Thoughts on BBC’s Pride and Prejudice 1980
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BBC’s Pride and Prejudice 1980
BBC TV mini-series
Runtime- 5 episodes, total time- 4hr 25min
Air date- September 24th, 1980 (USA)
Director- Cyril Coke
Writers- Fay Weldon
Filming locations- England, UK
Where to watch- BritBox subscription or rent/buy on Amazon Prime Video
Starring Elizabeth Garvie as Miss Elizabeth Bennet and David Rintoul as Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy
BBC’s Pride and Prejudice 1980 isn’t as nearly popular as their 1995 production. Yet many reviews rave about the faithfulness to the book and overall being one of the best adaptations that was made.
I wanted to take a look at it myself. Unfortunately, my greatest fault was the first time I saw the mini-series I was half-heartedly paying attention. I did ended up thinking it was the worst Pride and Prejudice adaptation. It made me question the actual book based on the reviews claiming how closely accurate this series is. I wished it wasn’t so, that it influenced me to read Jane Austen’s novel before watching the series again. And I am glad I did.
My first watch-through
The first time I strongly disliked Elizabeth Bennet. I thought she was a “pick-me” type girl, and that she spoke poorly of her father solely because it aligned with Mr. Darcy’s thoughts of her family.
As for Mr. Darcy, I really did not like him at all, I thought he was stiff, emotionless, and rude consistently throughout the series.
I also did not like that there were references about Mr. Bingley’s appearance as being not handsome.
Last, what bothered me was the lighting, some scenes were so dark, almost completely black, I did not understand how people loved this when there were times you could not see the characters.
I am glad to say that I am thankful that I was wrong about the majority of these opinions after reading Pride and Prejudice and giving the BBC’s 1980 production a second chance.
Elizabeth Bennet
The second viewing gave my opinion of Elizabeth Bennet a complete 180. I did not think she was a “pick-me” girl at all, and I think my assumptions were misguided as the majority of the insults to other women were made mostly by Lydia and sometimes Kitty. The camera was focused on Elizabeth when these remarks were made, and I wasn’t paying attention enough to know exactly where the words were coming from.
Elizabeth Garvies did a wonderful job giving Elizabeth Bennet justice. My now new and improved critique is that her character was portrayed to be a little bit on the meek side of what I would imagine Elizabeth Bennet’s character to actually be. I thought she had striking eyes that didn’t take away from Jane’s beauty, and did well to fit Darcy’s admiration of Elizabeth’s “fine eyes.”
In terms of “insulting her father,” it was another ‘I should’ve paid attention’ situation. It was only about Elizabeth’s reflection of how unhappy her father is due to the choices he made and basically how she needs to make choices so that she does not end up like him.
Mr. Darcy
My opinion of Mr. Darcy did change as well. However, not as greatly or dramatically in comparison to Elizabeth’s character.
I did see a bit more of a dynamic character the second watch around. Some of his subtle smiles around Elizabeth I caught and admired. I still thought he was rather reserved at the time Elizabeth and the Gardiners visited Pemberley, with something he said about the landscape might of been considered rude by some people.
There was no absolute character change that I saw until the end where he walks with Elizabeth. His expression got a lot softer and warm and I thought it was very endearing.
The Production
The lighting still wasn’t great the second time around. I also noticed that the camera work also wasn’t great with a lot of shaking.
Charlotte Lucas
One of my favorite parts of this series is when Charlotte Lucas with her side eyes of regret when accepting Mr. Collin’s proposal. I thought it was funny and great acting.
Other characters, especially Elizabeth, used their eyes to make subtle looks, which I also very much enjoyed.
(Credit: BBC)
Things I didn’t like
There are still a few things in this series that I am not fond of.
Mr. Bingley
I still did not like when Mr. Bingley was referred to as not handsome. In the beginning when describing him, handsome was used, but upon his first visit to Longbourn, the Bennet sisters did take a look at him, and disagreed. The first time it was from Lydia, which I can give a pass, but shortly after that, Jane remarked that she still liked him despite him being not handsome. I am just hoping it was an attempt to show her admiration despite the faulty opinion that was just stated by her youngest sister. But Lydia was no longer there when Jane said it, and she did not adjust the comment on his appearance. I don’t know, that moment just did not sit well for me.
Lydia
Another thing I did not like is the portrayal of Lydia. If I could call it that. I know Lydia is Mrs. Bennet’s favorite and she is known to be more developed and full-figured compared to her other older sisters. But the constant fuss over Lydia’s lace slipping, kind of made her character seem more like a loose woman instead of a carefree foolish girl. I wished there was more focus on Lydia’s character being portrayed by they actress rather than the fuss that was spoken about but not seen.
Kitty
Kitty’s coughing seems to make it a character trait throughout. Not too crazy about that either.
Clothing
While I do appreciate the efforts I saw in styling the characters’ clothes in this series, I do not like the actual clothing. Most of them look like they were made from your grandma’s curtains or quilts. Also, a lot of the clothes had this frill around the neck, I was ok with it for some parts, but I thought it was kind of out of place.
The ending
The ending left me wanting more. It did feel like it was missing something. At least have that conversation with Mr. Bennet and Elizabeth about her change of heart.
Final Thoughts
Overall I did end up liking this series after the second time. Do I think it is the best adaptation, no way. But I can now say that I will be watching it again.
Let me know what you think in the comments below!
See Also:
