I had the opportunity, during a particularly enjoyable headache, to be browbeat into watch an old, old black & white movie by a family member. I grudgingly accepted, and made two surprising realizations. First, this old movie wasnt too bad, in fact, it was pretty good. Secondly, it was the 1940 version of “Pride & Prejudice”! Well.I must admit I was surprised, since Im not a great fan of Jane Austen (*getting ready to be pummeled by the Caledon Social Clubs combined purses and fans), but this led me into a discussion about the best version of “Pride & Prejudice” which one is the best? Ive actually seen four of the five versions, starting with:
1) 1940 Pride & Prejudice, [B&W;], with Greer Garson as “Miss Bennet” & Laurence Olivier as “Mr. Darcy”. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032943/
2) 1980 UK TV Mini-Series, with Elizabeth Garvine as “Miss Bennet”. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078672/
3) 1995 BBC Mini-Series, with Jennifer Ehle as “Miss Bennet” and Colin Firth as “Mr. Darcy”. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112130/
4) 2005 Bride & Prejudice, Indian production, with Lalita Bakshi as “Miss Bennet” and Martin Henderson as “Mr. Darcy”. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0361411/
5) 2005 Pride & Prejudice, with Kiera Knightly as “Miss Bennet” and Matthew MacFayden as “Mr. Darcy”. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0414387/
I realize there are more versions of “Pride & Prejudice” around, mostly early versions(1938, 1952, 1958, and 1967), but for the sake of brevity, I have only listed the most commonly played versions for the poll, with an “other category” for the aforementioned versions. I will leave voting open until the 15th of August, after which time, I shall post the results.
