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Pride & Prejudice: the new version [movie thread]
jannah
09/19/05 at 14:49:01
[slm] Ok I can't wait!!! Anyone in england see this yet?
11/15/05 at 00:12:42
jannah

Re: Pride&Prejudice: the new version [movie thread
jannah
11/14/05 at 15:06:27
well it's like #1 in england right now... and it will be in limited release here... i think that says something about the literary endeavors of us americans ;) haven't seen it yet tho :( wsalaam

Re: Pride&Prejudice: the new version [movie thread
lala
11/14/05 at 16:19:18
[slm] oh boy, if you're not talking about sami yuself then its pride and prejudice...:) i'm kidding... well its already out here in NYC.... a friend went and saw it last week. she said it was okay. :)

Re: Pride&Prejudice: the new version [movie thread
jannah
11/15/05 at 00:11:55
[wlm] lala what else is there in life!!! ;) hmm i read some reviews and most ppl who have read the book or seen the 1995 A&E miniseries bbc adaptation seem to not like the new one. i've read and seen them both several times so hopefully it won't be so bad. what's interesting is that they changed the ending for americans!! it's more romantic and ends on the couple story, in the UK it ends about the family... i wonder if that says something about us americans!!

Re: Pride & Prejudice: the new version [movie thre
bhaloo
11/15/05 at 22:43:02
[slm] Isn't there a desi rendition called Bride and Prejudice?  ???

Re: Pride & Prejudice: the new version [movie thre
jannah
11/15/05 at 23:08:32
wlm, yeah there is, they tried to modernize it...and get this they *sing* the songs in english.... :o  there's actually no resemblance except that they tried to follow the same type of story line... ie 5 girls and the mother is desperately trying to marry them off etc

Re: Pride & Prejudice: the new version [movie thre
Fozia
11/18/05 at 09:29:30
[slm] I've seen the old one and Bride and prejuidice which is hi-la-rious. It has Aishwariya Rai in it and whatshername Nagma'a little sister. The scenario is the same, I saw the version where they break out in Indian songs whilst they've been speaking in English before...as I said hi-la-rious. Wasslaam

Re: Pride & Prejudice: the new version [movie thre
Carol
11/18/05 at 22:00:57
Salaam Aleikum,     I, too, am interested in what the new version will be like, but it is hard to imagine it can top the A&E version with Colin Firth. I think he is very talented. But I love comparing and contrasting different versions of the same thing, so I will be watching as soon as I get the chance.     I just saw Bride and Prejudice last weekend on DVD, and loved it. Like Fozia said, it was hilarious! The costuming was really beautiful, and I liked the addition of the musical numbers. Wasalaam, Carol

Re: Pride & Prejudice: the new version [movie thre
jannah
11/19/05 at 00:48:49
wsalam, carol welcome to the forum did u introduce urself at the bebzi and i missed it?? well i am a big p&p fan so i can't wait...  i didn't like bride & prejudice i don't know the version i saw was just too much... i guess if u think of it as a comedy it could be entertaining maybe :) nothing can beat the 5 hour a&e one that's for sure :) i love that one to death and my dvd player knows it... sigh one day they might make something better i wonder if there is a good jane eyre version? although i thought that was a very dark book...
11/19/05 at 02:17:11
jannah

Re: Pride & Prejudice: the new version [movie thre
BrKhalid
11/19/05 at 01:53:29
Asalaamu Alaikum ;-) Can someone explain why the female gender is so captured with this story? As I have explained to my wife on many occasions, I think the real hero of the story is Mr. Collins!! (Think of Sufism for bee keeping and you may have an idea of what I mean!!) ;)

Re: Pride & Prejudice: the new version [movie thre
UmmWafi
11/23/05 at 02:52:56
[slm] I know this is blasphemy to most of u here but the Colin Firth version is not the best by far to me ( gasp  :o !). If its possible for anyone of u (especially those in the UK), try to get the OLD BBC version starring David Rintoul as Mr Darcy. I felt that was excellent. PS BrKhalid Perhaps because most of us women do ended up with a Mr Collins as a husband that we DONT think of him as the hero  ;) KIIIDDDDIINNNGGGG... Wassalam

Re: Pride & Prejudice: the new version [movie thre
Fozia
11/23/05 at 07:35:37
[slm] For me it wasn't so much Colin Firth as Jennifer Ehle, she was really excellent as Elizabeth, I can't imagine anyone else playing [i]her[/i] role iyswim. Wassalaam

Re: Pride & Prejudice: the new version [movie thre
jaihoon
11/23/05 at 07:43:44
[quote author=BrKhalid link=board=kabob;num=1127152141;start=0#9 date=11/19/05 at 01:53:29]Asalaamu Alaikum ;-) Can someone explain why the female gender is so captured with this story? [/quote] hmm.. this may sound stupid, but what is the story of P&P all about? I've heard 'abt' it, but never read or seen it. Is this some fairy tale like cindrella or some stuff like Robinhood?  ???

