Boots and Bonnets

North and South: Episode Guide

2007-11-26T10:19:00.001-08:00

Episode One

13:30 In the Mill. Margaret finds Thornton in the mill. ‘Get that woman out of here!’
25:45 Mr Thornton as a pupil ‘I believe your daughter and I have already met.’
35:53 Thornton at dinner
41:30 ‘Don’t worry mother, I’m in no danger from Miss Hale’
44:10 Thornton having tea at the Hales ‘I do know something of hard work’.
49:55 Thornton at the club window
54:50 ‘Do not try to tell me my business’

Episode Two
01:44 Thornton in the Mill
02:22 Discussion about strike
05:20 Margaret and Thornton at the Mill
10:55 ‘I wish you try to like Miss Hale, mother.’
15:30 ‘Can’t you get men from Ireland . . .’
19:19 At the window
21:35 Strike
27:15 The handshake ‘I have learnt northern ways’.
37:15 Irish workers
39:00 ‘Mr Thornton, face them like a man’.
45:35 Thinking about Margaret
46:21 Looking for Miss Hale
48:46 Walking outside the town
49:27 Without cravat
53:10 The proposal. ‘I don’t want to possess you, I wish to marry you because I love you.’

Episode Three
00:00 Leaving the house
02:34 Back with mother
08:30 Meeting on the street
19:08 A glimpse
22:50 At the Great Exhibition
30:00 On the Steps
37:36 At the train station
40:20 Scowling glance at mother’s funeral
50:35 Thornton and the policeman
54:40 Back at Mill

Episode Four
00:00 Getting a job
06:50 Loans and pool
12:50 Speculation
20:05 At his desk
24:00 Eating stew
25:40 Fanny’s wedding
29:00 Another death

30:58 ‘So you are going’.
32:04 ‘Look back, look back at me’
40:18 Bell and Thornton do business
45:10 Losing everything
47:18 Realisation ‘. . . he was her brother.’
52:06 Thornton down south

53:18 A business proposition on the train station

Pulsating Passages: North and South

2007-11-16T08:19:00.000-08:00

All extracts taken from the edition by Oxford University Press (1992)

First Meeting
Mr Thornton was a good deal more surprised and discomfited than she. Instead of a quiet middle-aged clergyman, a young lady came forward with frank dignity, - a young lady of a different type to most of those he was in the habit of seeing . . . Mr Thornton was in habits of authority himself, bust she seemed to assume some kind of rule over him at once. He had been getting impatient at the loss of his time on market-day, the moment before she appeared, yet now he calmly took a seat at her bidding. (pp. 61-2)

Tea

She had a bracelet on one taper arm, which would fall down over her round wrist. Mr Thornton watched the re-placing of this troublesome ornament with far more attention than he listened to her father. It seemed as if it fascinated him to see her push it up impatiently, until it tightened her soft flesh; and then to mark the loosening – the fall. He could almost have exclaimed – ‘There it goes again!’ There was so little left to be done after he arrived at the preparation for tea, that he was almost sorry the obligation of eating and drinking came so soon to prevent him watching Margaret. (p. 79)

Disagreeing about the Strike

‘Pray don’t go into more similes, Margaret; you have led us off once already,’ said her father, smiling, yet uneasy at the thought that they were detaining Mr Thornton against his will, which was a mistake; for he rather liked it, as long as Margaret would talk, although what she said only irritated him. (p. 122)

The Thorntons on Margaret

‘Mother’, said he, stopping, and bravely speaking out the truth, ‘I wish you would like Miss Hale.’
‘Why?’ asked she, startled by his earnest, yet tender manner, ‘You’re never thinking of marrying her? – a girl without a penny.’
‘She would never have me,’ said he, with a short laugh. (p. 142)

Dinner
Margaret’s attention was thus called to her host; his whole manner, as master of the house, and entertainer of his friends, was so straightforward, yet simple and modest, as to be thoroughly dignified. Margaret thought she had never seen him to so much advantage. . . He was regarded by them [his fellow mill owners] as a man of great force of character; of power in many ways. There was no need to struggle for their respect. He had it, and he knew it; and the security of this gave a fine grand quietness to his voice and ways, which Margaret had missed before. (pp.162-3)

At the Demo

‘Now kill me, if it is your brutal will. There is no woman to shield me here. You may beat me to death – you will never move me from what I have determined upon – not you! He stood amongst them, which arms folded in precisely the same attitude as he had been on the steps.

[. . .]

He bore her into the dining room, and laid her on the sofa there; laid her down softly, and looking on her pure white face, the sense of what she was to him came upon him so keenly that he spoke it in his pain.
‘Oh, my Margaret – my Margaret! No one can tell what you are to me! Dead – cold as you lie there, you are the only woman I ever loved Oh, Margaret – Margaret!’ (p. p.180)

The Proposal

‘One word more. You look as if you thought it tainted you to be loved by me. You cannot avoid it. Nay, I, if I would, cannot cleanse you from it. But I would not, if I could. I have never loved any woman before: my life has been too busy, my thoughts too much absorbed with other things. Now I love, and will love. But do not be afraid of too much expression on my part.’ (p. 196)

The Aftermath

His greatest comfort was in hugging his torment; and in feeling, as he had indeed said to her, that though she might despise him, contemn him, treat him with her proud sovereign indifference, he did not change one whit. She could not make him change. He loved her, and would love her; and defy her, and this miserable bodily pain. (p. 207)

Meeting Her

He thought that he disliked seeing one who had mortified him so keenly; but he was mistaken. It was a stinging pleasure to be in the room with her, and feel her presence. But he was no great analyser of his motives, and was mistaken, as I have said. (p. 239)

He spoke as if the answer were a matter of indifference to him. But it was not so. For all his pain, he longed to see the author of it. Although he hated Margaret at times, when he thought of that gentle familiar attitude and all the attendant circumstances, he had a restless desire to renew her picture in his mind – a longing for the very atmosphere she breathed. He was in the Charybdis of passion, and must perforce circle and circle ever nearer round the fatal centre. (p. 270)

Inquest

Miss Hale might love another – was indifferent and contemptuous to him – but he would yet do her faithful acts of service of which she should never know. He might despise her, but the woman whom he had once loved should be kept from shame; and shame it would be to pledge herself to a lie in a public court, or otherwise to stand and acknowledge he reason for desiring darkness rather than light. (p. 280)

On the Street

Just before Mr Thornton came up to Mrs Boucher’s door, Margaret came out of it. She did not see him; and he followed her for several yards, admiring her light and easy walk, and her tall and graceful figure. But, suddenly, this simple emotion of pleasure was tainted, poisoned by jealousy. He wished to overtake her, and speak to her, to see how she would receive him, now she must know he was aware of some other attachment. (p.327)

Bell and Thornton

‘Beautiful creature indeed! Do you speak of her as you would of a horse or a dog?’

Mr Thornton’s eyes glowed like red embers.

‘Mr Bell,’ said he, ‘before you speak so, you should remember that all men are not as free to express what they feel as you are. Let us speak of something else.’ For though his heart leaped up, as at a trumpet call to every word that Mr bell had said, and though he knew that what he had said would henceforward bind the thought of the old Oxford Fellow closely up with the most precious things of his heart, yet he would not be forced into any expression of what he felt towards Margaret. (p. 361).

Margaret leaves

And at the remembrance of her taunting words, his brow grew stern, though his heart beat with longing love. ‘No!’ said he, ‘I put it to the touch once, and I lost it all. Let her go, - with her stony heart, and her beauty; - how set and terrible her look is now, for all her loveliness of feature! She is afraid I shall speak what will require some stern repression. Let her go. Beauty and heiress as she may be, she will find it hard to meet with a truer heart than mine. Let her go!’

And there was no tone of regret, or emotion of any kind in the voice with which he said good-bye; and the offered hand was taken with a resolute calmness, and dropped as carelessly as if it had been a dead and withered flower. But none in his household saw Mr Thornton again that day. He was busily engaged; or so he said. (pp.369-70)

The Truth

‘It was her brother,’ said Mr Thornton to himself. ‘I am glad. I may never see her again; but it is a comfort – a relief – to know that much. I knew she could not be unmaidenly; and yet I yearned for conviction. Now I am glad!’ (p. 423)

A Business Proposition

Still lower went the head; more closely hidden was the face, almost resting on the table before her. He came close to her. He knelt by her side, to bring her face to a level with her ear; and whispered – panted out the words: -
‘Take care. – If you do not speak – I shall claim you as my own in some strange presumptuous way. – send me away at once, if I must go; - Margaret! - ’

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

2007-11-09T05:12:00.000-08:00

It is time to turn from the Regency period to the mid-nineteenth century, where breeches make way for long dark trousers but there is no lack of romantic heroes to fantasise over.

Now we all loved Mr Thornton as played by Richard Armitage in the adaptaion of North and South on BBC One a few years ago. In homage to the adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell's Cranford that will soon be hitting our screens, a moment by moment guide will soon be appearing to his movements in that series. But first some background to North and South.

North and South was published in instalments in 1853-4. The main setting of the industrial north follows Elizabeth Gaskell’s first novel Mary Barton in 1848, which was also set in an industrial mill town. Mary Barton was immensely popular but also attracted wide criticism as it was felt that Gaskell was too hard on the mill owners. Gaskell tried to counter that criticism in North and South through the character of hardworking and tough mill owner John Thornton. The relationship between John Thornton and Margaret Hale represents the meeting of the industrial north and rural south but is also a feisty story of the awakening of love for each other in both. In some ways it is another version of Pride and Prejudice with both attracted to each other and both having excessive pride and, Margaret in particular, having a great number of prejudices. Unusually, unlike Jane Austen with Darcy or Charlotte Bronte with Mr Rochester, Gaskell presents Thornton's emotions in the relationship as much as Margaret's.

Elizabeth Gaskell (1810-65) famously began writing at the suggestion of her husband after the death of her only son. Her novels are all set in the north of England, mainly in the industrial northwest, and they explore complex social issues, family relationships and love affairs.

Watch this space for the 'pulsating passages' from the novel . . .

If Billie Piper Had a Peck of Austen Roles, Why Pick Fanny?

2007-05-15T03:52:00.000-07:00

Billie Piper in a bodice--blah, blah, blah... Why does anyone think they can infuse Mansfield Park with the remotest appeal either to the milk-toast characters or the preachy plot? Even Jane Austen herself could not. Well Hello Mr. Ritson, I did not see you come in.

In truth, I dragged myself through the entire film without the teensiest care for Edmund, Fanny or the rest of the gang until the very end. It was in the last five minutes or so that I realized I had been cultivating a slow growing fancy that was beginning to burn for one Blake Ritson. He gave Edmund’s transformation from fool for Mary Crawford (Haylee Atwell) to fool for Fanny more plausibility than it deserves. I believed that he had a true awakening of feelings and so did I.

Talk about low profiles though, I could not even find his birthday out here in cyberspace. The best I could do is find he has/had a girlfriend actress Hattie Morahan. JANE CONNECTION: Miss Morahan will be playing Elinor Dashwood in the soon- to-be- released Sense and Sensibility. We will keep a look out for more Ritson and Miss Morahan as well.

Back to Billie for a moment; she was very sweet and believable as the prim Miss Price. I just would have rather seen her as Lydia Bennet in a different Austen more suited to her vivacity (and figure).

Jemma Redgrave continues to be one of my favorites but can I admit here that I was very disappointed that at one year older than me she was playing the matriarch? Where the hell does the time go? I could not relate to this casting as l could to Allison Steadman, for example.

I don’t wish to diminish the efforts of the rest of the cast by not mentioning them individually but in truth, I think all was played well with the material given. Okay maybe a shout out to Michelle Ryan aka Zoe Slater who is as cute as ever. But everyone needs to remember this lesson: just because it is Jane Austen does not make it infallible.

ITV's Austen Season

2007-03-15T14:32:00.000-07:00

Yes – she's back on television. ITV's Austen season begins with Billie Piper as Fanny Price this Sunday (18 March) at 9pm. The Mansfield Park dramatisation is by Maggie Wadey and it promises to make the rather dullard hero and heroine racier and raunchy. It is filmed in North Yorkshire at Newby Hall and apparently Billie romps for England but Blake Ritson (left) looks gloweringly sexy.

Mansfield Park is followed by Northanger Abbey with a script by Andrew 'Costume Porn King' Davies on March 25 and starring Felicity Jones. This script has been in a dusty cupboard of ITV's while they concentrated on quality television, such as celebrity pick your spots programmes. Then Persuasion (my favourite Austen) with Sally Hawkins fills the breeches slot on April 1. A rerun of the 1996 Emma will follow.

The cover of Radio Times shows the three leading ladies – Billie Piper, Felicity Jones and Sally Hawkins – in demure regency (and yet busty) splendour. Where are the men in their breeches? Pretty frocks are all very well, but where are those boots and oh so tightly clad thighs and bottoms when you need them? At least Rupert Penry-Jones looks dashing as Captain Wentworth on his horse.

