OpenID Although this version gets great reviews I found it seriously lacking in its faithfulness to the original Jane Austen novel. I didn't like it. There are far too many 'innovations' most especially the scenes of Darcy in his bath and worse Darcy diving into the lake and meeting Elizabeth half dressed and soaking (!). Ridiculous - and not in the original novel. In the novel Darcy and Elizabeth meet at Pemberley and the shock to both is real, but they are both fully clothed. The action is in their mutual surprise/embarrassment at meeting. Obviously the producers did not, for some reason, like the original Austen scene and thus this ludicrous innovation. Mrs Bennett is way overacted - her voice is loud and harsh and grates for most of the movie. Her frantic and real concern over her daughters' plight should their father die first is completely lost in this bizarre over the top acting. The younger Miss Bennetts are also overdone. In the novel they are silly, mindless girls but in this movie they are wildly dashing about the place in a loud, boisterous manner. Mr Collins in the novel is a quasi-comic character but here he is depicted as a predatory, creepy character. I found his scenes to be particularity disturbing rather than comic. Maybe the object of this production was to make Pride and Prejudice accessible to a wide audience and it seems to have succeeded in doing this.but it sadly left Jane Austen back at the starting gate. I recommend reading the novel for a fascinating look at the Regency Period and the manners and norms of that day. Sadly, this version will not do that.

Fayola Morgan Watched all six episodes in one sitting. Absolutely loved it! Just as timeless and superb as the beautiful novel from whence it came. So faithful to Jane's text, whilst including believable additions in dialogue and in setting. Fantastic! And Colin Firth's performance! The affection and growing love in his eyes conveyed with no dialogue whatsoever. Ehle's "fine eyes" and witty delivery make her THE Elizabeth Bennet in picture form. Love this to pieces, and will watch it many times, just like I will re-read the book again.

jenhowell77 This is, bar none, the best of the Austen adaptations, alongside Ang Lee's "Sense and Sensibility" and the 1995 Roger Michell version of "Persuasion." If you saw the Keira Knightley P&P and think you know the story, think again Two hours is simply not enough time to do justice to the hilarious characters and biting satire of Austen, nor can the romances of the story be fully developed and paid off in that amount of time. Six hours is exactly right, and there is not a second wasted. Every bit of screen time is devoted to either developing character, advancing the story (and giving the necessary background), or painting a portrait of the Regency era. You can watch and re-watch this film and come away with new details each time.Moreover this series was perfectly cast. Of course, there's Colin Firth. But Jennifer Ehle is Elizabeth Bennet and David Bamber comes close to stealing the whole show as Mr. Collins.As an avid reader of all Austen's novels, this movie is one of the few that completely captures Austen's spirit, her wit, and the complexity of these seemingly simple little stories.

dmckinleyp Like others here, I'm writing out of a love of the novel and a sheer amazement that it was finally produced in faithful manner, with enough drama and TIME spent in the story, and fabulous acting to do justice to Jane Austen's towering achievement. It's almost pointless to add my 10-star review to the others, many more insightful than mine, but I cannot help myself. This is the epitome of television adaptation, accomplishing what a single movie (think Keira Knightly, or even Laurence Olivier) could not. It did two extra things - Colin Firth brought Darcy to life as he deserved in the novel, and it introduced us to the refined (and beautiful) talents of Jennifer Ehle. I have followed both their careers ever since watching this. This series is one for the ages, an Elizabethan counterpart to how Breaking Bad documents our own uglier, tortured age.