Re: Pride & Prejudice: the new version [movie thre
jannah
11/23/05 at 09:45:47
salam, ok brothers let me 'splain u........ (as azhar usman says :-/ ) *spoilers* basically the story is about a family of 5 girls set around 19th century england.  so the mother is of course desperately trying to marry them off. two really wealthy guys *just happen to* show up in their neighborhood.  so the first one falls in love with the eldest girl, the other one at first does not like the second sister but over the course of the movie ends up falling in love with her and she with him. and there's some sub-plots and some adventures but thats basically what its about so why do girls love it? - every muslim girl has a mother who desperately wants to marry her off - who wouldn't want a rich, intelligent guy to fall in love with her after first dissing her - who hasn't had a proposal from a freak cousin/mr. collins type - we all want to wear the pretty dresses in the movie - who hasn't been brushed off by some guy cause they are at first 'not pretty enough' - and of course who doesn't love a happy ending so i hope you now understand and don't be jealous of mr darcy... i'm sure for your wives you are the mr darcy!! :)

Re: Pride & Prejudice: the new version [movie thre
jaihoon
11/23/05 at 11:29:57
??? dah... That's it??!!!  :o (I am still wondering what brkhalid said... Maybe that's how the world works  ;))

Re: Pride & Prejudice: the new version [movie thre
jannah
11/23/05 at 12:15:43
wsalam, what do u mean that's it!! isn't that enough :) ! it's a great movie/mini-series... the dialogue and scenes and actors are great... this is the A&E 5 hour one i'm talking about... haven't seen the new one yet... and yeah i have no idea what language brkhalid is speaking either?? maybe its an english thing?? " (Think of Sufism for bee keeping and you may have an idea of what I mean!!)" cheers ;)

Re: Pride & Prejudice: the new version [movie thre
Maliha
11/23/05 at 21:40:47
[slm] ummm..what's more blasphemous is that i have neither read/nor seen any of the movies... after laboriously getting thru "sense and sensibility" it kinda put me off Jane Austen..until i read in the introduction (which i always skip), that it wasn't one of her best works, go figure  ::) I still haven't puckered up the nerve to pick up another of her novels... but wow, it looks like i am really missing out...  :o So, should i read it? is it *that* good? Or just watch the movie? and is there an abbreviated version of the five hour movie? cuz five hours is way too long for a sleep deprived, constantly tired, new mommy  :P [wlm]

Re: Pride & Prejudice: the new version [movie thre
jannah
11/23/05 at 22:59:21
[wlm] If you didn't like sense and sensibility I don't think u'd like pride and prejudice because they are so similar in terms of time period, story and everything else. i think u just have to be a fan of those type of movies/books in order to really enjoy them.

Re: Pride & Prejudice: the new version [movie thre
Maliha
11/25/05 at 19:40:49
[slm] i feel dismissed from the girly circle  :( i wanna be a girrrrrrrrllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll :'( [wlm]

Re: Pride & Prejudice: the new version [movie thre
jannah
11/26/05 at 00:05:54
salam, so i saw the new version today!! and i have to say i didn't like it when i was watching it... i think i've watched the A&E 5 hour one wayyyy too many times and just can't stand to see it portrayed in a different way now. i even noticed when they said the lines differently!! *spoilers* i didn't like how they made the family look like dirt-poor farmers with animals running around and how they didn't have those pretty dresses and elegant balls in this one. they also made it seem like Lizzie hated her family and it wasn't like that at all. all the girls besides elizabeth seemed like giggly feather brains. and mr bingley was just as bad. the good things... i did like some of the scenery - breathtaking in parts like when she's at the top of the mountain or when darcy is walking towards her in the dawn light. ps nural_layl: you don't have to be a girl! you just have to be a fan of those historical romance type of movies i think, some ppl are, some ppl hate that stuff ;)

Re: Pride & Prejudice: the new version [movie thre
Siham
11/26/05 at 19:38:02
[slm]I actually wanted to see the new version of pride and prejudice last night, but they werent playing it at my nearest theater. . . so I ended up seen a different movie instead  [] Btw, I really liked the old version, it was sooo cute... my favorite part was when they were all at the dinning table and the guy suddenly said [i]'There's no life without wife'[/i] :D:D:D wassalaam.
11/26/05 at 19:38:37
Siham

Re: Pride & Prejudice: the new version [movie thre
jannah
11/26/05 at 19:50:29
[wlm] siham that's actually not the old version, that is the bollywood desified version Bride&Prejudice... which besides a loosely similar storyline is very diff... and yeah that song is hysterical....

