Anne here, and I’m wondering — What were you doing on this day in 1995?
If you were in the UK, chances are you were settling down to watch the very first episode of the BBC TV adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, with Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth. It aired first on 24 September 1995. And no doubt you would be glued to the TV for the following five weeks, watching the rest of the series.
It was a landmark event, and was such a phenomenal success that 100,000 video box sets were sold while it was still on air, while 10 million people watched the final episode.
Its success is probably responsible for the raft of Austen adaptations, imitations and spin-offs ever since, and Jane Austen, whose novels had modest success in her lifetime, has become a mega star, making frequent appearances on “All time favorite author” lists — even though quite a few people who list her as their favorite author haven’t actually read her books. They don’t need to — or so they think — they’ve seen the TV series and the movies.
I’m not dissing the various series and movie adaptations — I’m delighted that they taught the world to appreciate Austen and her Regency world. That 1995 series in particular got almost everything right — the world, the clothes, the manners and expectations, and the characters.
The only thing that jarred with me was, ironically, the scene that is the most memorable and beloved of many people — the scene where Darcy dives into the pond. And though he looks quite sexy, emerging dripping and walking toward Lizzie, that pond looks quite unenticing — even the underwater sequence shows it as murky — so he would be squelching along, dripping waterweed as he walked. And probably not smelling all that good — it’s quite a small pond and to my eye looks a bit stagnant.
A stuntman was used for most of the scene — he appears in midair in a very brief shot. He was hired because of the risk of infection with Weil’s disease at Lyme Park. The short underwater segment was filmed separately with Firth in a tank at Ealing Studios in west London. (Source)
Apparently the script-writer, Andrew Davies, initially planned to have Darcy swim naked, but the BBC opposed that. (And in that state he could hardly greet Lizzie!) The suggestion that he wear underpants was then dismissed by the producers as anachronistic and silly. Davies thought that the scene unwittingly “rerobed, not disrobed, Austen”; when he had originally wrote the scene, he did not intend to highlight a sexual connection between Elizabeth and Darcy but to create “an amusing moment in which Darcy tries to maintain his dignity while improperly dressed and sopping wet”. (Source) https://janeausten.fandom.com/wiki/The_Lake_Scene#
That scene apart — and many who claim to be fans of Jane Austen don’t even realize it was not in the book — the adaptation itself is wonderful, as six episodes allowed it to remain pretty faithful to the book.
Ten years on, in 2005, there was the movie version, with Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen, and ever since, people have debated with version is best. But I don’t think it’s a fair comparison. A movie-length adaptation would, by necessity have to condense, compress and cut the events of the novel.
The bit that jarred on me most in the movie was the pig wandering through the house. It struck entirely the wrong note. The Bennets were gentry, not peasants.
Some critics argued that Keira Knightley’s portrayal in the 2005 film is too modern and lacks the subtlety of Jennifer Ehle’s performance in the miniseries, and while I agree with that to some extend, I enjoyed the film and her performance. Hers was a very different interpretation, and one that I think appealed to a whole new, younger audience, and brought them to Austen.
There is an excellent essay here about the history of Austen and the BBC — long, but well worth reading.
If we’re talking about film adaptations of Austen, my favourite is probably Persuasion, with Amanda Root and Kieran Hinds. It also came out in 1995 and I thought it beautifully subtle and emotionally engaging.
It also contains (straight from the book) the most romantic declaration of love from a hero:
You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope. Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings are gone forever. I offer myself to you again with a heart even more your own than when you almost broke it eight years and a half ago. Dare not say that man forgets sooner than woman, that his love has an earlier death. I have loved none but you.
And on that note, I’ll leave you with these questions: Do you remember watching your first Austen adaptation? Do you have a favourite Austen — book or screen version? And what were you doing in 1995?
The Andrew Davies P & P was probably the first Austen screen adaptation I saw, although by then I owned (& had read) all 6 novels.
My favourite is also the 1990s Persuasion, particularly because the ‘natural’ look of it. When Anne sits down for dinner with the Musgroves, candles flickering, you think that’s how it must have looked.
