I am so freaking sick of my friends being obsessed with the 1995 version of Pride and Prejudice. I saw the BBC version--thought it was dry, stale, and just so-so. The girls all hold Ehle to be the definitive Lizzie, although she was way too old and way too mature. My friends have all seen the BBC 95 version so many times and yet they don't remember so many things about the book. Whenever we get on the subject of book to movie adaptations (which happens a lot, as we're all avid readers and they're all actresses), someone we always end up talking about freaking P&P.
I mean, I loved the new version. It captured a great essence, was beautiful, had stellar acting and great cinematography. I don't care if you take every single one of Austen's lines and make a 10 hour long movie--it won't make it better and it won't make it more interesting. Anyway, I get so annoyed with the constant "95 BBC P&P IS THE BIBLE" crap. They're both adaptations of a good book. I don't see why they have to be such utter snobs about it.
-ginger
haha! my mom and i both happen to love the book, so we sat through the BBC version in one sitting. that is a LONG time to be on the couch, but i thought it was pretty well worth it. i guess ehle was technically too old to play elizabeth, but these days it's a real pleasure to see an older actress play a younger character, as opposed to the other way around, which seems to be the norm in hollywood. and i <3<3<3<3 colin firth. then years later, we went to see the movie version, and we both pronounced it muchmuchmuch better. we're not purists to the extent that we require every line and scene to be present, so i agree with you; i think the movie still managed to do a great job of distilling the essence of the book into a two hour time slot.
maybe it's just trendy to dislike anything with keira knightley in it, or to love every single BBC miniseries that comes out. idk. actually, i remember being horrified when i first learned that she was going to play elizabeth, but in the end i think she really did justice to her character.