Re: Pride & Prejudice: the new version [movie thre
BrKhalid
11/27/05 at 02:48:01
Asalaamu Alaikum ;-) [quote]hmm.. this may sound stupid, but what is the story of P&P all about? I've heard 'abt' it, but never read or seen it. Is this some fairy tale like cindrella or some stuff like Robinhood?[/quote] Jaihoon, I do believe that if it were not for the popularity of the 1995 TV version, there would be many more people who were unaware of this story so by no means feel in anyway deprived. To put things in to context Pride & Prejudice is a recognized text in almost all English Literature courses taken in the UK since it covers many themes which have been the source of much debate for years. As jannah has mentioned there are parallels in the story which can be drawn out even today but ultimately it is the simplicity of the girl meets boy/girl loses boy/girl gets boy narrative that I believe captures the attention of our other halves. From an Islamic perspective however, there are interesting comments which can be made in respect of family life/marriage/inheritance/backbiting/gossiping as well as the numerous issues from the dual emotions of the title itself. [quote]know this is blasphemy to most of u here but the Colin Firth version is not the best by far to me ( gasp    !). If its possible for anyone of u (especially those in the UK), try to get the OLD BBC version starring David Rintoul as Mr Darcy. I felt that was excellent.[/quote] Hmmm…one would surmise that you haven’t seen the 1940’s Laurence Olivier version yet ;) Btw there have been two sequels written to P&P taking the story on from where it finished in the original. [quote]PS BrKhalid Perhaps because most of us women do ended up with a Mr Collins as a husband that we DONT think of him as the hero    KIIIDDDDIINNNGGGG...[/quote] This could easily descend into an argument about the respective qualities of choosing a Mr C over a Mr D but I will refrain and suffice with saying there are plenty of Mr W’s out there!!

Re: Pride & Prejudice: the new version [movie thre
Siham
11/27/05 at 19:14:11
[slm] How many bride oops ... I mean pride and prejudice movies are out there lol yea I was talkin’ about this movie http://www.miramax.com/bride/ which is the wrong one obviously... Anyhow, that’s the only version that I’ve seen so far, so I guess it’s the old version for me then...  :D ;) wassalaam.
11/27/05 at 19:15:01
Siham

Re: Pride & Prejudice: the new version [movie thre
UmmWafi
11/28/05 at 03:58:53
[slm] Arghhh I hold all of you responsible for my latest movie marathon endeavours  :P I watched the Keira Knightley version, then I re-watched the Colin Firth version again then I re-watched the 1980s David Rintoul version (for the 18th time).  And the winner is..... BBC 1980s version with David Rintoul as Mr Darcy and Elizabeth Garvie as Lizzie.  Trust me gals..u hafta watch Elizabeth Garvie as Lizzie. She embodies Jane Austen's spirited, loving and wise Lizzie.  And Jane was actually more beautiful than Lizzie in this version.  In Colin Firth's version, Jane wasnt more beautiful than Jennifer Ehle.  But the Keira Knightley version is absolutely horrid !  The Laurence Olivier version is eye candy but umm...very very American. Okies...I am gonna put my political lobbying to good use: Watch the David Rintoul and ELizabeth Garvie version !!!! PS Bro Khalid Methink u are showing a very knowledgeable take on this subject. Sooo...how many times did YOU watch Pride and Prejudice ? To think Sis Maliha views this as a girly club...heh heh  :-X :-* :-* :-* :-* :-* :-/ :-/ :-/ :-/ :-/ :-/ :-/ :-* :-* :-* :-* :-*
11/28/05 at 04:02:31
UmmWafi

Re: Pride & Prejudice: the new version [movie thre
jannah
11/28/05 at 10:15:22
[wlm] Thanks for that political lobbying message ummwafi. :) I'm not sure if I'm ready to change my party affiliation from the colin firth/jen ehle version:)... i lov lov lov that one... (no pun intended for the keira knightly version ;)) but i guess in fairness i should definitely check it out -- is that the 1987 version btw? someone was telling me about that too. btw the american ending was very sappy i think, but they needed some type of closure. i've been reading some reviews and i guess the key is going in not comparing it to anything and just checking out the new version as its own 'version' or 'adaptation' of the book. i guess i'll have to watch it again cause i was very prejudiced against it not being able to stack up to the 6 hour one ;)
11/28/05 at 10:20:56
jannah

Re: Pride & Prejudice: the new version [movie thre
lala
11/28/05 at 23:59:57
[slm] isnt bridget jone's diary based on this story too ? seems like it to me... methinks... hey, isnt the dudes' name darcy? oh boy.. this book is way too popular.

Re: Pride & Prejudice: the new version [movie thre
jannah
11/30/05 at 14:00:23
salam, lala yes it is!! i never saw either of the bridget jones' movies... but remember Clueless (it's a modern adaptation of Emma) and that was pretty good

Re: Pride & Prejudice: the new version [movie thre
theOriginal
12/01/05 at 01:10:02
[slm] I hate Mr. Darcy.  I might be the only female alive.  Just something about him really icks me out. I'm sorry, I know this is like the cardinal sin of being female. Wasalaam.

Lobbying
UmmWafi
12/02/05 at 22:56:48
[slm] My final bid for the 1980 version  :D: A WORTHY ALTERNATIVE TO PRIDE AND PREJUDICE OF 1995 I always loved the Pride and Prejuidce series which was televised in 1980 and had to buy my video copies TWICE, I wore them out that much!! I always had a niggling feeling that there was stuff missing when watching the newer, glossier (longer)1995 version. Then those darlings at the BBC decided to re-release the 1980 version on DVD (alas only on Region 1) and lo! At least a quarter to a third of the missing material not present on the video version, was reincorporated! There is, however, a walking scene with a small party indicated by the excellent drawings that feature with the opening credits, and which I do recall seeing when the series was first transmitted, but it never made it onto the remastered dvd. Copyright reasons? I don't know. Or I just imagined it!! (Incidentally, those fabulous period drawings, each featuring the content of each episode have also been restored. The video versions spliced most episodes together, and relegated such drawings to the cutting room floor). Anyway, I've always preferred this version. Aside from the fact that the exquisite Elizabeth Garvie (delivering her lines with such gleeful, yet mannered eloquence - unlike the later, though admittedly assured Jennifer Ehle)and dashing David Rintoul, both spoiled me for anyone else (and that includes the personable Mr Firth!). The general style and air of the piece is a regal one. The actors are eloquent, elegant and slightly restrained (betraying their excellent classical stage training and what posture!!), unlike the more exuberant, more casual approach of the '95 cast (I think the latter style was to make the work more accessible to a 90's audience. Unfortunately, the cast, especially the girls, do 'gobble' their words at times. And those of the 'higher class' don't always convince. An example, take the round-shouldered, snickering '95 Caroline Bingley (atrocious). Then compare it with the divine Marsha Fitzalan's (80's) self-aggrandizing portrayal. Such posturing, such delicious snootiness!!) The older style, I think, is far closer to the true spirit of Jane Austen's masterpeice. It is 'stagey' and more 'set-oriented', but it gives it a more authentic, intimate feel. As to the critisims aimed at Mr Rintoul's portrayal of Darcy as being cold and distant (even wooden), we must remember that in the book we don't see Darcy as often as we do in the '95 version (the '95 makers made it as much his story as Elizabeth's, which worked to great effect). Mr Rintoul's portrayal is, again, truer to the spirit of the book (in which Darcy is aloof, and then some), and if you watch him closely, the emotions are simmering there, if barely held in check. I think his approach is keenly judged (just different from Firth's). Fay Weldon's adaptation is tighter, beautifully structured and performed with a grace and style rarely present in many period dramas of the present day. All in all, a fantastic re-issue, a must for any P & P addict AND with those excellent additional scenes not seen in over twenty years!! Bravo BBC! The definitive film version of Austen's best-loved book "Pride and Prejudice" has been filmed three times: once in the early 1940s starring Greer Garson and Elizabeth Bennet, again in 1980 when it was presented by BBC as a five-part series on Masterpiece Theater, and finally in 1996, as a six-part series on the A&E channel. The second version is the least known, which is too bad, because it's definitely the best of the three. Most people who watched the A&E version of the book were drawn by the casting of Colin Firth in the role of Darcy. Let me say with some trepidation, lest I get jumped en masse and drawn and quartered by Firth groupies, that I thought he was miscast in that role. The BBC version had no big names, but the casting was almost perfect. Jennifer Ehle in the role of Elizabeth Bennet in the A&E film was excellent. But whereas Ehle did a very fine job playing Elizabeth Bennet, Elizabeth Garvie, in the BBC version, was Elizabeth Bennet. Of all the three films made of the book, The BBC version stays closest to the book by far. The Hollywood film turned the book inside out until one almost couldn't tell what book the film was based on, and the A&E version, although it adhered fairly close to the book, took the liberty of rewriting some