The movies are too short to capture the beauty of the book. And the new mini series by A&E and BBC is just plain tacky! This series, however, has it all! The most important aspect is the quality of the acting. Elizabeth Garvie and David Rintoul are excellent. They ARE Lizzy and Mr. Darcy. But the great acting doesn't end there. The quality of the cast is superb. From the most important stars all the way down to the most menial of the servants. Every actor and actress does a great job of capturing the mood of the era.
First let me say that I am absolutely rabid about the Colin Firth production. I own it and have watched it dozens of times. The sequence went like this: Then a year or so ago I read the book (of course loved it). A month or so ago I ordered this BBC version and also the old 1940 version. I HATED the 1940 version after having been exposed to all the others, including the book. It bears little resemblance to Austen. In it, Mr. Darcy begins to fawn all over Eliza about halfway through, completely out of character. There are many scenes that are completely fictitious and thus unsatisfying.
Anyway, back to this 1985 BBC production: after I got over the initial shock of the less posh production values, I grew more admiring of the spirit of Austen embodied in this version. It is definitely the closest to the book. Eliza is smart and spirited, more so than in the Firth version. Darcy is truly objectionable for most of the movie, and is not quite such a hunk as Firth. This movie doesn't resonate with the romantic promise that so captivated everyone about the Firth version. But it is immensely satisfying nonetheless. It presents Austen's vision much better- all the characters (with the possible exception of Jane, whom I thought was better portrayed in the 1996 version) are more complex and better represented- particularly the parents. There are several issues explained in this version that left me puzzled in the 1996 version (for example, the significance of Wickham & Lydia not having gone to Scotland: only in Scotland could you get married immediately, not possible.
