9 "Pride and Prejudice" Movies To Get You Ready For Valentine's Day | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Entertainment

9 "Pride and Prejudice" Movies To Get You Ready For Valentine's Day

What better way to get ready for the romance of V-Day than watching Elizabeth and Darcy fall in love nine different ways?

130
9 "Pride and Prejudice" Movies To Get You Ready For Valentine's Day
Pinterest

Valentine's Day is upon us, and whether you're happily in love or hopelessly still searching, we could all benefit from a few good old fashioned romantic films and tv shows. What better way to get in your Valentine's mood than watching "Pride and Prejudice?" Forget "Romeo and Juliet," I think Elizabeth and Darcy are most romantic couple in literature. (Maybe because, spoiler alert, neither of them die!) To save you from watching a dud adaptation, I'm going to rank them all here. Happy Valentine's Day, y'all!

9. "Lost in Austen"

Honestly, I couldn't make it through this whole show. That said, it's an interesting take on the story. It follows Jane Austen superfan, Amanda Price (Jemima Rooper), who finds a doorway into the world of "Pride and Prejudice" in her bathroom. Of course, she dives right in and accidently leaves poor Elizabeth Bennet (Gemma Arterton) in modern day London. Needless to say, Amanda ruined everything and my fragile heart just couldn't take it.

8. "Austenland"

"Austenland" is another spin on the classic story. Keri Russell plays Jane, a single woman who is obsessed with BBC Darcy. As with any slightly unhealthy obsession, it negatively affects her love life. She spends all her money on a trip to Austenland, a theme park for those who love Jane Austen's works. Naturally, Jane finds her own Mr. Darcy. Not my favorite, but then again I'm just partial to the actual "Pride and Prejudice" narrative and not people playing around inside it.

7. "The Lizzie Bennet Diaries"

I didn't care for "The Lizzie Bennet Diaries" simply because it was a YouTube show. I found the writing clever in some places, but the acting was so sub-par, and the pacing was too quick. I couldn't get into the story. Kudos for trying.

6. "Pride and Prejudice" (2003)

To put it lightly, this movie was so horrifically early 2000s that I literally turned it off before the beginning credit montage was through. It features Liz Bennet driving around in her quirky Volkswagen Beetle to the most cringe-worthy early 2000s song. Eventually, I pressed on and finished the movie, and I really wasn't impressed. I thought the characters were cartoonish and flat and the situations they found themselves in didn't make much sense. A swing and a miss, folks.

5. "Bride and Prejudice"

If you like upbeat, Bollywood dance numbers this is the "Pride and Prejudice" adaptation for you. I am partial to musical numbers, so I wasn't the least bit upset with this movie. I found this movie to be quirky and cute! They also adapted it so that the issue with Lalita's (Aishwarya Rei Bachchan) and Darcy's (Martin Henderson) relationship was more to do with cultural differences than socioeconomic status, as was the case in the original. Plus, Aishwarya Rei Bachchan is so gorgeous. How could you not want to watch her sing, dance, and fall in love?

4. "Bridget Jones's Diary"

I'll be honest, I didn't realize this was based on "Pride and Prejudice" when I first watched it. It's hard to imagine clumsy, irreverent Bridget (Reneé Zellweger) in the same literary category as Elizabeth Bennet. Nonetheless, I watched it again through the "Pride and Prejudice" gaze and found a few slight similarities in the story line. I will always love this movie. I really think its one of the funniest romantic comedies out there, and it stars BBC Darcy, Colin Firth! It's also a great single girls' film for Valentine's Day.

3. "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies"

I was honestly a little blown away by this movie. I was skeptical at first, but after doing some reading I found that "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" is actually a book. Anyway, the movie was surprisingly well-adapted. Much of the dialogue came straight from "Pride and Prejudice," but they changed what would've been a quiet, sexually repressed conversation into an action-packed (slightly risqué) fight scene. One issue I did have with this film was that it kind of over-sexed everything, but if you've got a thing for zombies or girls who kick ass, this is the "Pride and Prejudice" adaptation for you. Plus, it stars "Game of Thrones" villain, Lena Headey, as Lady Catherine de Bourg.

