by myself), in a foreign country no less. Hehe. But off I went. I admit I was looking forward to the experience but my plans were foiled when a guy asked if it’d be alright to see the movie with me. I didn’t think that any harm would come off it, so, I agreed (oh, don’t look at me like that, I can’t help it if he looks like Colin Farrell now could I? Complete with that Irish accent! LOL). This guy I ended up dating for a while when I was there. And, no, I won’t give out his name. Heh.
Anyway, soon after that I heard that there was a longer version of it, a BBC miniseries (2 Discs, 300 minutes), which stars Colin Firth. I knew then that he would play Mr. Darcy real well. I’ve been searching for it, hoping to get a copy locally. No such luck, well, until my brother, that is.
Early this week, he came back from a business trip in the US and I had asked him to place an order for that very film. Imagine me grinning as I hold my very own copy of the Special Edition DVD of Pride & Prejudice. Hehe. Sweet! I’ve never felt so content in my life, er, so far. Hahaha.
To give you an idea on what makes the book special to me, I’ve lifted a few exceptional excerpts (personal choice, of course) that speak volumes of what can be expected from Jane Austen’s work.
“…that loss of virtue in a female is irretrievable — that one false step involves her in endless ruin — that her reputation is no less brittle that it is beautiful — and that she cannot be too guarded in her behavior toward the undeserving of the other sex.”
“Sometimes the last person on earth you want to be with is the one person you can’t be without.” (movie)
“Pride is a very common failing I believe. By all that I have ever read, I am convinced that it is very common indeed, that human nature is particularly prone to it, and that there are very few of us who do not cherish a feeling of self-complacency on the score of some quality or other, real or imaginary.
Vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously. A person may be proud without being vain.
Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us.”
With every film adaptation, esp with someone like me who happens to have read the book a number of times, you can’t help but compare, yeah? You’d often find yourself exclaiming things like, “that’s not how it is in the book!” or “it wasn’t Mary who said that but Eliza!” So, yea, it’s important to “adapt” the book well, to preserve the very essence of the author’s work. Which explains why I had compared the two films. I like Colin’s version since it tried its best to remain faithful to the book whereas Kiera’s version — though it does have awesome cinematography and a beautiful cast — did not.
On my insistence, my brother also brought home other films based on Jane Austen novels: Emma, Mansfield Park and Persuasion.
Emma is fun. It’s where Alicia Silverstone’s Clueless was based on (so that’s why I loved that movie, too! It’s Jane Austen inspired! LOL). Mansfield Park is a witty and stirring film, delves on the line between poverty and wealth and if you’re willing to cross it and at what price. It also asks the question, “Will you marry for love or will you marry for money?” I have yet to watch Persuasion and I’m looking forward to it.
Related Read:
Pride & Vanity
Pride & Prejudice (book review)
Pride & Prejudice (movie review)
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I love everything Jane Austen. I’ve seen movies, and read books that were based on her novels. My most favorite version of Pride and Prejudice is the 1940 one where Laurence Olivier played Mr.Darcy and Greer Garson played Elizabeth. I’m a classic movies connoisseur. If you ever get a chance to watch that version, I recommend it strongly
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Anyhooo, I can’t wait to see Anne Hathaway’s take on Jane Austen’s life. She better do her justice or I’ll be royally pissed.
Dexie: That’s so cool! I reckon I should go look for that copy. And are you saying that there will soon be a movie on Jane Austen’s life, which will star Anne Hathaway? Hmmm. Interesting. Thanks for the heads up!
Yup, look for the 1940 version. It’s in black and white but it’s the best version in my opinion since it’s the original. And originals are always the best one
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And yes, Anne Hathaway is playing Jane Austen in the upcoming movie about our dear writer. The movie is called Becoming Jane. Check it out here. So far I’m liking the trailers I’ve seen on TV. And I do like Anne so I have high hopes for her doing Jane Austen justice. Well, I’m crossing my fingers anyway
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If the link doesn’t work, here it is again. If it breaks your template, sorry, I guess you could delete it once you’ve seen the site
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http://imdb.com/title/tt0416508/
Dexie: Wish me luck, hopefully, I do get to find a copy here. Gah. I watched the trailer of Anne Hathaway’s “Becoming Jane”. It certainly looks interesting. I wonder when they’ll show it here. Hmmm.
wow! im so happy to have known someone who have the same like as mine esp. with the book of jane austen. i bought my copy bbc series pride and prejudicewhile on business trip to manado four years ago. what a delight it is to have a copy. i understand really the feeling of satisfaction that goes with it. i hope we can come up with the jane austen reading book club like the movie (have you watched it already?) its nice to have an exchange of views about th the characters.