Pride and Prejudice Deluxe Gift Set (2005)

"...outstanding performances...a joy from start to finish.  Carina Chocano, Los Angeles Times
"...an exquisite blend of emotion and wit.  Claudia Puig, USA Today
"Blissful, blazingly intelligent adaptation.  Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com

Editor's Note This version of Jane Austen's fiercely beloved novel has the daunting task of living up not only to the classic book, but also to the excellent 1995 miniseries of the same name. Yet 2005's PRIDE & PREJUDICE is up to the task, thanks to lively pacing, a witty script, an excellent cast, and clever direction from British newcomer Joe Wright. The surprisingly still-relevant story follows the five Bennet sisters as they deal with suitors and love, as their mother desperately schemes to marry them off advantageously. Sweet-tempered beauty Jane (Rosamund Pike) develops feelings for the equally amiable and extremely wealthy Mr. Bingley (Simon Woods), but forces conspire to keep them apart--while Lizzie (Keira Knightley) finds herself first appalled by, but gradually drawn to, Bingley's aloof, intelligent, and socially awkward friend, Mr. Darcy (Matthew MacFayden). The movie, at just over two hours, is forced to cut and condense a number of the book's subplots, and at times it tries to heighten the drama of certain scenes. But, for the most part, it's as faithful to the spirit of the original as time and cinematic convention allow. The tremendous supporting cast includes Brenda Blethyn as Mrs. Bennet and Donald Sutherland as her wry, withdrawn husband; Jena Malone as teenage twit Lydia; Judi Dench, effortlessly haughty and imperious, as Lady Catherine de Bourg; and Tom Hollander, who steals every scene he's in as the ludicrously pompous and awkward Mr. Collins. The movie's script, adapted by Deborah Moggach, manages to be proto-feminist without becoming anachronistic--and, like the novel, it is incisive about the class politics and gender inequalities of the day.

	Jena Malone
	Keira Knightley
	Rosamund Pike
	Talulah Riley
	Dario Marianelli - Original Music By
	Deborah Moggach - Screenplay
	Debra Hayward - Executive Producer
	Emma Thompson - Screenplay
	Jane Austen - Based On Novel By
	Joe Wright - Director
	Liza Chasin - Executive Producer
	Mark Swain - Art Director
	Nick Gottschalk - Art Director
	Paul Tothill - Editor
	Roman Oshin - Cinematographer
	Sarah Greenwood - Production Designer

Rolling Stone
3 stars out of 5 -- "Knightley is a lippy, tantalizing ball of fire....Romantic yearning hasn't looked this sexy onscreen in years." 11/17/2005 p.142

Entertainment Weekly
"Keira Knightley, in a witty, vibrant, altogether superb performance, plays Lizzie's sparky, questing nature as a matter of the deepest personal sacrifice....The acting in PRIDE & PREJUDICE tingles with nuance and presence." -- Grade: A 11/18/2005 p.102-103

New York Times
"[S]umptuous....[The film] gathers you up on its white horse and gallops off into the sunset." 11/11/2005 p.E13

USA Today
"[A] stellar adaptation, bewitching the viewer completely with an exquisite blend of emotion and wit." 11/23/2005 p.7D

Movieline's Hollywood Life
"Knightley is splendid, while Matthew Macfadyen broods with aplomb as Mr. Darcy..." 03/01/2006 p.106

Ultimate DVD
4 stars out of 5 -- "It's a handsome production and shot in some of the most eye-catching locations in England....Warm, satisfying and amusing..." 04/01/2008 p.68

Wall Street Journal
"[Ms. Knightley] brings a bright combination of expectancy and amusement to Mr. Wright's appealing version of Jane Austen's best-known novel." 10/09/2009

Variety 9 of 10
A movie for the age, and a keeper for the ages, "Pride & Prejudice" brings Jane Austen's best-loved novel to vivid, widescreen life, as well as making an undisputed star of 20-year-old Keira Knightley. Making positive use of thesps closer to the characters' real ages, but also benefiting from a visual approach by young Brit director Joe Wright that melds realism with romance in a canny balance, film looks set to appeal to more than just Janeites and upscale distaffers. - Derek Elley

Chicago Sun-Times 10 of 10
Pride and Prejudice is the best of her novels because its romance involves two people who were born to be in love, and care not about business, pleasure, or each other. It is frustrating enough when one person refuses to fall in love, but when both refuse, we cannot rest until they kiss...The movie is well cast from top to bottom; like many British films, it benefits from the genius of its supporting players. Judi Dench brings merciless truth-telling to her role as a society arbiter; Sutherland is deeply amusing as a man who lives surrounded by women and considers it a blessing and a fate, and as his wife Blethyn finds a balance between her character's mercenary and loving sides. - Roger Ebert