2. BBC presents "Pride and Prejudice"

Colin Firth in period dress? Yes, please! The best thing about watching this BBC series is that it's done in installments, so no detail from the book is overlooked. I will say that Jennifer Ehle is not my favorite Elizabeth. She acted a little too immature for me in certain scenes, often having odd outbursts. Regardless, it's worth the watch if you want the full, unedited romance between Elizabeth and Darcy without reading the book. (But I highly recommend the book.)

1. "Pride and Prejudice" (2005)

This movie is by far my favorite "Pride and Prejudice" adaptation. It may have a lot to do with the fact that it's full of actors and actresses I recognize: Keira Knightley, Donald Sutherland, Jena Malone, Judy Dench, and Rosamund Pike. Still, this film is visually stunning and the soundtrack is beautiful. There are a lot of scenic shots of the countryside and close-ups of hands almost touching. Honestly, I think it captures all the stuffy propriety of what makes "Pride and Prejudice" the love story that it is, but it makes the romance more overt than in any other adaptation. Also, I find Mr. Darcy's sideburns uncommonly attractive. Swoon.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
campus
CampusExplorer

New year, new semester, not the same old thing. This semester will be a semester to redeem all the mistakes made in the previous five months.

1. I will wake up (sorta) on time for class.

Let's face it, last semester you woke up with enough time to brush your teeth and get to class and even then you were about 10 minutes late and rollin' in with some pretty unfortunate bed head. This semester we will set our alarms, wake up with time to get ready, and get to class on time!

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

The 5 Painfully True Stages Of Camping Out At The Library

For those long nights that turn into mornings when the struggle is real.

691
woman reading a book while sitting on black leather 3-seat couch
Photo by Seven Shooter on Unsplash

And so it begins.

1. Walk in motivated and ready to rock

Camping out at the library is not for the faint of heart. You need to go in as a warrior. You usually have brought supplies (laptop, chargers, and textbooks) and sustenance (water, snacks, and blanket/sweatpants) since the battle will be for an undetermined length of time. Perhaps it is one assignment or perhaps it's four. You are motivated and prepared; you don’t doubt the assignment(s) will take time, but you know it couldn’t be that long.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

The 14 Stages Of The Last Week Of Class

You need sleep, but also have 13 things due in the span of 4 days.

563
black marker on notebook

December... it's full of finals, due dates, Mariah Carey, and the holidays. It's the worst time of the year, but the best because after finals, you get to not think about classes for a month and catch up on all the sleep you lost throughout the semester. But what's worse than finals week is the last week of classes, when all the due dates you've put off can no longer be put off anymore.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

28 Daily Thoughts of College Students

"I want to thank Google, Wikipedia, and whoever else invented copy and paste. Thank you."

1265
group of people sitting on bench near trees duting daytime

I know every college student has daily thoughts throughout their day. Whether you're walking on campus or attending class, we always have thoughts running a mile a minute through our heads. We may be wondering why we even showed up to class because we'd rather be sleeping, or when the professor announces that we have a test and you have an immediate panic attack.

Keep Reading...Show less
Lifestyle

The Great Christmas Movie Debate

"A Christmas Story" is the star on top of the tree.

2506
The Great Christmas Movie Debate
Mental Floss

One staple of the Christmas season is sitting around the television watching a Christmas movie with family and friends. But of the seemingly hundreds of movies, which one is the star on the tree? Some share stories of Santa to children ("Santa Claus Is Coming to Town"), others want to spread the Christmas joy to adults ("It's a Wonderful Life"), and a select few are made to get laughs ("Elf"). All good movies, but merely ornaments on the Christmas tree of the best movies. What tops the tree is a movie that bridges the gap between these three movies, and makes it a great watch for anyone who chooses to watch it. Enter the timeless Christmas classic, "A Christmas Story." Created in 1983, this movie holds the tradition of capturing both young and old eyes for 24 straight hours on its Christmas Day marathon. It gets the most coverage out of all holiday movies, but the sheer amount of times it's on television does not make it the greatest. Why is it,
then? A Christmas Story does not try to tell the tale of a Christmas miracle or use Christmas magic to move the story. What it does do though is tell the real story of Christmas. It is relatable and brings out the unmatched excitement of children on Christmas in everyone who watches. Every one becomes a child again when they watch "A Christmas Story."

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments