Film Review: 1980 BBC Pride and Prejudice by Janne Klassen

 Pride and Prejudice 

1980

BBC. Directed by Cyril Coke

Adapted by Fay Weldon. Lizzy played by Elizabeth Garvie and Darcy played by David Rintoul.

3 out of 4 stars.

What happens to a piece of art when it ages to the point it is unable to engage the audience. Can we call it ingenious if the newest generation finds it uninteresting and almost unbearable to watch? Yes, yes we can. This particular version of Pride and Prejudice captured Austen’s words and brought them to life as best they could at the time. The miniseries did an excellent good job of casting the characters over all and there were not many extreme diversions from the text. 

 How close I felt the episodes were to the text struck me the most. I think although it is a much older version it is worth checking out if you are an Austen fan or if you want to introduce someone to the life of the Bennett family without having to twist their arm to reading the book.  You will need to make sure you have enough time to devote to it. Each episode is an hour long and ending on cliff hanger just about every time. To watch it take just as long as to read it but this is required for any film or series to be able to include everything.  

The dialogue was almost word for word with the book. The series would also take time to have Lizzy staring off as you hear her inner most thoughts. There was once or twice where it went on a bit long but it was overall an effective method because otherwise it might have just been cut out.  They also used characters to speak out the letters where the novel would have simply displayed them. 

                    When watching this version it would be very easy to follow along with the text but I did feel it did not age well. The manner it was presented though accurate to the novel was not as engaging as the current generation expect from a film. So while I am quite fond of older films I understand the difficulty in attempting to get a modern generation to watch this miniseries. While this does work quite well for Austen’s understated plot and descriptions, a film is not worth anything if you cannot get people to watch it. 

The most successful aspect of this the film was the casting. These characters will forever be my Bennett family. Elizabeth Garvie (Lizzy) had memorizing eyes was lovely but not ironically beautiful as some depictions of Lizzy have been. My favorite casting would be Tessa Peake-Jones as Mary. She looked almost boyish.  Her manner of speech fit Mary’s self educated almost snobby manner. The funniest scene with Mary would be at the ball where Lizzy is asked to sing. After Lizzy finishes Mary awkwardly sits herself down at the piano. She proceeds to play ad sing. Tessa Jones was able to articulate Mary’s inadequate ability to be aware how she is truly seen. The party’s uneasiness is evident as Mary continues to humiliate herself.

The only person I would wish improvement upon is David Rintoul, Darcy. He came off as a little creepy when staring at Lizzy. He squinted his eyes and hardly ever smiled.However It could have been the way the camera tended to linger on him when Lizzy would catch him looking at her but Darcy just left me feeling weird after a while. As the film progressed Darcy did lighten up just as he did in the novel but overall he stayed a bit creepy and unnerving.

So despite its age I do recommend this series to anyone who has read Pride and prejudice and can look past its age. It is easy to get access to as well as to follow. It might not be engaging and romantic but it accurately portrayed Pride and Prejudice.