I only saw the 2005 P and P film a few years ago. Still prefer the more complete storytelling of the TV series, but I came round to Matthew McFadyen’s Darcy.
Thanks, Ginger Cat — I’m with you on the 1995 version of Persuasion. It’s pitch-perfect, I think, and the performances are wonderful.
Yes I was one of those people who watched entranced for six weeks! That is still my favourite P & P adaptation and I must admit I didn’t like the Keira Knightly film. Another favourite is Sense & Sensibility with Emma Thompson – a wonderful adaptation! Lovely post Anne, thank you for reminding me I need to rewatch the DVDs!
Thanks, Christina. I think most people who are fans of the book would prefer the 6 episode version which most truly reflects the novel, but I think the movie adaptations brought a new audience to Austen novels. The Sense and Sensibility film is excellent, I agree. I would have talked about it too, but I ran out of space.
I guess the 1995 P&P production is probably my favorite Austin adaptation. But I enjoyed the Kiera Knight version also. Another favorite is EMMA (the one with Johnny Lee Miller as Mr. Knightly. Actually, I find almost all of the Austin adaptations worth my time.
As for the pond scene with Colin Firth – I can’t over think it – I enjoy it too much (smile).
Mary, I agree that pretty much all the adaptations are worth people’s time.
As for the pond scene — even though it jars on me, I can still enjoy it. 😉
My first Austen adaptation was the 1940 film of Pride and Prejudice with Greer Garson & Laurence Olivier. I was born in 1954 so obviously saw it on tv as an old movie but I loved it. The love affair begins. My other favorite is Sense and Sensibility with Emma Thompson & Hugh Grant. How I loved Alan Rickman in that movie too.
Jeanne, I nearly mentioned the old Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier film. When I was teaching P&P to a class of girls, it was before the 1995 TV version had been made, and I showed the film. They utterly adored it — and the hoots of laughter and delight when Mr Collins appeared even caused another teacher to check whether a riot was happening in my class. *g*
The costumes were all wrong, of course, but the acting was wonderful.
I remember watching the TV series of P&P with my husband. At the end of the first proposal scene, where they are both angry, he stared at the tv for a minute and said, “It’s amazing how erotic formality can be.”
I cherish that memory.
What a wonderful memory, Lil. Thanks for sharing it with us!
Lil, what a wonderful comment by your husband. Yes, I totally agree. Formality and repressed emotion can be quite erotic — if done well. The subtle erotic power is something I miss in a lot of modern historicals.
I had the old copy of the one where they were all wearing Victorian clothes. The 1995 series was the beginning of the surge in interest in Austen. The difficulty with the Keira Knightley movie was not only the pig but the whole Wuthering Heights feel. All that striding through fog and rain in capes. Many of the movie and book variations aren’t true to Austen or the period. Some are so far out they should be called fantasy fiction. Often the movies are well made and the books well written — as long as they aren’t supposed to represent Regency England, or Austen’s characters. I almost walked out o the theatre when I saw that sow wandering into the house and Lizzie making a careful way through a muddy back yard. Even the book Death Comes to Pemberley was bad PTJames and bad Austen. The movie was a little better. Then there was the movie where Fanny Price was played by a woman who bounced all over. I have mostly given up on all adaptations and variations.
Thanks, Nancy — I think most of us who know and love the original novels need to suspend our own view of the stories and try to enjoy the different movie interpretations. There was a lot of wet weather and fog and mud in the Keira Knightly version, but I was still able to enjoy it. But I totally agree with you about the pig. Totally ridiculous and annoying. And not at all necessary.
I fear you might consider me a heretic as I don’t recall watching a Jane Austen movie/series. I did read Pride and Prejudice, however, so all is not lost!
As to 1995, I was parent to a young child and reinforcing her joy of children’s books. She read Pride and Prejudice some years later, and she would have opinions on the various movies.
No heretic at all, Kareni. A lot of people prefer books to movies — me included. But if you can get hold of the 6 part mini-series version, you’ll enjoy it, I’m sure. And how lovely to have instilled a love of reading to a child — that’s a legacy to be proud of.
