1995 BBC miniseries
Cast- Colin Firth, Jennifer Ehle
Elizabeth Bennet, one of five daughters, is living in 19th century England where the only way to secure her family’s future is to marry well. Her oldest sister, Jane, seems to have met a great prospect in Mr. Bingley, but Elizabeth cannot abide the pride and arrogance of his good friend Mr. Darcy.
Why I love it- Um, Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy. I know there are lots of other great reasons to love this movie, but if you take Colin Firth out of the picture, this is no favorite! I thought Jennifer Ehle was a great Lizzie. She had warmth, sparkle, and a quick wit. The rest of her family was suitably annoying and ridiculous, but in a good way.
Now that I’ve read the book I can truly appreciate how closely this follows Austen classic. The sets were perfectly lovely and not Hollywood in any way. There were added scenes to let us see a bit more of Mr. Darcy and that made it easier for me to see him apart from only the times Elizabeth saw him, as was the case in the novel.
I watched this for the first time in September 2008. You can read my thoughts here, but here’s the last thing I said-
Great miniseries, but don’t expect your husband or boyfriend to sit through it, unless he really, really loves you. But, beware, you never know what he may expect you to watch.
Well, the reason I’m reviewing this now is because Jason really, really loves me. We watched an hour a night for a week. It was so much fun introducing Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth to him. He really didn’t get Mr. Darcy’s appeal, especially for the first half of the movie. I kept telling him it was Colin Firth and that’s all he needed to know, but he still wasn’t convinced. And I’m still waiting for him to come home with a 5 hour miniseries about the history of the stock market or 100 years of Michigan State basketball.
This is a must see if you are a fan of the book or the era. You won’t be disappointed.
So, go ahead and tell us who has been your favorite Mr. Darcy (Laurence Olivier, Peter Cushing, Matther Macfadyen, Colin Firth) or tell me your fantasy Mr. Darcy. Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with us 🙂
Stacy's Books 
I’ve only watched the version with Macfadyen and Keira Knightley so I can’t comment. 😛 I thought they made a lovely couple though.
I like that one too.
Oh. Yes. Colin Firth. I need to go watch this again. Right now.
Colin Firth is the ONLY Mr. Darcy for me!!
I’m with you on Colin Firth!
One of my favorites too! My husband really loves me too because he watched this with me twice all the way through in one sitting! He’s a sucker for romances, though!
What a great husband you have 🙂
Jason knows more about Mr. Darcy than I do. Never read it. Never seen it. Plan to some day. But I think I’d be more interested in 100 years of the Red Sox. Andy will watch anything I ask – though sometimes it does take some patience. Brokeback Mountain sat on the shelf for about 2 months before he decided he was prepared for it.
You definitely have a wonderful husband Stacy!!! He’s a keeper! You’ll have to tell us what mini series he has you watch in exchange. I have seen the Kiera Knightly version and like it but my girlfriend who is a P&P fan told me that I HAVE to see the Colin Firth version. I have not seen this version of P&P and I have it sitting here on my shelf on DVD waiting! I have to watch it…soon! My husband “may” watch it with me but it’s more of a time thing. He watched Girl with a Pearl Earring with me and liked it. I’ve watched plenty of movies that he likes so we do share!
My ideal movie of P & P would be Colin Firth and Kiera Knightly. Maybe at some far, future date some genius of a movie tech person could do that. Either way I love the movie and the book.
Your husband is a true gentleman. Be good to him.
Colin is h0t for sure!
I own this one and watch it quite often!!! Love Colin Firth too!!! The real test is to see if he’ll wear the Mr. Darcy t-shirt!! Mine won’t 😦
I was just watching “Mamma Mia,” which also has Colin Firth. Have you seen it? I imagine it was quite a departure for him from this one!
I like the Keira Knightly version, haven’t seen this one though.
I would prefer my husband not watching this with me, because then he’ll only get an excuse to put on Fight Club for the hundredth time 🙂 I do make him watch New moon though 🙂
Well this is the only one I’ve seen, so I’ll go with Firth. Your husband’s a true doll for watching it with you. LOL. And yes, you will enjoy 100 years of Michigan Basketball. Hey, fair is fair. LOL. Have a great weekend!
I don’t think I’ve watched the Colin Firth version. I like that guy.
Colin Firth is THE Mr Darcy- both for Lizzie and Bridget!
ha-ha-ha! LOVE IT!
There is nothing else for me to say 😉
I just watched part of a mini-series called “Lost in Austen” on Ovation Sunday night. It has Elizabeth Bennett finding a door in her attic that opens into a modern-day apartment. She kind of tricks the modern-day woman (Amanda) into going through the door and leaves her in the Bennett’s house. Then Amanda has to navigate through the story. The 2 episodes I watched were good, I have 2 or 3 left on the DVR to watch. I’ve never read the book or watched any of the movies, so this is my introduction!