Pride and Prejudice (Mini Series) (Special Edition) (1996)

I loved every minute and was sorry when it ended. Colin Firth gave a great run as Darcy but missed it on the "heat" during his first refused proposal scene. I think the newest version of P&P got that part right, with them in one another's faces, wanting to kiss in the middle of arguing, but also confounded by their desire during the confrontation (though the new version is not faithful to Austen's dialogue or settings as is this A&E version). Alas, no version can have everything right, but this is about as "perfect" and "complete" as it gets. Sink into your couch and expect to watch all your DVDs in one night!
 
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I really, really don't like romantic dramas. My wife makes me watch them from time to time, but I'd much rather watch physical comedy or shoot-em-ups. But there is something really special about this one. I've watched it a dozen times--sometimes without my wife. I can't really say what it is. The scenery is gorgeous, the acting/casting excellent, and the story compelling. But it's still a chick flick, so I can't explain why I enjoy it so much. My other favorite A&E production is David Copperfield. Maggie Smith is phenomenal in that movie.
 
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I enjoyed this version of P & P more than any I've seen.
 
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The movie was GREAT! It seemed to go just a bit too long, however, I do understand why they let it go so long, (they wanted to you to "live" the movie)... Worth watching and/or buying!
 
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This was definitely the best production of Pride and Prejudice that I've ever seen. Everyone performing in it does a spectacular job from the main characters, Mr. Darcy (the now famous and very dashing Colin Firth) and Elizabeth Bennett (the accomplished Ms. Jennifer Ehrl), to all of the supporting cast around them. Another wonderful thing about this movie is that it gets better everytime you watch it. More and more nuances are revealed in and by the actors and you become more captivated even though you know the ending. This cast really does credit to Ms. Austen's genius. This special edition is really fun because it has behind the scenes footage and a couple of other bells and whistles. Just for the record, the first customer review of this edition is not accurate. She must have gotten a bad copy or either her settings are off on her machine. I had no problem watching this on any of my machines at home. We have one DVD player and two computer with DVD programs on them at my house and this plays just beautifully on all three. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys slower paced but entertaining movies.
 
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This BBC/A&E production is one of the most well made films my wife and I have ever seen - superb acting, costumes, sets and location, music, directing, editing!! Like others here, we have watched the A&E VHS edition over and over. (It is a 'chick flick', but I enjoy romantic movies, too.) Our excitement over getting the DVD faded upon loading both the VHS tape and DVD and comparing the images and sound. The widescreen image on the DVD is definitely more clear on our 50" high res screen, and it is a pleasure to see the full images framed as the Director intended. HOWEVER, the colors are not just washed out. The digital remastering has changed the color tone of the film as if someone used a Photoshop/Premier digital filter without knowing what they were doing. The VHS and original not only had rich color saturation, but also had a warm tone that felt 'right' with the period film. The DVD is not only washed out, but has a strong blue-white tone to it that gives a cold modern feel to the scenes. To get the image to look close to decent on our TV, I had to turn the color saturation up as far as it would go, bring the contrast down and the brightness up. It then almost matched the VHS images except for the blue-ish rather than warm overall cast. The sound is tinny, much of the lower frequencies that are on the VHS sound track being chopped off. There are no subtitles at all (we frequently turn them on for other DVDs when we cannot quite make out the dialog) - much less alternative language tracks. So, why is this edition 'Special'? The only additions, other than the abysmal digital remastering (digital destruction) are: (1) an 8-page booklet (that mentions only 3 of the actors) (2) some text-only biography screens, that mention only 2 of the actors (3) a 20-some minute 'making of' feature that gives the producer most of the credit (and she did of course put the team together, but the director/editor/actors/choreographer/costumers/etc produced the art) - and which still only visits with 4 of the actors - out of this tremendously talented cast. What was supposed to be a 'special' Christmas gift, ended up being a tremendous disappointment. We can only hope that A&E and BBC will produce an 'Extra Special' edition that gets the color and sound back to the director's intention (did he even get to review this DVD?). That, and a rebate for all of us who bought this defective edition, would make us happy enough. Adding subtitles, profiles of everyone else involved in the production, and stills of the various homes, heritage buildings and towns used would be (delicious, but optional) gravy.
 
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