My first adaptation of Austen was the film with Laurence Olivier & Greer Garson. By the time I saw it, I had read all of Austen’s books.
My favourite P&P version is the one with Colin Firth & Jennifer Ehle.
My favourite Austen story is Persuasion & my favourite film version is the one with Ciaran Hinds and Amanda Root. I loved how self absorbed Corin Redgrave was as Anne’s father
Thank you, Anne. I think we agree on all points there. *g* And yes, Corin Redgrave’s portrayal of Anne’s supremely self-obsessed father was wonderful.
The first Austen film I would have seen would have been the MGM P&P version with Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier, which was on TV often. I thought it was pretty bad. Not only were all the costumes from the wrong era (the story is that the costume designer had just done a regency piece and didn’t want to do another), but Garson and Olivier looked waaaay to old to me. My touchstone is not who is hottest as Mr. Darcy, but who does the best Mr. Bennet. Edmund Gwenn is a favorite. But or course I have a dvd set.
During the years when KCET, our local public television station, was something a bit new to us, they ran all those 1980s British versions of Jane Austen’s novels, so when they were on dvd I bought the set. I think of them as having good actors (their Darcy was David Rintoul) and the worst, most dead-looking wigs I’ve ever seen. But they mostly did stick pretty closely to the books. Of course I have a set of the Colin Firth version. Their version of Emma isn’t bad; it’s a curiosity to me now because Mr. Knightley is played by John Carson, and he was in a lot of Hammer stuff. My favorite version is the Gwyneth Paltrow version; not only was Jeremy Northam a terrific Mr. Knightley, but Emma was played by an actress who was actually Emma Woodhouse’s age at the time. I get tired of seeing actresses in their mid thirties playing young girls who are barely 21. I don’t have the 2020 version with Johnny Flynn as Mr. Knightley because it really annoys me; he’s just wrong for the part. Also every time I see Bill Nighy doing his little hopping bit on the stairs, which was totally out of character for Mr. Woodhouse, I groan, much as I love his other roles.
My favorite Sense and Sensibility version is, of course, the Emma Thompson one. Her script was brilliant, and I think she actually improved on what Austen did. In Austen’s novel there are two sisters who are out and one who is not, and Margaret, the one who isn’t, is around 13 or so. Thompson changed Margaret’s age to around 8 years old. When Edward interacts with Margaret, playing with her and taking her seriously, we see the kindness and charm that led Elinor to fall in love with him; he’s not a total stiff. And it’s got Alan Rickman too.
Northanger Abbey is neither here nor there; part comedy, part serious, and the parody doesn’t work well with the greed part of the plot. So I have a couple of versions but neither is very interesting.
Nobody has ever done a good version of Mansfield Park, my favorite Austen novel, that I’ve seen. Billie Piper as Fanny Price seems totally miscast; by the cover, she plays Fanny as a pouting bimbo.
I have a few of the Austen pastiches as well; my favorites among them are Death Comes to Pemberley, Lost in Austen and Price & Prejudice & Zombies. I can forgive that the Darcys are not a particularly gorgeous couple and Elizabeth seems to have only two gowns; Matthew Goode as the slick womanizing Mr. Wickham makes up for that. I appreciated the look into the marriage of Kitty and Wickham. Lost in Austen is a lot of fun; who wouldn’t want a secret bathroom portal into regency England (as long as we didn’t have to live there)? Pride & Prejudice & Zombies makes no sense but it’s a hoot too.
Your other question – what was I doing in 1995? Working for an accounting firm (I had got my CPA) and watching British movies especially Austen movies, whenever I could. I remember sneaking out of a continuing education seminar on something boring to get to the 5:00 pm showing of Emma across the street 🙂
Wow, Janice what a comprehensive post. I remember the version with David Rintoul but I’m afraid I thought him a bit too stiff. I’ve liked him in other things, but not in that. You’re right that both Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier were too old, but I loved Greer Gasron’s warmth, and Olivier’s Darcy was beautifully stuffed shirt at first.
I chuckled at you’re sneaking out of a boring seminar to get to Emma.
