Pride and Prejudice (BBC, 1980)
by Cyril Coke
List Price:
Our Price: $8.99
You Save: $5.99 (40%)
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Buy Used: from $3.30 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD details
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD details
Actor: David Rintoul, Elizabeth Garvie, Emma Jacobs, Moir Leslie, Sabina FranklynDirector: Cyril Coke
Brand: Warner Brothers
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC, Original recording remastered
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 265 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-08-24
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: BBC Warner
DVD Reviews of Pride and Prejudice (BBC, 1980)
DVD Review: Faithful, Witty and Well Acted
Summary: 5 Stars
As a Jane Austen aficionado, I inevitably judge movie adaptions of her books by how faithfully the movie follows her script. PRIDE AND PREJUDICE is one of the most frequently adapted of her works, but while most begin well frequently time constraints cause the director to compress and change frantically in the middle or the end until what one has is a travesty rather than an adaption. The lovely thing about this BBC adaption is that time is taken. The plot proceeds, by and large, as Jane wrote it, with letters being written and read in the voice of the character who wrote them with the recipient reacting for the camera. This causes the action to unfold in a way that matches my visualization when I read the book. I did note the omission of one scene near the end. The scene where Elizabeth has to convince her father that she has changed her mind about Darcy has sadly been omitted, but this is the only major scene from the book that does not occur in this adaption.
Another match for my fictional reverie is the way the cast so completely inhabit their roles. David Rintoul may not be the most passionate Darcy, but his striking appearance and stately air match my impression of this character. Elizabeth Garvie is a lively, witty Elizabeth Bennett complete to the sparkling eyes. All the other characters are well done: Mr. Collins, Bingley, and the Bennett sisters. No one performance here is the best ever done, but the acting here is exact and splendid with no weaknesses.
Some small liberties have been taken; I find them entertaining and allowable because they are small. This lush BBC production is highly recommended if one has the time to enjoy all five episodes!
DVD Review: This one is my favorite so far
Summary: 4 Stars
So many people have provided exzcellent, detailed reviews that I wanted to add only two points. The first is that the editing of the BBC serialization for VHS/DVD seemed a bit haphazard and omitted many scenes that made conversations and transitions smooth. If I remember correctly, there were six episodes, and the home version is significantly shorter. The second is that each version of Elizabeth portrays her with less of the amused detachment that characterized her in the book, and with more ill temper. I believe that, in the book, Darcy was not a central figure in Elizabeth's life until Wickham began to weave his web of lies about him. Had Elizabeth not been interested in Wickham, Darcy would have been a very minor player in her life. After all, she had been apprised from the beginning that he had no interest in her, and he was socially so much her superior (despite her being a gentleman's daughter)that she could have had no expectations from that quarter. Darcy was merely a source of great amusement to Elizabeth until she was deceived into thinking him Wickham's malefactor. The A & E version created a chronically cranky Elizabeth, and, in the latest version with Keira Knightly, I don't think she spent five minutes of screen time in a happy frame of mind. These are the modern interpretations of how Elizabeth would behave if she were a contemporary of the viewer, not as she would have been in Jane Austen's time. A sprightly, lighthearted, but witty Elizabeth gets my vote over the dour, self-involved versions. DVD Review: Missing Key P&P Ingredient: Colin Firth
Summary: 3 Stars
Although my title is a bit tongue in cheek, this version of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice is not quite as fulfilling as the BBC version starring Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth that would come a decade and a half later. If you love the regency era, however, you'll enjoy looking at the costumes and sets. And it's a satisfying visual adventure for any P&P lover. The sets do seem a bit cramped, as if it's Longbourne in a sound stage instead of just Longbourne, but, of course, I was spoiled with the cinematography of the BBC version before I watched this. If this is your first Pride and Prejudice movie experience, skip it and try the BBC version or the Kiera Knightley version (if you don't have six hours) first. But for the lover of all things P&P, it's a must-see.DVD Review: Missing Key P&P Ingredient: Colin Firth
Summary: 3 Stars
Although my title is a bit tongue in cheek, this version of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice is not quite as fulfilling as the BBC version starring Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth that would come a decade and a half later. If you love the regency era, however, you'll enjoy looking at the costumes and sets. And it's a satisfying visual adventure for any P&P lover. The sets do seem a bit cramped, as if it's Longbourne in a sound stage instead of just Longbourne, but, of course, I was spoiled with the cinematography of the BBC version before I watched this. If this is your first Pride and Prejudice movie experience, skip it and try the BBC version or the Kiera Knightley version (if you don't have six hours) first. But for the lover of all things P&P, it's a must-see.DVD Review: BBC Version OK
Summary: 3 Stars
The BBC version is worth viewing. It is not of the same quality of the A & E version however. It is like watching a play on televisin. The man who played Mr Darcy is very good, very stuffy as one would expect.
