Austen
powers
By Cheryl Eddy
TYPE PRIDE AND Prejudice into the search
engine of the Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com), and the flood of Jane Austen
love pours forth: there's a 2003 Mormon-ized version, several lesser-known TV
renditions – most not available for home viewing including a 1952 take featuring
Peter Cushing (!) as Mr. Darcy – and some punny, in-name-only homages
(Pride and Extreme Prejudice, Snide and Prejudice). Look below for the five
Prides you can't live without; make it six, if you find time to sneak in a
reading of the novel itself. 'Pride and Prejudice' (1940)Format:
theatrical film Interpretation: faithful Key players: Greer
Garson (Elizabeth Bennet), Maureen O'Sullivan (Jane Bennet) Darcy: Sir
Laurence Olivier Are we excessively diverted? Oh yeah. Golden-age Hollywood
greatness, with gowns by Adrian and some rather incredible hats. Aldous Huxley
cowrote the script. 'Pride and Prejudice' (1995)Format: two-part
BBC miniseries Interpretation: faithful Key players: Jennifer
Ehle (Elizabeth Bennet), Alison Steadman (Mrs. Bennet), Julia Sawalha (Lydia Bennet)
Darcy: Colin Firth, who's now doomed to a career of being typecast in
similar roles thanks to an insatiable public response to his snooty-sexy performance.
Are we excessively diverted? Indeed. Firth's wet-shirt scene may be
the main thing anyone remembers about this version, but Ehle (Possession)
is perfectly wonderful as Lizzie. Plus, the five-hour run time allows for the
most complete adaptation yet. 'Bridget Jones's Diary' (2001)Format:
book, theatrical film Interpretation: modern-day, with slapstick and
single-gal neurosis galore Key players: Renée Zellweger (Bridget
Jones, the Elizabeth Bennet character), Jim Broadbent (Bridget's dad), Hugh Grant
(Daniel Cleaver, the Wickham character) Darcy: Colin Firth (again);
here, he's a snooty-sexy lawyer who wears hideously ugly holiday sweaters. Are
we excessively diverted? Yeah, sure. The film's use of pop music to stand
in for emotional resonance gets old, fast. But Zellweger is charming, and Firth
can do no wrong (you know you liked What a Girl Wants). The Bridget
Jones sequel, however, sucks. 'Bride and Prejudice' (2004)Format:
theatrical film Interpretation: modern-day, with a Bollywood musical
twist Key players: Aishwarya Rai (Lalita Bakshi, the Elizabeth Bennet
character), Naveen Andrews (Balraj Bingley), Anupam Kher (Mr. Bakshi) Darcy:
Martin Henderson, a.k.a. "that guy from The Ring" Are we
excessively diverted? A few complaints aside – the cultural gaps between
the couple are laid on a little thick; Henderson is bland; and also, would anyone
as stunning as Rai really have trouble finding a husband? – props to director
Gurinder Chadha for this energetic, colorful update. 'Pride and Prejudice'
(due fall 2005)Format: theatrical film Interpretation:
faithful to Austen Key players: Keira Knightley (Elizabeth Bennet),
Dame Judy Dench (Lady Catherine De Bourgh), Brenda Blethyn (Mrs. Bennet), Donald
Sutherland (Mr. Bennet) Darcy: Matthew MacFadyen, a Brit known to U.S.
audiences for appearing on the A&E series MI-5. Are we excessively
diverted? Sight unseen, there's no telling. The casting of the older generation
is airtight, but the unproven Knightley misses (King Arthur) as often as
she scores (Bend It Like Beckham). Cheryl Eddy
|