Thank you.
Oh Janice, i love your story about sneaking out to see Emma across the street from your booring class! Good for you!
I was a librarian at Price waterhouse in 1995. Were you with a firm or practicing solo?
Jane, I worked for a small local firm in Beverly Hills. I went back to night school at UCLA to get enough accounting units to sit for the CPA exam. I dunno what the exam is now but then it was an in person proctored exam that lasted 2 1/2 days. We were locked into this old wooden building with a snack bar and really old scarred wooden tables that you couldn’t write on. They made candidates with backpacks surrender them at the door, but girls with big purses got in okay 🙂 I took it in Long Beach; I stared out at the Queen Mary while trying to think of good answers. The thing is, I didn’t enjoy accounting much so I was mostly the managing partner’s assistant. I mostly did tax clients and met some interesting folks.
Sorry about the giant emojis. Habit.
Another vote for Persuasion from me. I love the way Anne gradually emerges and lights up through the course of the film.
Yes, it’s beautifully and subtly done, I agree. And quite heartbreaking at first, as she sees what she has lost and he seems indifferent to her. But oh, that declaration at the end . . . Wonderful.
Definitely agree that the Amanda Root/Ciaran Hinds Persuasion is the best Austen adaptation – each character is so well portrayed! It’s one of my most-watched videos!
Emma Thompson’s Sense & Sensibility is also a favorite – great casting, and I don’t just mean Alan Rickman. Sigh….
Many thanks to Janice J – I was starting to think I was the only one who saw the David Rintoul/Elizabeth Garvie BBC version of P&P! Garvie was a perfect Elizabeth, I thought, and the actress playing Jane provided my favorite version ever of that character, too.
I cringed at the Colin Firth lake scene, and I also thought Jennifer Ehle looked and acted too old to be Elizabeth, but accepted a long time ago that I’m in the minority. Keira Knightley was a better Elizabeth imo, but her Darcy ruined it when he stuttered over the word “love” – so not Mr Darcy!
Thanks for the chance to chat about all these adaptations, Anne – I think it’s time to watch Persuasion again!
Llike some of the other comments my first P&P version was the Garson/Olivier one . I still enjoy the acting and was amazed at how many lines actually came from the novel itself. From what i have read it was supposed to be a kind of propaganda piece to show America that the British were our true allies and fighting for the same values we upheld(which explains the scene near the end with Darcy/Lady Catherine). I always found it very romatic, especially the end where Bingly comes back to Jane. And the actors who played the Bennets and Mr Collins were perfect!
But my all time favorite is the Rintoul/Garvey one. The closest to the book ever to my mind. The characters, the costumes, all made me feel as if i had entered the book itself.
I realize i am in the minority in not being a fan of the Colin Firth version. Somehow the Darcy he portrayed seemed closer to Victorian than Regency and the lake scene seemed out of character for Mr. Darcy. In fact, the whole movie seemed closer to Victorian in its feeling(and the Keira Knightly version almost like a Bronte novel).
I loved the 1995 version of S&S and Alan Rickman will forever be Colonel Brandon for me. The acting, the settings, the costumes were wonderful. The cast was outstanding and i actually felt i was there. What was so neat was that my father wanted to see it and we went to the local theatre together and he really enjoyed it which surprised me!
I would say the same about the 1995 version of Persuasion (Hinds/Root) which brought the book to life so well! The acting was superb and again the settings so well chosen. And the scene where they meet in the street and kiss….sigh……oh so romantic!
The later Austen adaptations since then have been poor attempts and trying to appeal to 21st c sensibilities by altering some aspects(like making the Bennets out to be close to tenant farmers with pigs wandering into the house and a muddy yard). I have never understood when a popular book is made into a movie why they have to change things!
After all it was popular for a reason so why change it?
Even though it it not in the book, it should have been….one of my favorite lines that Greer Garson spoke in the 1940 version of P&P. I can so imagine Lizzie saying thjs!
– Elizabeth Bennett speaking to Caroline Bingley: Oh, if you want to be really refined, you have to be dead. There’s no one as dignified as a mummy.
