The 1980 BBC miniseries adaptation of Pride and Prejudice was adapted by Fay Wheldon and directed by Cyril Coke. It stars Elizabeth Garvie as Elizabeth Bennet and David Rintoul as Fitzwilliam Darcy. It was the fifth BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, but it's the earliest one that survives in its entirety.
What's different
This is a fairly accurate adaptation, and I can tell it laid a lot of the groundwork for the BBC's more successful attempt in 1995. There are some added scenes that aren't in the book, to make this version unique. The most striking difference, though, is the seemingly arbitrary rearranging of particular lines from the book. A few examples: Charlotte's line about happiness in marriage is like the third line of the show, spoken before the Bingleys ever arrive at Netherfield; the line to Mary about having "delighted us long enough" comes from Mrs. Bennet, not Mr., and is spoken at a different party; and Elizabeth's observation that "young men must have something to live on" comes from Mary now.
Actually, Mary gets a lot more attention in this miniseries than she has any right to. She's the Bennet daughter most likely to be cut from any adaptation, but this one goes completely in the other direction by ramping up her part. She speaks and is spoken to quite often, sometimes poaching other characters' lines and sometimes making entirely new pronouncements.
Jane also speaks a little more than usual, at least on the subject of her romantic disappointment. It seems like every episode has at least one instance of Jane lamenting her loss of Bingley, her one true love. It gets old quick.
There are plenty of other differences, but they're mostly little things, like the Lucases not accompanying Lizzie on her visit to the Collinses. One particularly weird little change is Lizzie's actions after receiving the letter about Lydia and Wickham. She runs out of the inn, apparently all the way to Pemberley, and bursts in on Darcy in his sitting room. She came to find Mr. Gardiner, who is fishing somewhere on the grounds, and I guess she thought the best route to the trout stream was through the sitting room. K, sure.
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| It feels very odd to hear Mary say anything reasonable. Thankfully, she doesn't do it much. |
Actually, Mary gets a lot more attention in this miniseries than she has any right to. She's the Bennet daughter most likely to be cut from any adaptation, but this one goes completely in the other direction by ramping up her part. She speaks and is spoken to quite often, sometimes poaching other characters' lines and sometimes making entirely new pronouncements.
Jane also speaks a little more than usual, at least on the subject of her romantic disappointment. It seems like every episode has at least one instance of Jane lamenting her loss of Bingley, her one true love. It gets old quick.
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| "Poor Jane... Bingley left three episodes ago, and you're still going on about it." |
There are plenty of other differences, but they're mostly little things, like the Lucases not accompanying Lizzie on her visit to the Collinses. One particularly weird little change is Lizzie's actions after receiving the letter about Lydia and Wickham. She runs out of the inn, apparently all the way to Pemberley, and bursts in on Darcy in his sitting room. She came to find Mr. Gardiner, who is fishing somewhere on the grounds, and I guess she thought the best route to the trout stream was through the sitting room. K, sure.
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| "Uncle? You in here?" |
What I liked
The main thing this adaptation has going for it is its accuracy. I appreciated that Darcy's diss to Elizabeth at the Meryton ball isn't overstated; it's easy to ramp up his hostility into something ruder than it really was in the book. I also liked all the times Lizzie notices Darcy staring at her. This version of Darcy actually does look like he might be observing her out of hatred or spite rather than love.
All the various parties described in the book are included. We even get to see Mr. Collins playing cards very badly at the Phillips'. Geez, I'm really stretching here for something to like, can you tell? There just isn't anything in particular that really stands out. It's an accurate telling, but it's a bit dull and dry. Maybe I've just been watching too many adaptations back to back, so I get bored easily and want to be wowed. Either way, I wasn't wowed.
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| His eyes burn with passionate... love? hatred? boredom? |
All the various parties described in the book are included. We even get to see Mr. Collins playing cards very badly at the Phillips'. Geez, I'm really stretching here for something to like, can you tell? There just isn't anything in particular that really stands out. It's an accurate telling, but it's a bit dull and dry. Maybe I've just been watching too many adaptations back to back, so I get bored easily and want to be wowed. Either way, I wasn't wowed.