We have something to aid the fact Dr Who returns on 31 March and so my Saturday nights will be dominated yet again by the Tardis.

ITV's fantastic website is here. Take part in the seduction survey!

Miss Austen and Samuel West

2007-02-17T14:52:00.000-08:00

Samuel West can give me a cringing panic attack faster than a bag of snakes ever could. Well, that is when I watch him playing the attractive yet dastardly baronet-to-be Mr Elliot in Nick Dear’s 1995 adaptation of Persuasion. Crikey, if I’m not out of my skin before Anne Elliot is finally out of her seat in the music recital trying to stop Captain Wentworth from leaving. As West fawns over Anne and sappily “proposes” I can hardly bear the torture of Wentworth against the wall misunderstanding what he is seeing. I want to throttle Mr Elliot when he comes into the tea shop with the damn umbrella at Anne’s disposal dispersing any pretence she had to put herself in debt to Captain Wentworth. Later, in the final scenes of the film, when Anne admits she hasn’t had time to turn her mind to Mr Elliot’s offer “to flatter and adore her all her life,” my soul sings. Okay well, maybe my soul doesn’t sing but I am damn happy to see him so soundly put down. Who wouldn’t be? Wickedness always seems more horrid when it is hidden beneath a cloak of pretty wrapping such as West.

Apparently, Sam comes by his talent for Austen rightly. In 1952 his mother Prunella Scales at the pretty age of 20 played Lydia Bennett in Cedric Wallis’ adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. It seems to be one of her earliest filmed roles if not the earliest. Also playing in this production as Mr Collins was Sam’s paternal grandfather Lockwood West. Though Scales was to marry Lockwood’s son the Tim in 1963, she wouldn’t meet him for another 8 years. It was that year (1960) that Timothy West himself appeared in one of his earliest filmed roles completing the foundation of Wests as Austen characters. He played Charles Hayter in the first mini-series of Persuasion.

Throughout the years, the larger genre of costume drama has been privileged by many performances by this talented family. Look for both Sam and his mother in Merchant and Ivory’s Howard’s End (1992). Sam, of course, plays Leonard Bast in a much more sympathetic if not wholly diametric role to Mr Elliot. Also, Scales was in Andrew Davies’ 1996 Emma. And way back in 1975 both father and son played in the mini-series Edward the King. Timothy West plays the title role while Sam plays the king at age 5.

Timothy was last seen in the Beeb’s Bleak House (2005). Scales will next be seen in The Shell Seekers (2006) and Sam can be seen in the latest Inspector Linley Mysteries: The Chinese Walls (2006).

Sensational Sensibilities

2007-01-31T14:26:00.000-08:00

Minute by minute guide to the appearance on screen of Edward Ferrars (Hugh Grant), Colonel Brandon (Alan Rickman) and Willoughby (Greg Wise). I know who my favourite is, but who is yours?

08:43 First appearance of Edward Ferrars in the room.
09: 50 Edward Ferrars attempts to tell his sister to be nice.
10:40 Margaret is hiding and Edward talks nonsense to draw her out.
12:48 Fighting with wooden swords.
15:25 Elinor and Edward talking about ‘quiet of a private life’.
16:09 Elinor and Edward horse riding and discuss occupations.
22:50 Announce moving to Devonshire over dinner, Edward stunned.
23:28 Gut wrenching scene in stable – Edward tries to tell Elinor something.
31:00 Colonel Brandon on horseback. Hears Marianne.
34:05 Cutting reeds – Brandon provides a knife.
34:28 Brandon and Sir John cleaning guns.
35:18 Playing bowls – Mrs Jennings goes too far.
40:22 Willoughby on horseback – the gallant hero. Removes shoe and carries Marianne through the rain.
43:58 Brandon brings flowers but everyone is waiting for Willoughby.
45:21 Brandon and Willoughby meet.
45:39 Willoughby visits Marianne.
49:30 Marianne draws silhouette of Willoughby, Brandon watching.
50:50 Brandon issues an invitation.
51:58 Brandon and Elinor discuss Marianne.
55:20 Brandon called away from the party.
55:40 Willoughby bitches about Brandon.
58:10 Willoughby asks for an interview alone.
59:12 Willoughby sent away by Lady Allen. Leaves Marianne distraught.
110:49 Colonel Brandon visits at London instead of Willoughby.
117:18 Bump into Willoughby at the Ball.
125:11 Brandon to accompany them home and relates story to Elinor of Willoughby’s seduction of his ward.
131:19 Edward Ferrars visits Elinor (and Lucy by accident).
136:35 Lucy and Edward’s engagement
138:48 Brandon has a proposal regarding Edward Ferrars.
140:10 Elinor tells Edward about Brandon’s proposal
143:18 Brandon on horseback.
144:02 Brandon helps ladies out of carriage.
146:50 Brandon looks for Marianne.
147:27 Brandon carries Marianne back in through the rain.
148:51 Waiting for the doctor.
150:02 Brandon ‘What can I do?’
154:19 Mother and Brandon appear.
154:44 Marianne thanks Brandon
155:30 Brandon reading poetry at Barton Cottage.
202:00 Edward Ferrars visits Barton Cottage.
204:52 Elinor makes ‘that noise’ at not married and all leave the room.
206:57 Marianne’s wedding.
207:25 Willoughby looks on.

I recommend for further reading Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility. The Screenplay and Diaries by Emma Thompson with Photographs by Clive Coote (London: Bloomsbury, 1995)

Sense and Sensibility (1995)

2007-01-27T08:20:00.000-08:00

This is my favourite Jane Austen adaptation so I will gush, particularly after the last few I have watched. Sense and Sensibility tells the plight of the Dashwood women after Mr Dashwood dies with his estate entailed to his eldest son from his first marriage. The novel (and this film) centres on the two very different eldest daughters, Elinor who represents sense and Marianne who represents sensibility. Both Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet play the Elinor and Marianne superbly and capture the different natures of each, but also the way in which each relies on the other.

As a whole the film is fantastically cast. Harriet Walter is the fabulously mean and manipulative Fanny Dashwood (their sister-in-law) and one wants to stick a fork up her nose every time she speaks. Imogen Stubbs plays Lucy Steele with just the right mix of saccharine surface and bitchy core. Robert Hardy and Elizabeth Spriggs are the incredibly heart Sir John and Mrs Jennings, while Imelda Staunton is a superlative talkative Charlotte Palmer. The funniest and warmest cameo must be Hugh Laurie as the dry and unresponsive Mr Palmer.

And the leading men? I’m not a Hugh Grant fan myself but hurray for him as Edward Ferrars, who suites the slightly comic bemused Englishman act and walks like he has pins in his breeches. Greg Wise is a wildly sexy Willoughby, whose romantic entrance makes your heart plummet. He also carries off being dastardly in London. Alan Rickman is achingly sensational as the dry and rather repressed Brandon, after all who can be unmoved when he is such distress (and slight undress) when Marianne is ill?

The real stars are the script and direction. It manages to be humorous and moving, often within moments of each other, and captures the tedium of their life in the country so well without over emphasising. Willoughby is a big event precisely because Marianne has nothing to do. The Dashood family is tenderly played and much of the humour derives from their exchanges – getting a sense of how well they know and care about each other. The ball in London is hot and oppressive and things are dirty (there is horse poo). My favourite scene is when Elinor sits on the stairs drinking a cup of tea when he mother and two sisters have retreated into their rooms crying.

Directed - Ang Lee
Writer - Jane Austen (novel), Emma Thompson (screenplay)
Producer - Lindsay Doran
Music - Patrick Doyle

Kate Winslet - Marianne Dashwood
Emma Thompson - Elinor Dashwood
Hugh Grant - Edward Ferrars
Alan Rickman - Col. Christopher Brandon
Greg Wise - John Willoughby

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All images copyright © 1995 Columbia Pictures

Next – those hero moments for Edward Ferrars, Colonel Brandon and Willoughby.

Emma: Film (1996)

2007-01-20T12:33:00.000-08:00

1996 - The year of two Emmas!
This is the last time for a while that I review a costume drama I don’t like. What can you say about the 1996 adaptation of Emma that is positive? It is a Jane Austen adaptation with a star studded cast. Obviously there is Gwyneth Paltrow playing the lead role with Jeremy Northam, Alan Cummings, Juliet Stevenson, Ewan McGregor to name a few. Juliet Stevenson makes for a wonderfully vacuous and vulgar Mrs Elton and the good performances are found in the cameo roles, for example Sophie Thompson as Miss Bates.

Emma is hideously glossy and the continuous soft focused lighting makes you think the characters all lived in a Hovis advert. Highbury is very clean – the roads don’t appear to have mud or horse shit – and it never rains in this twee corner of southern England. Even the poor peasants are clean, only the gypsies are dirty and they look like road protestors. The main focus is on Emma as a match maker and relationship tangles, not her snobbery or boredom. Mr Knightley is not harsh on Emma as much as vexed and the whole production plays the novel as comedic but fails to be humourous. The story is occasionally told through thoughts in Emma’s head, presumably just in case we failed to get Paltrow’s performance, which unfortunately means we have to hear more of Paltrow’s bizarre nasal whine (I think it is meant to be RP English). Ewan McGregor has the most ridiculous hair cut and is far more sexy as a Jedi (in my opinion) and I’m afraid Northam’s breeches are just not tight enough for me.

Silly facts

The music played at the dance at the end of the ball is the same as the infamous Darcy and Lizzie dance-conversation in the 1995 BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice.

Mrs Bates and Miss Bates are played by real-life mother and daughter Phyllida Law and Sophie Thompson, who are also related to Emma Thompson (screenwriter and star of the infinitely superior Sense and Sensibility).

Images courtesy of Miramax
Directed by Douglas McGrath
Written by Jane Austen (novel), Douglas McGrath (screenplay)
Gwyneth Paltrow – Emma Woodhouse
Alan Cumming – Mr. Elton
Jeremy Northam – Mr. Knightley
Toni Collette – Harriet Smith
Polly Walker – Jane Fairfax
Ewan McGregor – Frank Churchill

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Mansfield Park (1983)

2007-01-15T13:27:00.000-08:00

This 6 part adaptation of Mansfield Park follows Austen’s story very closely and belongs to the, for the time, opulent costume dramas made for the BBC in the 1980s. Although stagey in parts, particularly when the actors walk away from the main sound mikes, it uses outside footage complete with wobbly cameras and parts of it are clearly filmed in an eighteenth-century house and not a set. The script concentrates on the dialogues between the main characters, though some first-person narration from Fanny Price in the form of letters to her brother is used to move the plot along. It is rather slow moving, though that does allow the tedium of Lady Bertram’s conversation and daily life at Mansfield to be captured rather well.

I am, as said before, no fan of Mansfield Park and would unashamedly go for Henry Crawford rather than the staid Edmund Bertram. Here Robert Burbage physically resembles Byron (bar the clubfoot) and clearly models his snakish rakish Henry Crawford on him. The dandy style of Mr Yates and fashionableness of Tom Bertram come across well compared to the older dress of Mr Rushworth, Edmund Bertram and Sir Thomas. Anna Massey is superb as the interfering and supremely catty Mrs Norris and manages to convey the right amount of spite in her trite comments.

Although the selfishness of all, bar Fanny, in this bleak novel is portrayed well, the screenplay is slow moving and lacks sparkle. There is very little sexiness given that the novel concentrates on appropriate and inappropriate sexual attraction. It is hard to see why Mary Crawford is so captivating or how Maria had the spirit to elope and Edmund and Fanny bore each other into marriage. I rarely agree with Kingsley Amis, but his comment that Fanny and Edmund are complete prigs who could not be worse dinner companions is dramatised well by this adaptation.

Trivia fact: Jonny Lee Miller appears as Charlie Price in this adaptation and later went on to play Edmund Bertram in the 1999 film of the same novel.

Directed – David Giles
Writing – Jane Austen (novel), Kenneth Taylor
Samantha Bond – Maria Bertram
Robert Burbage – Henry Crawford
Nicholas Farrell – Edmund Bertram
Sylvestra Le Touzel – Fanny Price
Anna Massey – Aunt Norris

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Emma (1996)

2007-01-07T02:44:00.000-08:00

This adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma for ITV squeezes Austen’s longest book into a two-hour drama and manages to do it rather well. If it does not sparkle in the manner of Pride and Prejudice or Persuasion that is mainly to do with the plot and manner of the book as on the surface nothing dramatic happens. It is essentially a story of village life centred around a spoilt, snobbish and headstrong young woman and none of the characters, bar Mr Knightley and the Westons, are particularly likeable.

