why this version tops the others! (in my opinion)

It's available for Region 1 on DVD if that helps. Its available on Amazon.co.uk

You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope

The 1995 A&E mini series is most definitely my favorite. Elizabeth's character can be a little bothersome, but so she is written in the book. I will agree that the new 2005 movie was not as good as the miniseries. But then it was forced to cut much for time. I think it's worth watching if I wish to see "Pride & Prejudice" but have not the time to watch a miniseries. But I will be watching the 1995 miniseries more then this one, which somehow does not hold my interest as well.

Ok, this is a valid argument. I finally watched the full DVD (not on a plane. I rented it) and was still just as disappointed. It's all so condensed, to the point where I was shocked how soon Darcy proposed to Elizabeth. Of course, I understand details have to be cut out due to time restrictions, but that is why I like this version the best. It kept the truest to the book of the Keira Knightley, BBC, and A&E versions and the lines were almost entirely verbatim. And as I said earlier, the miniseries format allows for much better character development and funny scenes that don't add much plot-wise, but certainly do humor-wise -- such as Mr. Collins' dancing (if it can even be called that)!

How do we know that Austen didn't "intend" the two characters to talk about pet names? We do know that, in the 2 chapters following the proposal, that Elizabeth teases Darcy and Darcy learns to be teased. We are also told that Elizabeth is the happiest woman on earth (in her words) and that she laughs a lot, while Jane "only smiles."

I know what you mean by the scene with Darcy walking across the field toward Elizabeth being memorable. The first time I saw it in the theatre I swear I nearly swooned. I seriously felt light headed. I think he is incredibly sexy.

[deleted]

You read Linda Berdoll's Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife, which used to be known as The Bar Sinister.

I read it under its original title, and it was horrible.

Now, what makes "are you laughing at me?" modern? People did laugh 200 years ago, just so you know.

I've read literally dozens of sequels/retellings of pretty much every Austen novel and some are good, and some are bad. Berdoll's books are among the worst.

Thanks for posting your thoughts.

My least favorite is the 1979 version. I don't think that the actress did Elizabeth justice. She wasn't as playful and sweet, and a little bland. She just didn't seem very youthful.

It just goes to show how different people can watch the same thing, yet see it completely differently.

To me, this is the most accurate version of Elizabeth I've ever seen on screen. Many people who prefer this version do so because this Elizabeth embodies the real Elizabeth of Austen's novel. We think Jennifer Ehle's portrayal makes Elizabeth seem too old. The instances of Ehle playing with Darcy's dog seem forced to us because they just don't seem consistent with the very "mature" portrayal of Elizabeth found throughout the miniseries. Of course, Ehle's Lizzy teases Jane and makes jokes but her personality comes off so much more mature than the Lizzy of the novel. She doesn't seem to be really in "the bloom-of-youth." And she definitely does not react to Darcy as Lizzy does in the novel. She's very angry and does not seem to reflect Austen's characterization of Lizzy with "a lively, playful disposition" (ch. 3) nor does she seem "a mixture of sweetness and archness in her manner which made it difficult for her to affront anybody" (ch. 10). Elizabeth Garvie was several years younger than Jennifer Ehle when she portrayed Lizzy, and imo it shows.

For me Elizabeth Garvie had the 'fine eyes' that Austen describes.They shine with her intelligence and humor. Her manner is spirited. In my opinion she is head and shoulders above Kiera Knightly with her nose-wrinkling and Jennifer Ehle, who, was too staid.
Rintoul's Darcy fulfills the Darcy of my imagination. I fell in love with him at the age of 12 when I first read the book.
I even enjoyed the actor who plays Mr. Hurst, the perfect indolent gentleman, contemptuous of books and fond of naps.
And I loved Moray Watson's Mr. Bennet.
Mrs. Bennet has always been shortchanged. She may seem silly and frivolous, but it is she who has the responsibility for securing husbands for her five daughters, a charge made all the more urgent by the entailment of her husband's estate upon Mr. Collins when Mr. Bennet dies. It is no wonder she is plagued by headaches and jitters, no wonder that she is willing to accept any husband who is at least of the gentry for her daughters who offer no particular advantages as prospective brides to any man other than their beauty (and in Lizzie's case, wit), again not considered particular advantages in a bride of that time. And if she had accompanied her daughters to Brighton, Mrs. Bennet probably could have prevented Lydia's elopement. Her mere presence there would have acted as a check. Priscilla Morgan's Mrs. Bennet is the mother of a property rich, cash poor family who keeps her daughters close. She in involved in teaching them the arts thought appropriate for women of this time and appears to do some of her own housework, appropriately in a household that cannot afford many servants.
The one characterization I prefer over the one in this version is Georgianna Darcy as played by Emilia Fox in 1995. She seems more like a spirited but vulnerable and tremulous 16-year old girl who so adores her older brother, has disappointed him, and is aware that she has much to learn about men who pursue heiresses.
Emma Jacobs as Georgianna in this version is too solemn and staid. She does appear the paragon that she is reputed to be, but one cannot imagine her impetuously running away with Mr. Wickham, or, indeed doing anything impetuous.

It seems to me that in each movie the Elizabeth matches the particular Darcy.

I liked EG, but could not see EG matched up with, say, CF. Perhaps she would go well with MM, but KK seems better suited to him. I couldn't see JE matched with DR or MM. But EG does seem to match DR and KK matches MM. Perhaps it's good casting/directing that accomplishes this.

I've watched the most recent 3 versions several times each. I, like you, find charm in each of the them. I've watched the oldest version a couple of times and have found it hard to enjoy. Later I might get bored and try it again, and maybe it will become more enjoyable to me.

I've recently re-watched this miniseries and I have to say it is wonderful. I purchased the dvd a long while ago and did not appreciate it at first (I was a bit biased by my captivation with the 1995 version, which is the first dramatisation of Pride and Prejudice I ever saw).
After a few years and putting the 1995 version on one side, I can see how this 1980 one is much closer to the book, often taking entire dialogues from it. I love how they kept the second declaration scene exactly like in the book, and I love David Rintoul's Darcy. He's exactly like the Darcy in the book; I can see why some people think he's a bit too stiff at times but that's exactly how Jane Austen portrays him and how I imagined him to be when I first read Pride & Prejudice when I was 13. Austen refers to his seriousness and stiffness a few times and I clearly remember Mrs Gardiner saying to Lizzie that she would teach him to relax and take jokes (or something along these lines, sorry I can't quite remember the exact words). The other versions, particularly the 1995 one, tries to "modernise" Darcy to appeal to the current tastes-see the lake scene (which I loved the first time I saw it and now I think it was completely out of character)
I also think Elizabeth Garvie is a great Lizzie, perhaps the best. I never thought about Jennifer Ehle's being too old and matronly before, but reading other people's posts on this made me think and I can see where they're coming from. Just like D Rintoul has the looks and manners of the Darcy I imagined when I read the book, E Garvie has both the looks and the mannerism of Elizabeth, as I pictured her. I like Keira Knightley's version too.
I loved Mr Bennett, Mr Collins and Lady Catherine in this version. Lady Catherine has some lines which are taken (or expanded) from the book, which I think are hilarious, and this is the only version-as pointed out by many others-where we clearly see Mr Bennett's real faults as a father and husband, much like he is in the book.
I wish I could persuade my boyfriend to give this version a chance (he loves the 1995 one, never saw the 1980) as I want to watch it with someone else and talk about it as we watch!