of Austen's famous lines. One does not rewrite Austen. Period. BBC has finally reissued this film on DVD, and added several scenes which had been spliced out of the old VHS version. The cast of the BBC version is superb. Elizabeth Garvie is so much Elizabeth Bennet that she could have been invented for the part. She brings out all the character's lively intelligence, impulsiveness and spirit. She even looks like Elizabeth Bennet as Austen describes her, with her petite, slender frame and her enormous dark eyes. She brings the part so much to life that we imagine we are seeing her just as Austen meant her to be. David Rintoul as Darcy aroused some criticism among some viewers who complained that his portrayal of Darcy is "wooden". Well, let's face it, Darcy was wooden in the book. Did Darcy ever crack a smile except in the last two chapters? Firth wanted to create his own conception of Darcy; sensitive, vulnerable, very much a 90's Darcy. He did a convincing job of it; the only problem is, Firth's Darcy isn't Austen's Darcy. Rintoul portrays Darcy just as Austen wrote him, and he certainly looks the part -- tall, dark, stunningly handsome, very much the rich arrogant snob asking for a comeuppance. The interplay between Garvie and Rintoul is delightful, much more so than Ehle and Firth. Garvie and Rintoul are more of a contrast, as Austen meant them to be; her sparkling wit and vivacity is set off by his steadiness and gravity. Two of the best scenes in the film are when Elizabeth refuses Darcy's proposal, and when they run into each other at Pemberley. When Elizabeth tells Darcy he's the last man in the world she could ever be prevailed on to marry, her eyes flash enough sparks to set him on fire. And at their meeting at Pemberley, their mutual confusion and embarrassment, as portrayed by Garvie and Rintoul, is priceless to behold. The other cast members look and act just as we picture them while reading the book. Mr. Bennet is a benevolent, impatient authority figure, his contempt for his wife's stupidity abundant in every line. Mrs. Bennet is a ditzy airhead, concerned only with gossip, the latest fashions, and marrying off her five daughters. The sisters all give competent performances but Sabina Franklyn is especially worth watching as the serenely beautiful Jane Bennet. The one disappointment was Lady Catherine DeBourgh. I had pictured her as a heavy-set Gorgon of a woman, and here she appears as a dried-up shrew, although she's evil enough. But Mr. Collins is dead-on perfect; a hilarious mixture of pomposity and servility. My favorite character of all in this production is Elizabeth's Aunt Gardiner as played by Barbara Shelley; her calm reassurance and common sense are exactly what Elizabeth needs to support her under her own confused feelings about Darcy, and when she is faced with the family crisis caused by Lydia's elopement with Wickham. Ably directed by Cyril Coke, this version of "Pride and Prejudice" is the one to watch. It's truest to the book and the characters are as Austen wrote them. It's the definitive Austen movie. Judy Lind A most faithful and delightful adaptation As P&P book fan I decided to purchase all available adaptations and as I have read so many positive reviews here at the amazon.co.uk website to raise my curiosity I bought the '80 BBC version. First of all let me tell you that watching the film was pure delight. Fay Weldon's script stayed faithful to the book without destroying the excitement or lessening its pleasures. I especially liked the end which was too short and precipitate in the '95 version: there you had no time to enjoy the part before Elizabeth & Darcy actually profess their love for each other, here it was more detailed and leisurely, which I found very positive. To my disappointment in the '95 version there was no scene with Mrs Bennet rejoicing over Lizzy's engagement which is of course much more fun than Mr Bennet expressing his concerns and doubts. Here the excellent Priscilla Morgan was given the chance and I liked it very much. The actors were all excellent. Elizabeth Garvie IS Elizabeth Bennet both physically and spiritually. Her sparkling eyes expressed all her emotions, her wit, playfulness and intelligence - just as Jane Austen described her. I actually liked Jennifer Ehle's performance up to now, but compared to Garvie she fades away and I actually discovered that she SMIRKS instead of smiling playfully or even mischievously. Garvie could act playfully and even challengingly without being impertinent or impolite: J Ehle simply couldn't.

Re: Pride & Prejudice: the new version [movie thre
jannah
12/03/05 at 00:29:39
salam, wow ummwafi, u seem to have really liked the 1980 one... i have to say i LOVE the A&E version and i could watch it a hundred times... but one of these days i'll check out your elizabeth garvie ;) thanx for the review!!
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