The rustic nature of the novel is clear from the opening shot of the theft of chickens, the comedy of which is followed by some delightful comedic small talk about boiled eggs and apple tart. There is also more comedy in Emma’s imagined marriage sequences. Class and snobbery are made much of in this adaptation and Emma’s snobbery is reflected in a more vulgar fashion in Mrs Elton, which appals her. The tension about class and a good match in Emma and Harriet’s friendship for example both underline the rustic setting but also undermine the sense of its’ unchanging nature since class boundaries are shifting.

Davies manages to get the essence of the characters across in his dialogue, though at times the more emotionally intense scenes towards the end seem rushed. Prunella Scales is superb as the garrulous Miss Bates while Raymond Coulthard is deviously charming as Frank Churchill. My favourite character was always Jane Fairfax, who is played with discretion by Olivia Williams. Kate Beckinsdale is good as the scheming Emma who eventually sees the error of her meddling ways and Mark Strong is a brotherly and stern Mr Knightley. However, I always found the novel rather passionless and I think this adaptation reflects that.

Directed – Diarmuid Lawrence
Writing credits – Jane Austen (novel) Andrew Davies
Producer – Sue Birtwistle

Kate Beckinsale – Emma Woodhouse
Mark Strong – Mr. Knightley
Samantha Morton – Harriet Smith
Prunella Scales – Miss Bates
Raymond Coulthard – Frank Churchill

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Mansfield Park (1999)

2006-12-24T10:35:00.000-08:00

This film combines Mansfield Park, Jane Austen’s letters and juvenilia and contemporary readings of Austen’s novel to present an adaptation of Mansfield Park. The overall tone is a little surreal as it tries to capture complex issues in Regency politics (slavery, class etc) in a contemporary way, which is often contrived. The use of Austen’s letters and early work in the voice of Fanny Price though an interesting and often humorous treat only serves to show up how deadening the rest of the script is. That being said Mansfield Park is the most difficult of Austen’s books to like – I admit to a bias here as MP is one of the few books I have studied that I detested and I was forced to do it at A-Level and twice in my degree! – the heroine lacks the sparkle of Austen’s other creations and her characters are all anti-heroes while the two ‘villains’ are easily the most attractive people in the novel. Yes, I know that could be said to be the point . . .

But back to Patricia Rozema’s film and let’s dwell on the good bits. I personally like the references to the slave trade, its abolition and the wealth that the Bertrams have due to the exploitation of the Caribbean. Edward Said’s Culture and Imperialism drew attention to the slavery narrative in Mansfield Park and numerous post-colonial theorists have opined about this since. This film draws on that narrative with singing on a slave ship heard at the beginning of the film, discussion about slavery within the family dialogues and the notebooks showing Sir Thomas Bertram sexually exploiting his female slaves. The film also vividly illustrates the dirt and poverty of Fanny Price’s family and the differences in class between Fanny and the Bertrams.

Lindsay Duncan’s portrayal of Lady Bertram as a drug-addled bored lady of leisure is great and Harold Pinter is a malevolent and brooding Sir Thomas, whose sinister presence is felt in Mansfield Park. Henry and Mary Crawford are attractive and lively and absolutely breathe sex appeal. I have never seen such tight breeches as those on Henry Crawford and Mary Crawford seduces every one! There is obviously an attempt to make Fanny a more lively and engaging character by giving her Jane Austen’s own voice, as well as making her more get up and go. And the concluding sum up end is fun.

However, the dialogue is wooden and the script is slow with strange discussions amongst the whole family in a manner more reminiscent of Friends than Regency England. The direction is stagey and it is clear the film is on a small budget – in one of the last scenes there is clearly a plug socket in the wall behind Lady Bertram. The scene where Edmund walks in on Henry Crawford having sex with Maria Bertram is so ridiculous as to be laughable.

After watching this, even I appreciated the book of Mansfield Park and its subtleties.

Directed - Patricia Rozema
Writing credits - Jane Austen (novel), Patricia Rozema
Pictures - Miramax
Lindsay Duncan - Mrs. Price/Lady Bertram
Harold Pinter - Sir Thomas Bertram
Frances O'Connor - Fanny Price
Jonny Lee Miller - Edmund Bertram
Embeth Davidtz - Mary Crawford
Alessandro Nivola - Henry Crawford

Buy in US

Buy in UK

Costume Drama: Christmas Viewing in the UK

2006-12-20T04:24:00.000-08:00

There are scant pickings in literary costume drama this year but below is a list of what is on that will help keep you sane admidst too much drink, too much family and too much food. I have not listed Christmas Carol as frankly most are dire and who really fancies Scrooge? Actually the only one I like is the Muppets’ Christmas Carol with Michael Caine but that’s partly because I have a thing about Gonzo who plays Dickens.

I have also only listed those you can get on freeview channels.

Sunday 24 December Dangerous Liaisons (1988) 21.05 ITV3

Ok – not 19th century but John Malkovich makes a sinister Valmont.

Monday 25 December Nicholas Nickleby (2002) 20.00 BBC2

Did not get great reviews but contains almost every British actor and worth a watch.

Thursday 28 December
Dracula: New TV adaptation
BBC1 21.00

The only exciting new costume drama on - not convinced by the idea of Marc Warren as Dracula, though this brooding picture is persuading me otherwise. I suddenly have an urge to play Bela Legosi's Dead.

Friday 29 December The Railway Children 12.35 ITV1

Yes the 1970 classic – again!

Saturday 30 December Sense and Sensibility (1995) 20.00 C4

By far the best costume drama film on over Christmas – we just love Alan Rickman as Colonel Brandon and Emma Thompson’s script is superb.

Monday 1 January Oliver Twist (1948) 16.00 More4

Is Alec Guinness’ Fagin Anti-Semitic? You decide. David Lean’s portrayal of grubby London has no equal.

Cold Comfort Farm (1995) 22.00 BBC4

Ok, again not 19th century but this adaptation is fantastic and Stephen Fry is great in it.

Tuesday 2 January Great Expectations (1946) 12.50 BBC2

The David Lean classic – absolutely atmospheric.

Wednesday 3 January The Importance of Being Earnest (2002) 19.30 BBC2

Rupert Everett and Colin Firth star – so good and the plot is like Frasier (actually that should be the other way round).

Happy Birthday Jane!

2006-12-16T07:09:00.001-08:00

Pride and Prejudice (1995): Part Two

2006-12-15T02:21:00.000-08:00

Those Darcy Moments

A minute-to-second guide to when Darcy appears on screen – taken from the US 2-disc Special Edition. In bold are my best moments.

