"Pride & Prejudice" (2005) is a delightful movie that has been nominated for four Academy Awards: Best Actress (Keira Knightley), Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design and Best Original Score.
An adaptation of Jane Austen's classic novel, the film is set in the English countryside near the end of the 18th century. The story centers around Elizabeth Bennet (Knightley), who needs to make a suitable marriage, not only for her own well-being, but also to assure a decent life for her four sisters and her mother. Elizabeth is a physically attractive young woman, but she is opinionated and strong-willed and follows her heart when it comes to dealing with suitors.
Keira Knightley is brilliant as the girl who learns to change her mind, but "Pride & Prejudice" is strong in every facet of filmmaking. It's a richly detailed movie and features a large ensemble cast with memorable supporting performances given by Donald Sutherland and Brenda Blethyn as Elizabeth's parents, Matthew Macfadyen as Mr. Darcy and Judi Dench as Lady Catherine de Bourg. There are some charming locations, and director Joe Wright keeps things moving briskly.
The "Pride & Prejudice" DVD comes with a few bonus materials. The six-minute "A Bennet Family Portrait" takes a look at the five Bennet sisters and their parents. The eight-minute "Jane Austen, Ahead of Her Time" gives a little background on one of the early masters of the English novel. "Behind the Scenes at the Ball" is basically a six-minute making-of featurette. "'Pride & Prejudice': HBO First Look" is 13 minutes long and mostly duplicates material found in the three bonus materials previously described. And finally, the DVD contains a feature-length audio commentary by director Joe Wright.
There are actually two DVD versions of "Pride & Prejudice," but they differ only in the aspect ratio of the feature film. One is anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1), while the other is full frame (1.33:1). The DVD details for the widescreen version are given below.
DVD Details for the Widescreen Edition:
Release Date: February 28, 2006
Anamorphic Widescreen (2.35:1), Color
Feature Film Run Time: 2 Hours 8 Minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
English Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1
French Dolby Digital 5.1
English Captions for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Spanish Subtitles
French Subtitles
Audio Commentary by Director Joe Wright
A Bennet Family Portrait (6 min.)
Jane Austen, Ahead of Her Time (8 min.)
Behind the Scenes at the Ball (6 min.)
"Pride & Prejudice": HBO First Look (13 min.)
