Pride and Prejudice (1995)

The BBC's 1995 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice achieved some notoriety by introducing Colin Firth's Mr. Darcy to the romantic dreams of ladies (and presumably some gentlemen) everywhere. The Andrew Davies's script is solid and unassuming; with a five hour running time he doesn't need to make the same sacrifices as writers of film adaptations, and Austen's dialogue can speak for itself. Some of his more obvious divergences from the novel, like the decision to include not one but two scenes of a half-naked, dripping wet Darcy, proved more inspired as marketing than as storytelling.

Simon Langton's direction is uninspiring but generally competent; it's hard to know who to blame for the worst issues, like the occasional use of slow motion to extend a too-short cut (the editor?) and Elizabeth's bizarre hallucinations of giant Darcy heads in mirrors.

Most of the cast are good, though it's somewhat problematic that Jane (Susannah Harker) is not, as she should be, more attractive than Elizabeth (Jennifer Ehle). Mr. Collins (David Bamber) is amusing enough, but too unctuous and vaguely sleazy; he's more creepy than pathetic. Lydia (Julia Sawalha, later Ab Fab's Saffy) is just a little too shrill.

Still, I can't complain. I read Pride and Prejudice to fall in love with Elizabeth, and this is the only film adaptation that lets me do the same. What do I care about washed-out colours when I can't stop smiling?

The clumsy direction -- the pop-up Darcy-heads were flashbacks to ZombieURL -- and second-rate cinematography were harder to swallow on a third viewing. Barbara Leigh-Hunt's sourly perfect Lady Catherine and Crispin Bonham-Carter's affable Bingley are still flawless, but doubts have crept in over everything else. A good adaptation. Not great.