DISC TWO
01:10 Darcy storms home post-proposal
03:29 The truth about Wickham
07:30 Heading out with the letter
08:44 Walking the grove for sometime…
10:26 “Insufferable presumption!” Darcy defends his thwarting Jane’s romance
11:25 The letter continues with Lizzie contemplating with flashbacks
19:56 Confiding in Jane
20:55 “You’ll never be able to make them both good.”
28:11 Has Lydia frightened some of Lizzie’s lovers away?
31:10 Telling Wickham Darcy improves on closer acquaintance
33:50 Heading to Derbyshire
35:14 “I shall conquer this!”
38:20 Pemberley
40:18 “Of all this I might have been mistress.”
41:51 Is Darcy good after all?
42:38 HERE COMES DARCY A DAY EARLY!
43:19 I see a small lake
43:48 Lizzie visibly softens as she stares at Darcy’s portrait
43:55 The coat is coming off
44:01 The cravat is coming off
44:06 The green waistcoat is coming off
44:19 The boots must be off because…
44:30 SPLASH!
44:40 Lizzie is oblivious in the garden
44:50 Lovely wet tendrils of dark curls dripping sown onto a shirt transparent with dampness
44:57 Whose pulse is not racing, whose stomach is not in knots?
45:20 I can hardly stand it…
45:22 Oh Lizzie, you have no idea girlfriend
45:30 AWKWARD – ground swallow me now!
45:35 What the…
45:37 Mr Darcy!?
45:40 Miss Bennet!?
45:41 Yes, yes, everone is in good health
46:29 Darcy escapes
46:44 Lizzie is mortified

(To be continued)

Darcy Moments from the official BBC UK DVD

Episode 4
01:05 Darcy in terrible mood back to Rosings
01:40 Darcy writing letter
07:09 Finishes letter
08:46 Waits to give Lizzie the letter
35:14 Darcy fencing
42:40 Darcy riding towards Pemberley
43:55 The diving scene – removal of clothes
44:31 The dive!
44:50 Wet Darcy
45:30 Darcy meets Lizzie
46:58 Runs down stairs to catch Lizzie and Aunt and Uncle before they leave
50:27 Helps her back in the carriage

Episode 5
01:22 Darcy waits on Lizzie in Inn at Lambton
04:34 Lizzie singing
06:55 Lingering glances over the piano
07:38 Miss Bingley being a bitch
09:00 ‘The most handsomest woman of my acquaintance.’
09:39 Darcy can’t sleep and goes and looks at the piano
10:05 Choosing jacket
14:57 Darcy goes to Lizzie and finds her upset (till 19:10)
38:26 Darcy in London
42:15 Darcy finds Wickham and Lydia

Episode 6
10:40 Darcy insisting on sorting out wedding
19:16 Bingley and Darcy call on Bennets
22:00 Darcy gives Bingley his blessing
39:44 Darcy at Bennets and goes on walk
41:13 Second proposal
46:00 The wedding
48:27 The snog

Production Information
Directed by Simon Langton
Writer/Adaptor: Andrew Davies

Colin Firth - Fitzwilliam Darcy
Jennifer Ehle - Elizabeth Bennet
Crispin Bonham-Carter - Charles Bingley
Anna Chancellor - Caroline Bingley
Susannah Harker - Jane Bennet
Adrian Lukis - George Wickham
Julia Sawalha - Lydia Bennet
Alison Steadman - Mrs. Bennet
Benjamin Whitrow - Mr. Bennet

Official Website
Includes character write-ups and photo-gallery as well as clips and behind the scenes and screensavers. Also you can watch that infamous video clip of Darcy diving into the lake again (and again).

Colin Firth Fan site

Bizaare site!
Pictures and music!!

Darcymania

Suggested Book:
The Making of Pride and Prejudice (BBC)
by Susie Conklin and Sue Birtwistle

Buy in UK

Buy in US

Bride and Prejudice (2005)

2006-12-12T11:53:00.000-08:00

As an interlude between the two volumes of those Darcy moments from the classic BBC 1995 adaptation, Boots and Bonnets offers a quick review of and some info about Gurinder Chadha’s updated version of Pride and Prejudice in 2005.

P&P is updated as Bride and Prejudice and set principally in Amritsar in north India, but also travels to Goa, LA and London. Lizzie Bennett is Lalita Bakshi who is one of four daughters in a middle-class Sikh family living in Amritsar, whose mother is desperate to see the elder ones married. Fitzwilliam Darcy is William Darcy a super rich American hotelier who knows the Bingley character (Balraj) from Oxford. Essentially the story is the same as that in Austen’s novel and the main tension is between the different cultural assumptions of both Lalita and William about American and Indian ways of doing things, such as marriage, class, tourism and imperialism.

Johnny Wickham is perfect as a rakish backpacker who pays lip service to liberal PC attitudes to India, but exploits India as much as Darcy’s mother and her hotels. Mr Kohli is also very funny as the Mr Collins character, who lives in LA and adores the American lifestyle yet wants a traditional Indian bride. The use of ritual dances also work as a way of social fraternising and as bringing the music and sequences essential to a Bollywood movie into the film.

My main criticisms are that Lalita is always poised and not flustered (as Lizzie often is), the film loses some of its observation and comedy in the US sequences, the seriousness of Lakhi’s (Lydia) situation is not really dealt with and the end is tied up rather quickly.

However, it is a fun and thought provoking remake of Pride and Prejudice. Personally I just love the dance sequences – particularly the ‘Life is great, let’s celebrate’ on the streets of Amritsar and the gospel choir on the beach in LA. If you want a change of scene from traditional costume drama but still want a laugh at Austen’s comedy of manners and some romance then watch this.

Directed: Gurinder Chadha
Writing: Jane Austen (novel), Paul Mayeda Berges, Gurinder Chadha

Cast:
Aishwarya Rai - Lalita Bakshi
Martin Henderson - William Darcy
Naveen Andrews - Balraj Bingley
Namrata Shirodkar - Jaya Bakshi
Daniel Gillies - Johnny Wickham

Official Website (And it plays my favorite song)

Pride and Prejudice (1995): Part One

2006-11-30T13:05:00.000-08:00

There are few cinematic translations as good or as enjoyable as the original books. To Kill a Mockingbird comes to mind as one successful example but frankly, almost any Andrew Davies adaptation ranks rather high as well. His 1995 version of Pride and Prejudice weaves a nearly seamless flow between what Jane Austen actually wrote and what we could justly infer about her characters.

