Pride and Prejudice - 1940

Knowing there's a version of Pride and Prejudice out there I haven't seen is just wrong, so I tracked this down to remedy that. I won't go over the basic plot, it's a waste of time.

I can't give the movie a pass just because it's boiled down to two hours. There was a distinct lack of consistency in the characters in the movie. I'll preface this by saying I've always been of the opinion that both Lizzie and Darcy display pride and prejudice at certain times, so we'll put that out there.

Lizzie is mostly proud, but she has moments of stupidity in this movie. She's supposed to be the reasonable, intelligent one, and she fails to take that role at times. She also hangs on to her initial prejudice of Darcy, as expected, but she shows her emotions at odd times. I don't feel she'd hold her cards close to her chest and then be all smiley and pleasant when confronted by Lady Catherine of all people.

Darcy was a rock for the most part, but at the end he's suddenly all smiles and passionate. It's a 180 and doesn't fit him at all. The whole interaction with him at Pemberley is removed from the story, so that evolution of their relationship is gone. Only at Pemberley does Lizzie start to see past her prejudice. Then, Lady Catherine is the one to tell Lizzie about the Wickham affair? Why would she know? It just didn't fit. And speaking of Lady Catherine...

She was inconsistent. She might "like" Lizzie's fiery nature, but there's no way she's going to approve a marriage between her nephew and Lizzie when there's been an arranged marriage she approved all along.

I might be a bit unfair. The 1995 version exists, and I've never seen anything to top it. The chemistry in that miniseries is amazing, and Jennifer Ehle doesn't get enough credit for her portrayal of Lizzie. Everyone raves about Colin Firth's Darcy (as do I), but they both did an excellent job. In my opinion, if you want to watch the best Pride and Prejudice, spend your time wisely, watch the one with the best acting, the best music, and the happiest ending. Hunt down the 1995 version or at least avoid this one.