Sunday in the heat of the day I watched the 1940's Pride and Prejudice. It was interesting to watch. I was for warned that the movie was based off the play and not the book so I was curious to see what changes would happen. I thought the plot changes took away a lot of the great details of the story but what was hardest for me was to see them in completely wrong period outfits.
I have known for awhile that the costuming in this film was wrong and for that reason I avoided this film but on a horribly hot day with nothing to do and being only $1.99 to rent on YouTube I thought I would give it a chance.
First plot change we meet Wickham in the first few minutes and he actually attends the assembly ball. Then at the assembly ball Mr. Darcy first insults Elizabeth but then begs a man to introduce him to her and asks her dance... what? Elizabeth is quick to turn him down and then accepts a dance from Mr. Wickham.
Other plot changes were also okay but I didn't like them for example The Netherfield ball becomes a garden party and Elizabeth shows off her archery skills to Mr. Darcy, which I thought was just humorous. And then the couple seems almost friendly until Mr. Darcy hears Mrs. Bennett talk about how Jane had captured Mr. Bingley. After this Mr. Darcy does not want to dance with Elizabeth.
Of course Mr. Collins has the awkward proposal and the even more awkward refusal. Then when Mrs. Bennett tells him Elizabeth's character is unruly he believe Lady Catherine De Bourgh would not be happy about this in his match and this seems to be the catalyst which makes him propose to Charlotte Lucas. So good job Mrs. Bennett.
Up to now all these plot changes are acceptable but the real change happens when Elizabeth goes off to visit Charlotte. The visit is fine and Mr. Darcy proposes to Elizabeth and of course she turns him down. In the other Pride and Prejudices I have watched I felt heartache over the refusal and in this one I didn't feel the same emotional agony to see Mr. Darcy refused. It might be because I didn't have the crush I have had for the other men who played Darcy and I think that is emotional attachment to Darcy is very important because you are suppose to be hurting for both Elizabeth and Darcy at this moment.
Then after her refusal she returns to home to find out that Lydia has eloped with Mr. Wickham... what no Pemberly? That hurts. Then Mr. Darcy comes to explain his hatred for Mr. Wickham (yep no letter either) and asks if he can be of some use to help locate Lydia and Wickham... "NO! He is suppose to be doing this in secret!" I wanted to yell at the TV. Ugh!
Lady Catherine De Bourgh comes to call on Elizabeth and for some reason says that she has the power to take away Mr. Darcy's money if he marries some one that is not of her liking. "What? That is not true! Why are you messing with the plot?" It turns out not to be true she was just saying it to see if Elizabeth would refuse Mr. Darcy, Elizabeth does not refuse Mr. Darcy saying she is okay being poor. Lady Catherine leaves to report to Mr. Darcy, who just happens to be standing outside. He hearing that Elizabeth will not refuse him goes in a proposes again... What about Jane and Bingley? They are not talked of much, which is sad.
The best thing about this version was seeing Mr. Bennett who the same actor as St. Clause from the classic Miracle and 34th St.
So with the costumes being wrong and some of the plot changing I didn't really like this version of Pride and Prejudice and I feel sorry for people who lived then because there was not another Pride and Prejudice at least that I know of until 1980.
I feel I will have to look up that adaptation though I feel after losing my heart to Collin Firth and Daniel Vincent Gordh no man will ever be a good enough Mr. Darcy.
Minus the 2008 Darcy from Lost in Austen I have fallen for the Darcys
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I know I am going to shock a lot of people when I say this, but I do not like Jane Eyre. For some reason when I tell people I like Jane Austen they assume I like Jane Eyre as well... but I do not. I read the novel before freshman year of college and didn't like it. Then a friend of mine told me to give it another try. I told her I would watch the new version (2011) because lots of people said it was the best version and if I liked it I would again try to read the book. I thought I must have missed something, since everyone I know who likes period pieces likes Jane Eyre so I was willing to give it a second chance but after watching the movie I still don't like it. So am I still missing something?
I just don't understand. Jane Eyre is a heroine who seems to have no faults and every good hero's journey story, a hero or heroine must have faults and over come them. But Jane just seems too passive. And let people tell her where to go, what to do, and she never seems to speak up for herself. I mean besides when she speaks up to Mrs. Reed (her aunt) but this willful girl does not seem to last. She just seems to accept all the wrongs in her life.
I also did not like Mr. Rochester. He spends time flirting with one girl, then declares his love for Jane, and all this time he is married to a crazy woman. How are we suppose to fall in love with a man who is purposefully leading Jane down a road of heart ache? After the marriage is discovered, Rochester still wants her to stay with him... what as his mistress? (Not cool Mr. Rochester.) He seems rather selfish.
