Happy Talk Like A Pirate Day! Arrgh. 
Yeah, I'm not much of a pirate impersonator, what can I say?
Well, I finally finished watching* the Keira Knightley Pride & Prejudice, so now I will remark upon my opinions on the two versions. Because I'm weird. (But that has already been long established, so I won't say another word about it.)
First of all, in terms of overall story and plot lines and screenplay and all that, I prefer the longer A&E version better. Keira Knightley's one seemed rushed at times (which, due to the fact that I hadn't watched the other one in years, I hadn't really noticed the last few times I've watched it), and some of the scenes just didn't make sense, what they did with them. Like Lady Catherine coming in the middle of the night to talk to Lizzy--would a lady of her caliber (er...at least with her sense of propriety) really make such a nighttime trip? It seems like it would be improper and very uncivil, and not something she would do, no matter how upset she was.
They just skimmed over some of the plot lines that they did keep--like Lydia and Wickham's scandal, Darcy's part in separating Jane and Bingley, etc.--and then they combined different scenes into one--like Mr. Collins' proposal followed directly by Jane's letter from Caroline Bingley. It was, again, rushed. Which is understandable, as they smushed the story into a two-hour movie, as opposed to a four- or five-hour one**. But still, I liked the way they explained things better in the longer one, and plus they dropped a bunch of characters. Mr. Bingley's married sister and her husband (Mr. & Mrs. Hurst), Charlotte Lucas's sister, Mrs. Bennet's other sister, Wickham's regimental friends, Denny and somebody else, that Kitty and Lydia were all gung-ho over.... Plus, they actually explain who Colonel Fitzwilliam is in that one, while in the Keira Knightley version, they just introduce him by his name and that's it. They don't mention that he's Darcy's cousin--a rather important detail, in my opinion. Or at least one that clears a few things up.
As far as music goes, I love love love the K.K. soundtrack, though I liked that in the A&E one they played actual historical works of music (I recognized several pieces, like Mozart's Turkish March, among others), whereas in the new one, as far as I could tell, they just played variations on the soundtrack music.
Of course, to be fair, most of my dissatisfaction with the Keira Knightley version was due to the fact that I just watched the Colin Firth one, and thus the little details were still fresh in my mind. Normally, I wouldn't notice and I wouldn't care.
As far as the actors themselves go, I'm a bit ambivalent. As priorly mentioned, I prefer Jennifer Ehle over Keira Knightley based on appearance (plus, some of the lines K.K. had made Lizzy seem much more, erm, man-hating almost, than in the other one; though perhaps I was taking her too seriously when she was merely teasing). Darcy, I'm wavering. Matthew MacFayden's expressions seemed more puppy-dog-eyed and little-boyish, which I don't generally think of Darcy being like. (Eh. I don't like the way I structured that last sentence. C'est la vie.) Other than that, I liked him a lot (and he definitely grows on one, heehee), but I think overall I prefer Colin Firth.
As for Mr. and Mrs. Bennet--I liked the A&E Mr. Bennett better than Donald Sutherland. Part of it was his lines, and the fact that they developed his character way more in the longer one (duh), but I think he just embodied who Mr. Bennet really is better. Sutherland was too serious and at times absent-minded almost. Mrs. Bennet, I think the A&E one embodied her...ridiculousness better, but she was so stinking annoying, oh my goodness. Granted, she was supposed to be, but still. Her voice grated. The K.K. Mrs. Bennet was a pleasanter woman, both to look at and to listen to. But again, they didn't have nearly the time to spend on developing her character as the other one did, so that's part of it, I think. Altogether, I think the A&E one did a better job portraying Mrs. Bennet (painfully so at times
).
Hehe. I'm seeing a theme here: the A&E actors depicted their characters better in general.
Jane, I liked the K.K. Jane better, because she's way prettier than the other one--and Jane is supposed to be really pretty, "the prettiest girl in the county" or some such thing. No offense, but the other Jane was rather homely. Lizzy far outshone her. Though, again, the other Jane portrayed her reserve better.
Mr. Bingley, I liked the A&E guy better.
Caroline Bingley, I think the K.K. girl was prettier and more regal (though her freckles bothered me. Wasn't it considered horrible to have freckles back then? But then, she's a redhead, and they generally have freckles.), plus she looked like she could be Mr. Bingley's sister, whereas the other one--I don't know her name off the top of my head, but she was in What A Girl Wants with Colin Firth, too, in what I find to be a rather funny and similar role--didn't look a thing like her "brother".
As for the three youngest Bennet girls, I thought the K.K. ones were prettier, but the A&E ones (especially Lydia) were more true to character.
Mr. Collins is a toss-up. The A&E guy was just plain creepy and ridiculous. Tom Hollander's portrayal was more stumbling and socially inept.
Charlotte, the K.K. girl was homelier, as she's kind of supposed to be, but the other one seemed more severe, I guess. (That's not really the word I want, but I'm too lazy to figure out the one I do want.)
Who else...oh, yes, Mr. Wickham. Harrumph. The K.K. guy just reminds me of Orlando Bloom. He could be his little brother, or something. It's semi-creepy. (I'm not exactly a big Orlando Bloom fan, sorry.) But the other guy I didn't think was handsome enough to merit all the, uh, attention he received (hopefully that doesn't completely sound shallow, heh). He looked older than he was supposed to be (well, I don't really know how old he's supposed to be), and I didn't get the "charming vibe" Wickham has, but I thought he did a better job than Orlando, Jr. Junior was too snively.
Okay, now that I have spent way too much time talking about movies that really don't have that much bearing on my life, I will, as they might've said a couple hundred years ago, quit the subject.
P.S. This is totally random (well, not totally, as it's on the subject of Jane Austen at least), but I've come to the conclusion that my favorite Jane Austen hero is Mr. Knightley from Emma.
Or possibly the guy from Northanger Abbey, Mr. Tildney or something like that.
Knightley is, in my opinion, the friendly outgoing version of Darcy (which, granted, kind of makes him not at all like Darcy). But you know, the respectable gentleman, nice, sweet, etc.
And Tildney (or whoever--I've only seen the PBS movie of Northanger Abbey once, back in January, so I don't really remember the characters' names) had the most hilarious wry wit, I loved it. The dialogue between him and....was it Cathy??? (Or am I thinking of Wuthering Heights? I've never read it or anything, but I've heard enough about it to know the main characters are Heathcliff and Cathy.) Anyway, whatever the main girl's name was, when she first meets and dances with the guy, they have this dialogue full of sarcasm, it's great. (I'm a fan of irony, what can I say?)
And as far as heroines go, I've decided, after watching Sense & Sensibility yesterday, that I'm very much like Elinor Dashwood. Quiet, reserved, and (at least fairly) sensible. (I'd have said maybe Jane Bennet, but I'm not nearly so Pollyanna-like as she is, always seeing the good in people and never saying a harsh word about them. Yeah, no.)
*Let's just say I started it yesterday, stopped it when Mr. Collins came, started it where I'd stopped this afternoon, stopped it when Lizzy got the letter from Jane about Lydia, and came back to it this evening and finally finished it.
**Yes, I know the Colin Firth one was a miniseries, not technically a movie. Whatever.
Yeah, I'm not much of a pirate impersonator, what can I say?
Well, I finally finished watching* the Keira Knightley Pride & Prejudice, so now I will remark upon my opinions on the two versions. Because I'm weird. (But that has already been long established, so I won't say another word about it.)
First of all, in terms of overall story and plot lines and screenplay and all that, I prefer the longer A&E version better. Keira Knightley's one seemed rushed at times (which, due to the fact that I hadn't watched the other one in years, I hadn't really noticed the last few times I've watched it), and some of the scenes just didn't make sense, what they did with them. Like Lady Catherine coming in the middle of the night to talk to Lizzy--would a lady of her caliber (er...at least with her sense of propriety) really make such a nighttime trip? It seems like it would be improper and very uncivil, and not something she would do, no matter how upset she was.
They just skimmed over some of the plot lines that they did keep--like Lydia and Wickham's scandal, Darcy's part in separating Jane and Bingley, etc.--and then they combined different scenes into one--like Mr. Collins' proposal followed directly by Jane's letter from Caroline Bingley. It was, again, rushed. Which is understandable, as they smushed the story into a two-hour movie, as opposed to a four- or five-hour one**. But still, I liked the way they explained things better in the longer one, and plus they dropped a bunch of characters. Mr. Bingley's married sister and her husband (Mr. & Mrs. Hurst), Charlotte Lucas's sister, Mrs. Bennet's other sister, Wickham's regimental friends, Denny and somebody else, that Kitty and Lydia were all gung-ho over.... Plus, they actually explain who Colonel Fitzwilliam is in that one, while in the Keira Knightley version, they just introduce him by his name and that's it. They don't mention that he's Darcy's cousin--a rather important detail, in my opinion. Or at least one that clears a few things up.
As far as music goes, I love love love the K.K. soundtrack, though I liked that in the A&E one they played actual historical works of music (I recognized several pieces, like Mozart's Turkish March, among others), whereas in the new one, as far as I could tell, they just played variations on the soundtrack music.
Of course, to be fair, most of my dissatisfaction with the Keira Knightley version was due to the fact that I just watched the Colin Firth one, and thus the little details were still fresh in my mind. Normally, I wouldn't notice and I wouldn't care.