The very first Austen adaptation I saw on television was a terrible adaptation from 1940 with Lawrence Olivier and Greer Garson. A lot of old movies were shown, but unless it was on Public Television, the commercial networks would cut scenes for more advertising. Hollywood didn’t like the empire waist of the Regency, so they set the time later around 1840. They wanted the fuller skirts and lower waistline. Garson, the Bennet family, Bingley’s were closer to the book, but Lady de Bourgh was shown to be an ally of wanting the marriage between Darcy and Elizabeth. Olivier’s stiffness as a film actor worked well here, but the marriage proposal scene showed him using his arms in a weird way to prompt Elizabeth to sit down. It should be on YouTube to rent without cost.
I had already read all of Jane Austen’s books, so this film really bugged me in it’s wrong time placement.
I loved the 1995 TV adaptation. It had it all, including the extra scene of Darcy and Elizabeth meeting after his swim.
The Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen version was fun to watch, but it’s not a favorite. I didn’t like the pig running around, either, or seeing Elizabeth dressed in black in the first scene. No one was in mourning. The Bennet parents were too attracted to each other as an older couple. That ship sailed as the years past, and Mr. Bennet became disenchanted by his wife.
Bridget Jones’s Diary: Renée Zellweger as Bridget Jones, a modern take on Elizabeth Bennet, and Colin Firth as Mark Darcy, a modern Mr. Darcy was another fun film to see this couple.
Another one is a TV mini-series: Death Comes to Pemberley. I disliked this one. Matthew Rhys was a short and not well-built Darcy. Anna Maxwell Martin was a dull and unattractive actress to play Elizabeth.
Thank you so much for this post. WOW! I have seen every film and or series mentioned by anyone. And I think just because they were “said” to be based on a Jane Austen book….I liked something about each of them. The casts, the scenery, some of the pieces of plot. Generally, something made me smile.
Alan Rickman. I cannot even think of anyone else ever playing that part. I loved the Persuasion with Kieran Hinds. I loved Emma Thompson’s S & S. She was so perfect when she was being self sacrificing. And my favorite of all was the 1995 P & P. Even with the wrong costumes, Garson and Olivier were amazing, but what else would one expect. I have accepted that most of these films are not going to be the books. That is a hard thing to recognize. Maybe it is because we each see the book through our own perceptions and no one else can match that for us.
There was an author named Thomas Costain. He wrote a best seller called The Silver Chalice. It was made into a film starring a new young actor named Paul Newman. He always wanted to forget that film. I think it was because they took a relatively good book and made a really terrible film. But, he was so good in the film he was given other opportunities.
So, I have tried to always give all those films etc of Jane Austen books another opportunity. Admittedly, at times a second or third chance didn’t do it for me. But, I try to admit. No one is going to write Jane Austen like Jane Austen.
And what in the world would she think of what has been done to her books? And maybe, even Jane would admit that scene of Colin Firth rising from the water was worth it, whether it fit the story or not.
Hi Anne,
I forgot the other version that was so perfect in it’s representation of dialogue and characters. It’s the one with David Rintoul and Elizabeth Garvie.
Absolutely, loved this one! I think my favorite as well as Firth and Ehle!
In 1995, I was a brand new mother who would nurse my new infant while watching the Colin Firth Pride & Prejudice. I was enthralled! My first P&P was watching the Laurence Olivier version on TNT or TBS when I was younger. Greer Garson was definitely way too old to play Lizzie. That is probably why the 1995 version resonated with me so well. My favorite movie adaptation is probably the 1995 version of Persuasion, for all the same reasons others provided. Although Kate Beckinsale’s Emma from 1996 is also very good and one of the few movies where Mark Strong plays a good guy as Mr. Knightley. 😉
My first P&P was David Rintoul/Elizabeth Garvie and I loved it. That’s what set me off on the books. I had never read an Austen until then. I have all the adaptations and love most of them. If someone held me at gun point and said choose your absolute favourite, it would be Persuasion and the Amanda Root/Ciaran Hinds adaptation can’t be beaten in my opinion. Fantastic post Anne and great to see what other people liked.