But Jane cannot stand being in the same house as him and runs away. At least here we get some emotions from her as she breaks down and cries. But after that the plot starts to rush and eventually Mr. Rochester's wife dies and he is now blind. Jane goes back to love and care for him. When the credits rolled by I said "that's it?" "What?" I felt the conclusion was too fast.
After looking for pictures for this blog I have seen some mixed reactions to this movie, so I don't think I am the only one who thought this way. I must say props goes to the art director or location finder because the back grounds were beautiful and dark when needed to tell the story.
I think I will stick with my Jane Austen and Elizabeth Gaskell and maybe explore the world of Dickens.
If you love this novel/story can you please let me know what I am missing.
I have been Jane Austen fan for over 11 years. I can't say if it started when I actually read the books on my own or when I finally enjoyed all 5 hours of the BBC Pride and Prejudice and falling head over heels for Collin Firth. Needless to say Jane Austen has filled a great majority of my life. In high school though I felt I was the only girl my age who read Jane Austen and it was a little lonely being in love with characters that existed only in books. So when I started meeting girls in college I probably got overly excited to share my love with others. I am also happy when new movies or books help people discover the awesomeness of Jane. So yes I have read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies... and I would actually recommend it. But the thing I love most about Jane is that while her stories are great as period drama's to watch on a rainy day with a cup tea, her stories are so universal they can be updated and still be relevant to today. My favorite modern adaptations have been Bridget Jones' Diary, Clueless (an adaptation of Emma) and Bride and Prejudice.
While I can watch these movies over and over I have lately become obsessed with the Lizzie Bennet Diaries. In short they are vlogs (video blogs) retelling of a modern Pride and Prejudice. But they are also so much more with multiple layers of communication through Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. And like every good Jane Austen update they capture your heart.
Ep.1
Not only do you hear the story from Lizzie's point of view you all get to watch the Lydia drama unfold.
And you get to watch Gigi and Darcy save the day.
These are just the first episodes from the three intertwining story lines... that come into use at different times to tell the complete story line of Pride and Prejudice.
If you have read the novel or seen any of the movies you know the plot, and if you love the book or the movies you might be skeptical about a modern update on a classic. Well let me just say I was there. I love Jane and sometimes I feel Hollywood does not do her justice. So I was skeptical when YouTube kept suggesting I watch these videos. But after catching up and watching about 50 episodes in a weekend I was addicted and then in Episode 60 we FINALLY get to meet Darcy.
Seriously they did good with the casting of Darcy. Though Colin Firth, will always be THE MR. DARCY... I think the actor Daniel Gordh does a wonderful job being Darcy.
I will always love the British accent but thanks to this retelling I also love the Newies cap and bow tie (I know it might be a bit hipster... but I cannot help it).
If Tumblr and Facebook can be trusted I hear there is word that Emma might also become a vlog... oh I can't wait to see who will be cast as Mr. Knightley. He is another favorite Jane Austen hero of mine.
from Emma
I do not think Jane could have ever realized what an impact she has made on the world. And how her six novels could forever be causing ripples through the lives of her readers.
Now, I must move on with my day. Thanks for reading my nonsensical post.
P.S. Thanks YouTube for knowing what I would like. And a specially big thanks to my friend who shares my obsession with Jane Austen... you always make me smile.
I love the movie so much that when I went to Rome, I tried to find the exact seat she sat on at the Spanish steps so I could say I sat in the same place as Audrey Hepburn.
This is me on the steps.
Here are some of my other favorite movies/photos of Audrey Hepburn.
I know Audrey Hepburn lived in Holland during WWII. Trained to be a ballerina but she was too tall to be a prima ballerina and never trained to be an actress. Later on went to be Good Will Ambassador for UNICEF.
Writing this post and finding these pictures and clips reminds me just how beautiful she was inside and out. She only made 27 films but she probably the most known actress in the world.
In a totally lame way, well lame to others, perfect for me, on Friday night I got Chinese Food and watched Sense and Sensibility, the TV mini-series by BBC in 2008. I was practically raised on the 1995 Sense and Sensibility with Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet and Alan Rickman and I love it but when I heard Dan Stevens, aka Matthew Crawley from Downton Abbey, was in Sense and Sensibility I had to watch this film. Fortunately for me my school library had a copy and I just awaited a good time to watch it. This weekend I knew I was going to be anti social, even though it is St. Patty's day. I have had a long week getting back in the swing of things and I have worked long hours, so Thursday I checked out the movie and got excited for Jane Austen night.
It is sometimes hard watching a new adapation of something you love so much. So this post will mostly be a comparing and contrasting of my old love and my new love of Sense and Sensibility. There are some major differences just to start off. In the beginning it starts off quickly showing the affair between Willoughby and Colonel Brandon's ward. It was a little surprising how quickly we learn of Willoghby's bad behavior when Jane Austen lets it unfold late in the plot line. But it does explain Colonel Brandon and Willoughby's disregard for each other, when we first see them interact, it is much more blunt then in 1995 version, and I could sense the hatred that loomed over them.