As far as the actors themselves go, I'm a bit ambivalent. As priorly mentioned, I prefer Jennifer Ehle over Keira Knightley based on appearance (plus, some of the lines K.K. had made Lizzy seem much more, erm, man-hating almost, than in the other one; though perhaps I was taking her too seriously when she was merely teasing). Darcy, I'm wavering. Matthew MacFayden's expressions seemed more puppy-dog-eyed and little-boyish, which I don't generally think of Darcy being like. (Eh. I don't like the way I structured that last sentence. C'est la vie.) Other than that, I liked him a lot (and he definitely grows on one, heehee), but I think overall I prefer Colin Firth.
As for Mr. and Mrs. Bennet--I liked the A&E Mr. Bennett better than Donald Sutherland. Part of it was his lines, and the fact that they developed his character way more in the longer one (duh), but I think he just embodied who Mr. Bennet really is better. Sutherland was too serious and at times absent-minded almost. Mrs. Bennet, I think the A&E one embodied her...ridiculousness better, but she was so stinking annoying, oh my goodness. Granted, she was supposed to be, but still. Her voice grated. The K.K. Mrs. Bennet was a pleasanter woman, both to look at and to listen to. But again, they didn't have nearly the time to spend on developing her character as the other one did, so that's part of it, I think. Altogether, I think the A&E one did a better job portraying Mrs. Bennet (painfully so at times
).Hehe. I'm seeing a theme here: the A&E actors depicted their characters better in general.
Jane, I liked the K.K. Jane better, because she's way prettier than the other one--and Jane is supposed to be really pretty, "the prettiest girl in the county" or some such thing. No offense, but the other Jane was rather homely. Lizzy far outshone her. Though, again, the other Jane portrayed her reserve better.
Mr. Bingley, I liked the A&E guy better.
Caroline Bingley, I think the K.K. girl was prettier and more regal (though her freckles bothered me. Wasn't it considered horrible to have freckles back then? But then, she's a redhead, and they generally have freckles.), plus she looked like she could be Mr. Bingley's sister, whereas the other one--I don't know her name off the top of my head, but she was in What A Girl Wants with Colin Firth, too, in what I find to be a rather funny and similar role--didn't look a thing like her "brother".
As for the three youngest Bennet girls, I thought the K.K. ones were prettier, but the A&E ones (especially Lydia) were more true to character.
Mr. Collins is a toss-up. The A&E guy was just plain creepy and ridiculous. Tom Hollander's portrayal was more stumbling and socially inept.
Charlotte, the K.K. girl was homelier, as she's kind of supposed to be, but the other one seemed more severe, I guess. (That's not really the word I want, but I'm too lazy to figure out the one I do want.)
Who else...oh, yes, Mr. Wickham. Harrumph. The K.K. guy just reminds me of Orlando Bloom. He could be his little brother, or something. It's semi-creepy.
(I'm not exactly a big Orlando Bloom fan, sorry.) But the other guy I didn't think was handsome enough to merit all the, uh, attention he received (hopefully that doesn't completely sound shallow, heh). He looked older than he was supposed to be (well, I don't really know how old he's supposed to be), and I didn't get the "charming vibe" Wickham has, but I thought he did a better job than Orlando, Jr. Junior was too snively. Okay, now that I have spent way too much time talking about movies that really don't have that much bearing on my life, I will, as they might've said a couple hundred years ago, quit the subject.
P.S. This is totally random (well, not totally, as it's on the subject of Jane Austen at least), but I've come to the conclusion that my favorite Jane Austen hero is Mr. Knightley from Emma.
Or possibly the guy from Northanger Abbey, Mr. Tildney or something like that.
Knightley is, in my opinion, the friendly outgoing version of Darcy (which, granted, kind of makes him not at all like Darcy). But you know, the respectable gentleman, nice, sweet, etc.
And Tildney (or whoever--I've only seen the PBS movie of Northanger Abbey once, back in January, so I don't really remember the characters' names) had the most hilarious wry wit, I loved it. The dialogue between him and....was it Cathy??? (Or am I thinking of Wuthering Heights? I've never read it or anything, but I've heard enough about it to know the main characters are Heathcliff and Cathy.) Anyway, whatever the main girl's name was, when she first meets and dances with the guy, they have this dialogue full of sarcasm, it's great. (I'm a fan of irony, what can I say?)
And as far as heroines go, I've decided, after watching Sense & Sensibility yesterday, that I'm very much like Elinor Dashwood. Quiet, reserved, and (at least fairly) sensible. (I'd have said maybe Jane Bennet, but I'm not nearly so Pollyanna-like as she is, always seeing the good in people and never saying a harsh word about them. Yeah, no.)
*Let's just say I started it yesterday, stopped it when Mr. Collins came, started it where I'd stopped this afternoon, stopped it when Lizzy got the letter from Jane about Lydia, and came back to it this evening and finally finished it.
**Yes, I know the Colin Firth one was a miniseries, not technically a movie. Whatever.