Jennifer Ehle is a lovely Lizzie Bennet—her spark and wit are reminiscent of Greer Garson in the 1940 version. Who could not instantly like her as she runs through the countryside in the opening scene spying the gentlemen on horseback discussing Netherfield. Lizzie’s intelligence and her spirit are clearly larger than her surroundings, something Colin Firth’s Darcy can’t fail to see and be attracted to.

There, the subject is broached: Colin Firth’s Darcy. It has all been said, the smouldering looks at Lizzie from across the room that could be mistaken for contempt and not lust—very clever; the deliberate choice to wear waistcoats with colour in avoidance of the anti-hero-in-black appearance; and, of course, the- GULP- lake scene which culminates in the most endearing expose of his human side “I trust your parents are in health…” While we find him handsome from the onset, now we have full leave to love his character as Lizzie will.

There is not a single deficit in the supporting cast either. Julia Sawalha is hilariously naive and properly irritating as Lydia, Adrian Lukas is smarmily charming, Alison Steadman’s Mrs Bennet unbearable with her unguarded prattling and the praise goes on. There is one minor though criminal weakness to be sure and that is the lame, very lame final kiss that we waited the whole film to see. Could they not have re-shot that one scene? The carriage jolts just enough to make Lizzie and Darcy’s kiss goes from passion to mashin’. I screamed for a redo right away but no one seemed to notice.

Those Darcy Moments

A minute-to-second guide to when Darcy appears on screen – taken from the US 2-disc Special Edition. In bold are my best moments.

DISC ONE
00:51 Horses and riders on the scene…
01:05 Mr Bingley is introduced…but we are denied a real look at Darcy—from behind and profile only…great tease.
01:42 Enter Lizzie…
04:14 “For a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.”
08:30 “Only the deepest love will induce me into matrimony.”
10:46 “I’m afraid we cannot escape the acquaintance now.”
12:04 DARCY steps from the carriage
12:11 Darcy surveys the environs and looks at the camera for the first time!
13:14 Enters the assembly rooms
13:54 “Better and better…”
14:16 Lady Lucas gives the lowdown via Mrs Bennet
14:32 Would he be as handsome if he weren’t rich?
15:12 Looking rather surly over Bingley’s shoulder
15:34 “Are you fond of dancing too?”
16:01 He had said he didn’t dance and so he left…OUCH
16:25 Who does he think he is?
16:59 Looks dismissively at Bingley and Jane dancing.
19: 00 “I must have you dance!”
20:00 “She is tolerable, I suppose…”
20:24 Lizzie walks by Darcy greatly amused by his arrogance
22:45 “I believe I may safely promise never to dance with Mr Darcy”
23:22 “I should as soon call her mother a wit!”
27:28 Lizzie notices Darcy is staring at her at the Lucas Lodge party
30:10 “Mr Darcy looks at you a great deal Lizzie…”
30:35 “Any savage can dance”
31:09 “Please don’t suppose I move this way to beg for a partner”
31:40 Lizzie gives Darcy his comeuppance and walks away herself
31:53 Miss Elizabeth Bennet’s eyes
37:09 Lizzie bumps into Darcy at Netherfield (she comes on foot as you see)
38:49 Lizzie’s eyes were “brightened by the exercise.”
41:28 Oops—wrong turn

The UK version - BBC 2000 DVD

Episode 1
01:05 Darcy and Bingley ride across to look at Netherfield. Darcy says ‘You’ll find the country manners something savage.’
12:04 Appearance of Darcy outside the Ball
13:15 Darcy and party enter ball
15:50 Darcy rarely dances
16:16 ‘Proud disagreeable man’
18:05 Darcy skulks around the dance floor
19:07 ‘I certainly shall not (dance)’
19:59 ‘She is tolerable I suppose’
22:30 ‘I should as soon call her mother a wit’
27:13 ‘Poor Darcy’ gazing at Lizzie
30:06 Mr Darcy looks at you a great deal
31:13 ‘Happy honour to dance’
32:25 ‘Fine eyes’
37:09 Darcy meets Lizzie after walk to Netherfield
38:23 Darcy at lunch
40:16 Darcy after shooting
41:31 Playing billiards – pots a hole
43:23 Accomplished woman
45:50 Darcy at visit of Bennets
46:55 Darcy in bath
47:47 Looks out of window and sees Lizzie playing with the dog
49:00 Lizzie and Miss Bingley walking around the room
51:30 Darcy looking out of the window as Lizzie leaves

Episode 2
11:00 Darcy sees Wickham
14:50 Wickham talks about Dracy
26:32 Darcy sees Lizzie at Netherfield Ball
28:44 Darcy laughing at Mr Collins dancing with Lizzie
30:19 Darcy asks for a dance
31:05 The dance (lasts until 36:00)
40:00 Collins toadies to Darcy

Episode 3
03:40 Darcy leaving Netherfield
33:44 Darcy at Huntsford (Mr Collins’ vicarage)
35:58 On horse back coming across Lizzie’s walk
36:54 Darcy at Rosings
37:29 Darcy at piano with Lizzie
40:02 Darcy visits Huntsford and not say any thing in particular
45:45 The proposal (lasts till 51:28)

To Be Continued…

Everything Old is New Again

2006-11-25T03:34:00.000-08:00

Just when we became comfortable with the idea that our DVD versions of Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion were the definitive adaptations--unsurpassable in cast, costume and content, someone else selfishly, if not arrogantly, decided it’s time to share their visions of Jane with the world.

The 2005 offering of Pride and Prejudice appears to have opened the floodgates of such egotism because 2007 is setting up to be the new 1995—the year we were last showered with such an abundance of Austen offerings.

The coming year brings us the currently filming yet ever-iffy Mansfield Park starring the ever-youthful Billie Piper as Fanny Price in a Maggie Wadey adaptation.

Already in post-production is Simon Burke’s Persuasion though I don’t know how Ciaran Hinds could ever be replaced in my heart as Captain Wentworth. Progress be damned in that case, I just upgraded my faded video with a crisp new DVD so stay tuned on that front.

Lastly, there is a double offering from the uncrowned King of costume drama adaptations: Andrew Davies. His version of Northanger Abbey is filming while his version of Sense and Sensibility is in pre-production. Again, though Davies is godlike to the genre penning possibly the best Pride and Prejudice script ever, Emma Thompson’s Sense and Sensibility should be allowed to stand a few more years at least. It was Oscar worthy for goodnessake.

