#and pride and prejudice (1940)

[mametupa]

[peggy-elise]

Greer Garson as Elizabeth Bennett in Pride and Prejudice 1940 🍰

[hotjaneaustenmenpoll]

Round One Master List

Mr Darcy (1995) Vs Robert Martin (2009)

Mr Darcy (2005) Vs Mr Collins (1995)

Mr Darcy (1940) Vs Mr Collins (2005)

Mr Darcy (P&P&Z) Vs Mr Collins (P&P&Z)

Mr Knightley (1996) Vs John Knightley (2009)

Mr Knightley (1996) Vs Mr Elliot (2007)

Mr Knightley (2009) Vs Edmund Bertram (1999)

Mr Knightley (2020) Vs Mr Elton (2009)

Captain Wentworth (1995) Vs Captain Benwick (2007)

Captain Wentworth (2007) Vs Frank Churchill (1996)

Captain Wentworth (2022) Vs Captain Harville (2007)

Mr Tilney (2007) Vs Henry Crawford (2007)

Edmund Bertram (2007) Vs Mr Elton (2020)

Edward Ferrars (2008) Vs Edward Ferrars (1971)

Edward Ferrars (1995) Vs Frank Churchill (2022)

Colonel Brandon (1995) Vs Colonel Fitzwilliam (1995)

Colonel Brandon (2008) Vs Colonel Brandon (1981)

Wickham (1995) Vs Frederick Tilney (2007)

Wickham (2005) Vs Denny (1995)

Wickham (1940) Vs Mr Elton (1996)

Willoughby (1995) Vs Mr Elliot (1995)

Willoughby (2008) Vs Mr Rushworth (1999)

Henry Crawford (1999) Vs Captain Harville (2022)

Henry Crawford (1983) Vs Frank Churchill (1996)

Mr Elliot (2022) Vs Captain Benwick (1995)

Frank Churchill (2009) Vs Mr Palmer (1995)

Tom Bertram (1999) Vs William Price (2007)

Mr Sidney Parker (2019) Vs Mr Bingley (P&P&Z)

Robert Martin (2022) Vs Robert Martin (1996)

Mr Bingley (1995) Vs John Thorpe (2007)

Mr Bingley (2005) Vs Charles Musgrove (2022)

Reginald DeCourcy (2016) Vs Mr Collins (1940)

[my-little-random-world]

Greer Garson 𝑎𝑠 𝑬𝒍𝒊𝒛𝒂𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒉 𝑩𝒆𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒕 𝑎𝑛𝑑 Laurence Olivier 𝑎𝑠 𝑭𝒊𝒕𝒛𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒎 𝑫𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒚 | Pride and Prejudice 1940

[ladysophiebeckett]

elizabeth:

[adaptations-polls]

Which version of this do you prefer?

[costumeloverz71]

Elizabeth Bennet (Greer Garson) Walking dress.. Pride & Prejudice (1940).. Costume by Adrian.

[firthbetterorfirthworse]

Brb, OBSESSING over the 1940 Pride and Prejudice

It's not in any way a faithful adaptation and I could not care less

[anghraine]

I finished some grading, so I'm celebrating by actually finishing my monologue about why my ideal adapted Darcy would be a fusion of two unpopular versions—Laurence Olivier's (1940) and David Rintoul's (1980).

I already gave my rationale on the Olivier front here; the short version is that Olivier!Darcy leans into the smiling, snappy, polished banter from Darcy that is so often overhauled into brooding. It's not all that there is to him in the book, obviously, and the Olivier version definitely gets way off track, but I do think it catches something about the character that is often lost.

The Olivier post ended: But there is also a whole other, subtler side to him that I think is really important, and that one is far better represented (IMO) by Rintoul’s Darcy. So onto my actual favorite Darcy, the infamously peculiar Darcy of the 1979/1980 P&P mini-series.

For context, I'm going to back up a bit and talk about something I've discussed many times before, but which is particularly relevant to this version. For all of canon Darcy's assurance in other ways, I think there's a distinct strain of awkwardness in his character—not shyness as such, but discomfort and difficulty in a wide range of social situations.

He avoids dancing whenever he can manage it, except with Elizabeth. When he becomes interested in her, he hangs out nearby and pays attention to her conversations with other people to work himself up to talking to her himself. He feels ill at ease around strangers and finds it difficult to identify their tones and expressions.

His own default, public expression seems to be quite low-affect. For instance, when sensible, observant Charlotte is looking for signs of interest in Elizabeth from him, she can't tell if Darcy really is interested in Elizabeth or simply absent-minded. Elizabeth completely mistakes his expressions on multiple occasions in the last third of the book as well as the earlier parts. At Rosings, Darcy says it's difficult for him to show interest. Even when he's not trying to be off-putting, he intimidates a number of other characters, from early in the book to the end of it. When he's actively being pleasant and successfully trying to make a good impression, the Gardiners still notice a certain stiff formality about him.

His early position seems to be that his discomfort negates his obligation to treat those outside his circle of friends, relatives, and dependents with courtesy. He evolves to putting in the effort to at least try to be pleasant and courteous—but the attempt does not always succeed. At the end of the novel, he remains uneasy around most of the Meryton community, and his manner towards them is easily read as stiff and cold (even to Elizabeth).

Significantly, Elizabeth evolves from wholly dismissing his discomfort to trying to shield him from the people who make him the most uncomfortable. IMO, this is part of her movement away from projecting what she wants to see onto people (Bingley, Charlotte, Wickham, Darcy) to trying to understand them in a more honest way.

Darcy was too quick to excuse himself, but I think these situations are hard for him in a way that Elizabeth initially dismissed. She ultimately comes to understand this about him, to the point of becoming actively protective of him—which reads really differently if he could handle these situations perfectly well with zero real awkwardness or discomfort if he just tried harder. But a) I prefer not to see Elizabeth's arc culminating in her becoming a doormat and b) I think Darcy's sense of unease and formal awkwardness is quite clearly established throughout the novel.

Okay. The point of all this is that the Darcy who can be stiff, formal, who struggles with expression, who is so uncomfortable that he makes everyone else uncomfortable, too—that's all there in Rintoul's Darcy, dialed up to eleven. It even pervades his demeanor at Pemberley, when he's clearly putting in effort with the Gardiners, but there's still that awkward rigidity and reserve about him.

I don't feel like Rintoul's Darcy is shy per se, and he's not awkward in the sense of being clueless like Mr Collins—I think there's a certain sophistication about Rintoul!Darcy's formality, excessive though it is. But damn is he uncomfortable. It's so relentless and so intense that he's uncomfortable to watch, because the 1980 P&P doesn't feel the need to make him relatable or a familiar romantic type. He's just this kind of peculiar person who ended up as the main love interest, and only really opens up at the very, very end, after Elizabeth accepts his proposal.

To be clear, I do think it goes too far in this direction and does lose sight of the Darcy who is clever and gets caught up quick, smiling banter. But I do respect the disinterest in shoving him into a typical male lead box and the willingness to let him be odd, even unappealing at times.

So while it would be difficult to combine these—I realize that—my ideal version would fuse the quick-witted, articulate side of his character that we see supercharged with Olivier's Darcy, with the uncomfortable and formal side that we see dialed up with Rintoul's. It's complex, but I don't think it's so complex that it couldn't be done, especially in the traditional mini-series format.

[kcinpa]

Into the Austen-verse: Eight Elizabeths (9104 words) by kckahler

Chapters: 2/2

Fandom: Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice (2005), Pride and Prejudice (TV 1995), Lizzie Bennet Diaries, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016), Bride and Prejudice (2004), Bridget Jones (Movies), Fire Island (Movie 2022), Pride and Prejudice (1940)

Rating: General Audiences

Characters: Elizabeth Bennet, Bridget Jones, Lalita Bakshi, Noah (Fire Island)

Summary:

Please enjoy some P&P multiverse hijinks. I even made a meme.

[mametupa]

[nerdyrevelries]

My requirements for a P&P adaptation are that

Mr. Collins is big and has no concept of his own awkwardness. He must think he is a gift to the world while everyone else sees him for what he is.

Mary Bennet is awkward in a lovable way that makes you like her even as she is singing badly.

Mr. Collins has a little theme song.

By these criteria, 1980, 1940, and Bride and Prejudice are all perfect adaptations.

[hotjaneaustenmenpoll]

[my-little-random-world]

Greer Garson 𝑎𝑠 𝑬𝒍𝒊𝒛𝒂𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒉 𝑩𝒆𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒕 | Pride and Prejudice 1940

[leaving-fragments]

the 1940 version of pride and prejudice flattened a lot of the characters' personalities but i think the worst misrepresentation was that of lady catherine de bourgh... they made her turn out nice