Comments on: Pride and Prejudice 1980: A Must For Every Austen Fan

By: Mary

Mary — Sun, 21 Mar 2021 17:12:00 +0000

This was the very first Pride and Prejudice I ever saw and because of that, I saw no flaws in it at all! I do kind of agree with your view of Mr Darcy in this version and with everything else you said about it! I still love it a lot, even though the one with Colin Firth is my favorite.

By: Shuffling Wombat

Shuffling Wombat — Thu, 15 Oct 2020 14:56:39 +0000

A fair review. I would begin with the obvious and say this version is more Elizabeth’s story, as in the book, rather than Elizabeth’ and Darcy’s story. Regarding performances: (i) the harsher version of Mr. Bennett is justified by the text, and is not mellowed by the book scene where he is only content when convinced there is genuine love and respect between Elizabeth and Darcy; (ii) I’m going to be unpopular and say that if Darcy is too obviously sympathetic, how does an acute observer like Elizabeth miss his qualities? I think David Rintoul plays a “book” Darcy; (iii) Mr. Wickham seems a little old and less dashing than say Adrian Lukis; (iv) the Gardners are excellent, the parents Elizabeth never had; (v) Miss Bingley is wonderfully haughty, and her brother seems a fitting friend for Darcy, not like the twit from the film.
It is a bit studio bound, and suffers from an overly quick wrap up (with the unlikely device of Darcy sending Elizabeth a note). I’d say this was an excellent adaptation, and I would put it on a level with the 1995 miniseries.

By: Emma

Emma — Mon, 22 Jun 2020 21:53:43 +0000

I think this Lizzie is just so fun! And she isn’t quite as obviously beautiful as Keira Knightley or Jennifer Ehle so you can kind of see him finding her cuter the more he sees her. And I totally agree with you re:Darcy. He is just TOO cold for my taste.

By: Maarit Lehto

Maarit Lehto — Fri, 09 Aug 2019 07:08:41 +0000

I loved this series! It is definitely the best adaptation of the book. I think Rintouls Darcy was too proud to show his feelings but he did like Elizabeth and grew to love her in spite of her silly mother and younger sisters.

By: Dixie-Ann

Dixie-Ann — Tue, 22 Dec 2015 02:07:00 +0000

In reply to Elinor Cackett.

Thanks for your comment! Elizabeth Garvie is a really wonderful Lizzie I agree. I am a Darcy fan, so I need a good Darcy, and since he is one of the main characters, I think he should be portrayed well, even if he’s not a particular viewer’s favourite, he can still be interesting.

I’ve been wanting to see that Timothy Dalton version of Jane Eyre. I’ve heard good things about it. I think it does the actors in these adaptations credit that they’re fascinating enough to hold our attention even when the setting is not particularly eye-catching.

By: Elinor Cackett

Elinor Cackett — Fri, 04 Dec 2015 02:29:00 +0000

This is actually the first adaptation of P and P that I saw. It has my favourite Lizzie. As I was never really a fan of Darcy I suppose his stiff characterisation in this one never bothered me. The stage-like quality is something I’ve noticed about BBC adaptations from that time like the wonderful Timothy Dalton Jane Eyre which dates them quite a bit. Great and insightful review : ).