What I disliked
The big win of the last adaptation I watched (De vier dochters Bennet) was the feels I got from Darcy being in love with Elizabeth. In this adaptation, there is none of that. As I mentioned, this Darcy looks so haughty and disinterested that it's easy to see how Lizzie thinks he hates her. The problem is that he never warms up at all! He comes across as haughty and disinterested until the very end. Even the final proposal to Elizabeth and her acceptance is dull and unfeeling, and Darcy only betrays his feelings with the smallest of smiles. Sure, Mr. Darcy is a great guy who never hurt anybody and did a lot for Lizzie's family, but those things alone could only inspire respect. I don't see anything in this Darcy to inspire love, and that's a serious problem in a P&P adaptation.
I said at the top of the post that there are some additional scenes, not taken from the book, that make this adaptation unique. Unfortunately, those additional scenes are bad. They're all gossip, frivolity, self-pity, or worse — internal monologues. So many internal monologues! This has to be the most boring way to convey information to viewers. In the second half of the series, it feels like half the time is devoted to Lizzie's internal monologues. As just one example, there's a scene in which the Bennets are all hanging out at home on a quiet evening, and we the viewers are subjected to Lizzie's mental musings on how terrible her parents' marriage is, for no apparent reason. Though, to be fair, Mr. Bennet is a fucking dick in this miniseries, which is another thing I dislike.
The last thing I want to mention is one tiny thing Elizabeth does that I absolutely hate. After Darcy proposes the first time and gets shot down, he leaves the parsonage, and Elizabeth is left alone with her thoughts, which we are also subjected to. After briefly going over his offenses once again, she starts thinking about how amazing it is that Mr. Darcy is so in love with her and wants to marry her in spite of all his objections. "It is incredible! And quite gratifying."
Gratifying?! That's how Mr. Darcy expects Elizabeth to feel but very far from how she actually feels after his proposal. This is entirely out of character. Mr. Darcy has made no defense yet against her accusations, she should only be severely agitated at this point. In the book, she actually cries for half an hour after he leaves, she does not smile. She can't have processed her feelings to the point of feeling gratified already. It just feels so completely wrong, and I hate it.
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| And is it just me or does he look a lot like Adam Brody?? |
I said at the top of the post that there are some additional scenes, not taken from the book, that make this adaptation unique. Unfortunately, those additional scenes are bad. They're all gossip, frivolity, self-pity, or worse — internal monologues. So many internal monologues! This has to be the most boring way to convey information to viewers. In the second half of the series, it feels like half the time is devoted to Lizzie's internal monologues. As just one example, there's a scene in which the Bennets are all hanging out at home on a quiet evening, and we the viewers are subjected to Lizzie's mental musings on how terrible her parents' marriage is, for no apparent reason. Though, to be fair, Mr. Bennet is a fucking dick in this miniseries, which is another thing I dislike.
The last thing I want to mention is one tiny thing Elizabeth does that I absolutely hate. After Darcy proposes the first time and gets shot down, he leaves the parsonage, and Elizabeth is left alone with her thoughts, which we are also subjected to. After briefly going over his offenses once again, she starts thinking about how amazing it is that Mr. Darcy is so in love with her and wants to marry her in spite of all his objections. "It is incredible! And quite gratifying."
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| AND THEN SHE SMILES! |
Gratifying?! That's how Mr. Darcy expects Elizabeth to feel but very far from how she actually feels after his proposal. This is entirely out of character. Mr. Darcy has made no defense yet against her accusations, she should only be severely agitated at this point. In the book, she actually cries for half an hour after he leaves, she does not smile. She can't have processed her feelings to the point of feeling gratified already. It just feels so completely wrong, and I hate it.
Adaptation wish list
- Is Elizabeth sassy? — A little.
- Is Elizabeth silly? — No.
- Does Darcy undergo real and significant change after being rejected? — Yes.
- Are Darcy and Elizabeth each guilty of both pride and prejudice? — Yes, by default. It was never really mentioned.
This miniseries just didn't do it for me. It's a fairly accurate adaptation, but it isn't very compelling. At some points, it's even a bit grating. It leaves nowhere to go but up for the 1995 miniseries, so at least I have that to look forward to next week.
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