Focus Features Accomplishes What A & E Wasn't Able to Do
By Christopher Kendalls
April 3, 2006
Takeaways Vastly improves upon what was, at the time, the latest version of the film Newer, lesser known actors are mixed in with veterans of their profession Complex camera angles and sophisticated shooting techniques add to the artistic feel of this film When Universal Studios released a newer, reinterepreted version of Jane Austin's classic epic
Pride and Prejudice there were skeptics, there were pundits, naysayers, to be sure. I should know because I was one. Yet, surprisingly, the famous version heralded in through A & E featuring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle was soon a distant memory by this reviewer. This story finally receives the treatment that is deserves.
Not only are all of the characters fleshed out here, but this interpretation has a few extra scenes that enhance the experience for the viewer. I did watch the A & E version, of which I think lent itself more to the aesthetic of the time in which it was filmed than it did that of the original story. This movie needed some depth, and we see a side of the Bingley's, as well as Mr. Darcy, that we hadn't before. In spite of it's shorter running length, 2 hours and 9 minutes, 8 of which appear to be credits, this interpretation is a far departure from earlier incarnations of this masterpiece by Jane Austin.