Battle of the Adaptations: Pride and Prejudice

Pride and Prejudice (1995) vs. Pride & Prejudice (2005)

 

 

Here are the two best known productions of Jane Austen’s legendary ‘Pride and Prejudice’ that was first published in 1813 (Happy 200^th birthday) and tells the story of witty Elizabeth Bennett and the proud and handsome Mr Darcy who is blessed with ten thousand a year. For the sake of getting to the point and comparing these two adaptations, I am going to assume that you already know the story and if not I order you to immediately read the book because it is a beautiful masterpiece that anybody can enjoy.

First, I will lay out the main difference in my opinion; Pride and Prejudice (1995) is a BBC TV mini-series, which obviously means that it is more detailed in regards to the plot as the 2005 adaptation which just over 2 hours in length. Nevertheless, I believe that 2005 covers the story perfectly without making it seemed rushed.



The famous lake scene

Personally, my favourite is the 2005 version of the book, although I often find myself alone in this view. Obviously, 1995 has the benefit of Colin Firth, who is absolutely perfect in everything he does, in the unforgettable lake scene which makes everyone’s hearts flutter however I find the miniseries lacking in a little ‘oomph’ and it feels a little bland in comparison. The aforementioned lake scene is the only memorable scene in my view, in comparison, there are so many scenes in the 2005 film which are not only fantastically adapted from the books but are brilliantly acted and cinematically beautiful.

 Undeniable tension

Take, for example, the Netherfield Ball scene, where the other dances all disappear so that Lizzie and Mr Darcy are dancing alone in the empty ball room; this is a perfect representation of the tension that is described in the books. Also, the scene where Mr Darcy makes his first disastrous proposal, although Colin Firth as the nervous and stuttering Mr Darcy is spot-on, Keira Knightley and Matthew MacFayden seem to bounce off each other as they fight it out in the rain. It is such a tense and thrilling scene that it almost makes you forget that you have already read the book. To me, that is a sign of a fantastic adaptation; that it still makes you feel anxious to see what happens next.


Mr Darcy clearly failed the lesson in proposing to girls

Another reason as to why I prefer the 2005 adaptation of the book is the casting. I prefer the cast of the 2005 adaptation. (The only exceptions to this which I can remember from the top of my head are Colin Firth, who I will say again, is absolutely perfect, and Donald Sutherland whose pearly white Hollywood teeth send shivers down my spine.) Keira Knightey, to me, was born to play Lizzie Bennett. She has the exact look that I would expect. She is tall and thin;, not at all a rosy-cheeked beauty like her sister Jane, who is played by Rosamund Pike, who captures the butter-wouldn’t-melt allure of her character. On the other hand, as superficial as it may sound, Jennifer Ehle and Susannah Harker don’t fit in to the images that I have of Jane and Lizzie when I read the book. I also feel that Knightley has the sparkle of Lizzie Bennett; she can capture the sarcasm and humour of Lizzie, which makes her an equal to Mr Darcy and is to me her best feature. On the other hand, Ehle seems to be a little flat.

Of course, these are just a few of my opinions and you will have your own which I hope you will write in the comments below. Do you agree or disagree? Which is your favourite of the two, or do you prefer another adaptation? Are there any other important differences between the adaptations that you feel should be mentioned?

Also, being a blog about books, it is my duty to tell you to read Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, although I would give this advice to you even if I wasn’t in charge of a book blog. I truly believe it is a book that everybody should read at least once. Even somebody like me, who sometimes finds it hard to read ‘old books’ Pride and Prejudice was an enjoyable read that kept me turning the pages.

 

(Unfortunately, none of the pictures used belong to me, not even this fantastic meme)

 

'Neil Gaiman in conversation with Claire Armitstead' & The Ocean at the End of the Lane

 



The date was Monday 17th June, the time is 19:00, the location was the Peacock Theatre in London where The Royal Society of Literature were holding an event called 'Neil Gaiman in conversation with Claire Armitstead' and where I was sitting in the fourth row.

 

Read that last bit over. I was in the fourth row in the same room as Neil Gaiman. Now, imagine my excitement.

 

Neil Gaiman is basically my favourite author/writer/genius/person in the entire world thanks to his amazing writing skills, his endless imagination, witty humour, great works such as Coraline, Stardust, Neverwhere and of course those Doctor Who episodes (The Doctor's Wife is my favourite ever). Neil Gaiman is, in simple terms, my hero. If I could achieve even half of what Neil Gaiman has in his life, it will be more than I could ever hope for.

 

Neil Gaiman sauntered onto the stage at exactly 19:00 and he looked exactly like he does in the photos with the crazy hair and the all-black clothes and the confidence of somebody who knows they are a legend. With the hair and the reputation, I guess Neil Gaiman is sort of to literature what Slash is to music, minus the drugs and the alcohol and the crazy rock 'n' roll antics. I clutched the signed, first edition hardback copy of 'The Ocean at the End of the Lane' that I bought with childish excitement and when he read an extract from the book, I made a mental note to remember that moment when I came to that particular part of the book.

 

Overall, the evening was amazing, Neil Gaiman was funnier than I expected him to be and gave hilarious anecdotes that had everyone in stitches, such as his mistake in reccommending Chloe by Stephen King to his daughter while she was still young and Stephen King's advice to him as an author ("Enjoy it"). I also decided that if I couldn't grow to become an amazing author like Neil Gaiman I would grow to be an amazing journalist like Claire Armitstead.

 

Thus far, I have started the new book and am half way through. The words flow like poetry, a characteristic of Neil Gaiman's writing that I love, the characters are intriguing (Neil Gaiman wouldn't say whether or not the Hempstock family are witches), and I can't wait to find out the key to the mystery of the storyline.

 

I will update again when I have finished reading it.

 

(I do notice that I always refer to Neil Gaiman as 'Neil Gaiman'. I tried several times to simply write 'Gaiman' or 'the author' to make sentences sound nicer but he is such a legend to me that I have to write his whole name.)