Description of Pride and Prejudice (BBC, 1980)
Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 02/22/2005 Starring: Desmond Adams Edward Arthur Rating: Nr Director: Cyril CokeIn Jane Austen's classic novel Pride and Prejudice, the arrival of a young, well-off, eligible man named Mr. Bingley sends the Bennet household--with five girls of a marrying age--into a tizzy. But it's the introduction of Mr. Bingley's friend, Mr. Darcy (played with an imperious scowl by David Rintoul), that sets in motion the fate of Elizabeth Bennet (the adorable Elizabeth Garvie), resolved only after a labyrinth of social and personal complexities. Austen's novels are miracles of skillful plotting, fusing a rich understanding of psychological motivation with whimsical turns of chance. This superb BBC adaptation from 1980 zips along, thanks to lively performances, fluid direction, and a keen grasp of the wit of Austen's dialogue (expertly translated to the screen by British novelist Fay Weldon) and her satirical characters, who range from clever and kind to utterly odious. Due to its faithfulness and deep appreciation of the material, this five-episode miniseries stands up against any other film or television adaptation (at least nine to date), though Rintoul may not sets hearts aflutter the way Colin Firth did in the also excellent 1995 miniseries. --Bret Fetzer
Comedy DVDs
DVD Video
- Action & Adventure
- African American Cinema
- Animation
- Anime & Manga
- Art House & International
- Classics
- Comedy
- Cult Movies
- Documentary
- Drama
- Educational
- Fitness & Yoga
- Gay & Lesbian
- Horror
- Kids & Family
- Military & War
- Music Video & Concerts
- Musicals & Performing Arts
- Mystery & Suspense
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Special Interests
- Sports
- Television
- Westerns
Bestsellers in Comedy DVDs
Gosford ParkUniversal; Release date: 2002-06-25; DVD
Best price: $2.95
Price in other shops:
Ladies in LavenderSony; Release date: 2005-12-06; DVD
Best price: $4.70
Price in other shops:
Waking Ned DevineRelease date: 1999-06-01; DVD
Best price: $3.98
Price in other shops:
Shakespeare in Love (Miramax Collector's Series)PALTROW,GWYNETH; Release date: 1999-12-07; DVD
Best price: $4.58
Price in other shops:
Mansfield Park (1999)Release date: 2000-07-11; DVD
Best price: $5.07
Price in other shops:
Masterpiece Theatre: Northanger AbbeyWGBH BOSTON VIDEO; Release date: 2008-01-22; DVD
Best price: $13.50
Price in other shops:
Billy ElliotUniversal; Release date: 2001-04-17; DVD
Best price: $6.36
Price in other shops:
Love Actually (Widescreen Edition)Universal; Release date: 2004-04-27; DVD
Best price: $5.75
Price in other shops:
Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Special Edition)Sony; Release date: 2001-02-27; DVD
Best price: $5.86
Price in other shops:
Sense & Sensibility (Special Edition)Sony; Release date: 1999-08-24; DVD
Best price: $5.78
Price in other shops:
Similar DVDs, VHS Video, Audio CDs
Emma (BBC, 1972)Warner Brothers; Release date: 2004-08-24; DVD
Best price: $2.04
Price in other shops:
EmmaRelease date: 1999-01-05; DVD
Best price: $4.92
Price in other shops:
Masterpiece Theatre: Northanger AbbeyWGBH BOSTON VIDEO; Release date: 2008-01-22; DVD
Best price: $13.49
Price in other shops:
Sense & Sensibility (Special Edition)Sony; Release date: 1999-08-24; DVD
Best price: $5.78
Price in other shops:
Sense and Sensibility (BBC, 1981)Warner Brothers; Release date: 2004-08-24; DVD
Best price: $2.13
Price in other shops:
Emma (A&E, 1997)A&E; Release date: 1999-10-26; Published: 1997-01-01; DVD
Best price: $8.02
Price in other shops:
Pride & PrejudiceUNIVERSAL STUDIOS HOME ENTERTAIN.; Release date: 2006-02-28; DVD
Best price: $6.38
Price in other shops:
Pride and PrejudiceWarner Brothers; Release date: 2006-10-10; DVD
Best price: $9.89
Price in other shops:
PersuasionSony; Release date: 2000-02-01; DVD
Best price: $7.72
Price in other shops:
Pride and Prejudice (A&E, 1996)Release date: 1998-07-01; DVD
Best price: $607.73