This minni-series was three hours long, unlike that the 1995 version that was 2 hours long, so it had more time to develop the plot, which was nice because not only did it show more of the longing of Colonel Brandon for Marianne, when they first met and how he tries to court her, it also shows their relationship develop after she recovered. I liked having this because it seems their relationship is kind of rushed in the 1995 version.
Two things that happen in the book that don't happen in the 1995 version but do in the mini-series are Edward Ferras comes to Barton Cottage for one day. At first he seems happy but as soon as Mrs. Dashwood notices the ring with a lock of hair in it, he gets out of sorts. He says he has just come from Plymouth, where Lucy Steel lives (of course in the story we don't know that yet) and I think he is either trying to determine rather he still loves Elinor, which he does, or he is going to tell her about Lucy.
Edward at Barton Cottage, chopping wood to work out his anger
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The other thing that happens in the book is that Willoughby comes to see Marianne when she is sick, and tells Elinor, he really did care for Marianne. I have a friend who hates that this was left out of the 1995 version, I never liked this part of the story so I am glad it wasn't included. It is included in the minni-series but I still don't care for it because Willoughby throws himself a pity party, being stuck in a loveless marriage, but I don't feel sorry for him and I just want him to go away. Also Mr. Willoughby is not very handsome in this version and he doesn't seem to charm any one but Marianne. But I do think you can see his deceitfulness right away.
Some things I did like about this version was that the characters look more age appropriate. Marianne is suppose to be sixteen going on seventeen, and no offense to Kate Winslet it is hard buying her as a sixteen year old girl. Also I think it was interesting that in this version Marianne wears her hair either down or in a looser style, I think it shows off her more "wild" or "passionate" side.
But my favorite thing about this version was Dan Stevens playing Edward Ferrars. As much as I like the awkward and blinking Edward played by Hugh Grant; I absolutely adore Dan Stevens. I love him as Matthew Crawley in Downton Abbey and he made a wonderful Edward Ferrars. While he wasn't as awkward as Hugh Grant he did a good job of capturing my heart.
Some things I did not like is that there was no Alan Rickman as Colonel Brandon and I love Alan Rickman. If they had a movie with Dan Stevens and Alan Rickman, I would be very happy.
When I was in Denver my sister and I spent some girl time together and we went to see The Vow. The commercial basically lays it out girl and guy are happily married then they get in car accident and she has no memory of him. Then he must make her fall in love with him again. With out giving anything away it was cool to watch knowing this is based on a true story.
Okay if you have not seen it and want to, STOP reading now because this might have some spoiler alerts.
So the plot of the movie starts off with showing 15 minutes of their love story, how they met, and their wedding. As you might have guessed based on the title, their vows are really sweet and made me have an awh moment. Then we see the car accident she gets pushed through the glass of the front window ( I will always wear my seatbelt when I am in a car). Her body has too much trauma to it so they purposefully keep her in a coma so her body can heal. Then she wakes up and thinks her husband, Leo, played by Channing Tatum, is her doctor. We then find out she has lost all memory of her life leading up to them dating, so she doesn't remember that she has left her parents house, that she has left law school and that her ex-finace and her have broken up. Her parents come and try to take them home with her, she is very confused why Leo has never met her family (it all gets explained later) but at this momement Paige, Rachel McAdams, thinks her family is a happy family. And while she intially wants to go home with her parents she does go back to her old place with Leo, in order to have some kind of normalcy.
I can not imagine how hard it would be to wake up and have lost years of your memory so maybe I can't criticize but I was surprised how little the Paige character tried to learn what was her life before the accident. She seemed more than eager to go back to her parents and back to her ex-finance. I was talking this with my co-worker and she brought up a good point imaging you woke up having feelings for one person but you married to a complete stranger and trying to adjust to the total strangeness of it all. But Leo is so sweet in pursuing her even though it is hard on both of them. But I wish Paige had tried too, instead of flirting with her ex.
Big spoiler alert: So if you are still reading and haven't seen the movie seriously Stop!
The one thing I was most surprised about was they got divorced. It kind of hurt to see after Leo had so faithfully stuck by her that he let her go so easily. I can't imagine for the real Leo that this was easy but the film made it seem like he was letting her off the hook and no longer fighting with her. I talked to my sister about this, we are both big believers that marriage is to last a life time, but I wondered what I would do in this situation and how God would view this divorce. She told me "God does not like divorce" in my head I was thinking "yeah, but" then she said "for Leo, he promised through good and bad times and this was a really bad time that he would perserve through." "But what about Paige?" I asked "she doesn't remember getting married." Marriage is to last a life time, and she should have to try to live to the vows she made.
But even though they got divorced I am glad their lives paths came back together even though she did not get her memory back, they were able to get new memories. I am also glad Paige and her parents were able to get reconnected.
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