Men's Regency Costume

2006-11-25T03:12:00.000-08:00

Let’s be frank a BIG part of why Jane Austen’s heroes and villains are particularly sexy is the clothes they wear. Knee-high boots, long great coats, tall neckties, floppy shirts and tight breeches all make us shudder. Male costume changed dramatically from 1780s to the 1800s – becoming more austere and less colourful. Grooming and unshowy style were all-important. And fortunately we have our costume expert Mrs B to hand to explain why and some illustrations from a 1907 edition of Pride and Prejudice for illustration!

Mrs B says:

In the period 1795 to 1820 the male fashionable look was the perfectly tailored, figure hugging style devised by Beau Brummell and his circle. Brummell took the practical frock coat, waistcoat and breeches worn by the English Peers in their enthusiasm for farming and country pursuits and refined the look.

By the end of the eighteenth century English tailors became the leaders of men’s fashions, because their long experience of the subtleties of cloth had developed their skill and they gave style and elegance to the practical country coats and so made them acceptable for fashionable wear. Beau Brummell, not an innovator but a perfectionist, set the seal on the new fashion by removing the odour of the stables. He had the floppy cravat starched, the muddy boots polished and, above all, he demanded the perfect cut and fit (see Nora Waugh, The Cut of Men’s Clothes 1600-1900).

The double-breasted riding coat was turned into an elegant garment by giving it a curved front and tailoring it to fit the body closely.

Breeches were replaced by pantaloons, which were tighter fitting and extended to mid calf or below. These were bias cut to achieve a much closer fit. They were worn with highly polished tall boots. Between 1807-25 trousers, originally worn by working men, appeared as an alternative. They were skin tight to the knees and below the knee they were looser and anchored in place by straps under the instep, a device possibly introduced by Brummell to ensure the trousers’ unwrinkled perfection could be maintained. Breeches, pantaloons and trousers in this period fastened with a side buttoned rectangular panel to produce a flat front to the garment and preserve the closeness of fit.

Thanks Mrs B (see more of her here).

I just love Darcy’s great coat in the BBC series and pantaloons worn with hessian boots could not be sexier, though they need good legs and firm thighs to carry them off!

Pride and Prejudice: Film 2005

2006-11-14T04:42:00.000-08:00

I actually liked this adaptation – though there are some very silly (and socially inaccurate) moments in it, for example Bingley being in Jane’s bedroom at her bedside and the announcing of the Bennet sisters all as ‘Miss Bennet’ at Netherfield to name but two. There is also no real feeling of the ‘shame’ that Lydia put her family through or the real danger to her reputation and that of her sisters that her elopement with Wickham caused.

Such quibbles aside, I liked the fact that the Bennets lived in a disorganised, rustic house and one got the sense that the Bennet sisters really were squabbling, problematic teenagers. The fashions between the generations were more old fashioned – Mrs Bennet and Lady Catherine are in late eighteenth century fashions while the younger ladies are in regency empire dress. The balls are much more rough and tumble and alcoholic. The sense of war going on and patriotism is much bigger than in the BBC 1995 version. Mr Collins is much more creepy – his voice and habit of hanging around in the shadows reminds me of a Dr Who fan/stalker I have met – than comic. Mr Bennet is more unkempt and vague and his library is well used and in constant turmoil.

Matthew Macfaddon’s Mr Darcy is sulky, surly and awkward but in a good way (if you know what I mean). He appears to be shy rather than down right rude, opinionated rather than arrogant and misguided rather than self-righteous. He is also a very passionate Darcy – the proposal scene where he comes close to just snogging Lizzie had me in meltdown in the cinema. I think he is much more of a ‘Bronte’ Darcy than an Austen one. And, though the end is very silly when Lizzie and Darcy walk across the field in the morning mist, what an image of him striding across the fields!

Just a shame about Keira Knightley as Lizzie – let’s say no more.

Those Darcy Moments

A minute to second guide to when Darcy appears on screen – taken from the DVD.
Pictures © 2005 Focus Features

06:01 First appearance in the noisy ballroom
09:07 Won’t dance
09:58 ‘She is perfectly tolerable, I suppose’

12:26 Arch conversation between Darcy and Lizzie on poetry being the food of love
16:40 Darcy and Miss Bingley at breakfast
19:20 Darcy writing a letter
21:21 Miss Bingley and Lizzie walking around the room
22:00 ‘My good opinion once lost is lost for ever’
22:52 Visit of the Miss Bennets
24:23 Touch of hand while handing Lizze into the carriage
36:53 Darcy asks for dance
38:00 The Dance

39:10 Stop in the middle of the dance and look at each other
42:25 bored disdain when dancing with Miss Bingley
57:05 Darcy appears unexpectedly at Lady DeBourghs
58:10 Darcy and Lizzie sat together at dinner
59:58 Great shot of Darcy (hands on hips) and Fitzwilliam
101:15 Darcy comes over to piano and talks to Lizzie

102:24 Darcy stares at Lizzie
102:50 Darcy comes to visit parsonage and clearly perturbed
105:08 Darcy in church. Lizzie told about Darcy’s interference with Bingley and Jane
106:00 Darcy proposal in rain – very breathless.
108:30 Lizzie mentions Wickham and Darcy steps towards her
109:12 Almost kisses her
111:15 Darcy appears to give her the letter
119:40 Lizzie at Pemberley amongst naked neo-classical sculptures
122:47 Darcy and sister
123:03 Darcy sees Lizzie
124:45 Darcy goes to pub in village and meets aunt and uncle
125:30 Darcy and Georgina playing piano
127:10 Letter from Jane
127:50 ‘This is my fault, if it was not for my pride . . .’
133:28 Lizzie finds out about Darcy and Lydia’s wedding

136:33 Darcy and Bingley go to the Bennets Darcy and Bingley
137:15 Exchange of looks
137:27 ‘Are you quite well?’
138:15 Leave taking
138:30 Darcy prepares Bingley for the proposal
140:25 Bingley proposal
141:38 Darcy looking at house from distance
148:42 Darcy walking across the field in the mist
149:37 Darcy and Lizzie meet
150:00 Second proposal Proposal

151:47 Darcy as goes to see father
152:47 Darcy outside waiting for Lizzie

Misc. Info.

Directed: Joe Wright
Script: Deborah Moggach

Matthew Macfadyen - Mr. Darcy
Keira Knightley - Elizabeth 'Lizzie' Bennet
Rosamund Pike - Jane Bennet
Simon Woods - Mr. Bingley

Official Movie Site:

Can download the trailer on official site.

Working title films website have extra photographs – including behind the scenes:

Buy DVD:
In UK (has extra features and a making of)

In US

Visit the natural sights in the Peak district – Darcy country

Visit houses in film through the National Trust