In Retrospect: 9 Years of Joe Wright's Pride & Prejudice and 9 reasons why I still love watching it more and more!

This year (last September 16th in the UK and last month of November 11th limited and 23rd expansion in US/Canada), Joe Wright's Pride & Prejudice (2005) film starring Keira Knightley & Matthew Macfadyen had its 9th year anniversary. Okay, I'm late (but better late than never, right?) on this, but I thought I'd still post here about 9 reasons why this film adaptation of Jane Austen's classic Pride and Prejudice novel remains my all-time favorite movie to watch (over and over) for nearly a decade now and I still love watching it more and more. It's one of those few, rare movies that just never gets old in my viewing no matter how many times I've seen it over the years. I just never get tired of watching it. I've seen so many movies and love movies in various genres. If you've been following and reading this blog for years, you'd know that when I post my film reviews related to P&P (2005) actors here, I link the full reviews in my other Movies' Blog (which I mostly post my Movie Reviews of various films I've seen in theaters or on TV and Netflix).

Obviously, this 2005 version of Pride & Prejudice is my all-time and top favorite of all the P&P TV and Film adaptations made since 1940. I've seen pretty much all (as I'm open-minded and love P&P in general) and have posted my reviews here: .

Next year, this movie will be celebrating its 10th year anniversary. A fellow P&P fan (of this 2005 movie) and I started an An Online Petition for a special Pride & Prejudice (2005) 10th Anniversary DVD/Blu-ray Edition! (please support and sign it, if you haven't already...we currently have 752 supporters)...Read more: My 10 Pride & Prejudice 10th Year Anniversary DVD/Blu-ray Wishlist

For now, lets get back to celebrating 9 years of JW's P&P movie and 9 reasons why I still (and will always) love watching this film version of P&P more and more (with production/bts/promo stills and screen captures from the movie to feast your eyes) below...

1. Keira Knightley & Matthew Macfadyen as Elizabeth Bennet & Mr. Darcy

One of the many beautiful things I love about this Pride & Prejudice movie version was the top notch pairing of Keira & Matthew as Elizabeth "Lizzie" Bennet & Mr. Darcy. Their casting as the main OTP (One True Pair) of this movie was simply perfect, which made this movie worth-watching not just once, but multiple times. These two, in my opinion, have the best on-screen chemistry of all the pair of actors who portrayed Elizabeth & Darcy in their P&P versions. Not too mention, they look just absolutely gorgeous in all the promotional stills and clips of this movie as well as on-screen when you're watching them. Their undeniable chemistry is off the charts! They instantly got my full attention right from their very first scene together at the Meryton Ball to their very last "Mrs. Darcy" ending scene together.

I totally root and ship their pairing and for them to get together in the end because Keira & Matthew as Elizabeth & Darcy were simply amazing, beautiful together, swoon-worthy, and so great and convincing with their performances, be it in their individual scenes or their scenes together. They just sizzle and have that natural spark that made them the best EB & Darcy in my viewing and I'm always mesmerized and immersed in watching them together every...single...time I re-watch this movie. Their EB & Darcy pairing remained my top favorite OTP of all P&P paired (EB & Darcy) actors for nearly a decade now (see my recently updated: My Top 10 favorite OTP/Romantic On-Screen pairings and you'll see KK & MM's EB & Darcy are my top favorite OTP...and I have so many favorite OTPs from other TV and films that I loved and enjoyed watching, but these two always get my attention and whenever I watch this movie...I can't help but always stop whatever I'm doing whenever P&P movie is on TV or when I'm watching it on my DVD/Blu-ray player) because they always captured my attention and interest.

Also, I love, love, love their banter and facial expressions whenever they are in a scene together. They ignite that spark and they're electric together. You know they did an excellent job on portraying their EB & Darcy characters when they can show and gave you all the feels and emotions while watching them together in this movie.

See some of their memorable facial expressions below...

“When he was Darcy and she was Lizzie something happened and they were just perfect together. Keira and Matthew were just wicked together. And when they were together, they were better than when they weren’t together. They made each other better actors.” (Joe Wright)

Top Film Critics Reviews of Keira & Matthew as Elizabeth & Darcy...

- "The heart of the story is the romance between Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy, and Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen are riveting together." (Layla Voll, ComingSoon.net)

- "Knightley and Macfadyen have chemistry." (Claudia Puig, USA Today)

- "Elizabeth is 20 in the movie, Darcy 28, and they (Knightley & Macfadyen) look and act it. These lovers are practically kids. They seem to be experiencing their ardor for the first time." (Peter Rainer, The Christian Science Monitor)

- "Darcy (Macfadyen) and Lizzie's (Knightley) war of misunderstanding, which keeps dousing their budding affection, is never predictable or coy." (Owen Glieberman, Entertainment Weekly)

- "Knightley and Macfadyen do such a good job playing these characters." (Betty Jo Tucker, ReelTalk Movie Reviews)

- "Performance wise, Keira Knightly makes for a credible 18th-century heroine, as does Matthew Macfadyen as the brooding, Heathcliff-like Mr. Darcy (it's not surprisingly to learn that Macfadyen has appeared in a production of "Wuthering Heights" (but not as the central character, Heathcliff)." (Mel Valentin, eFilmCritic.com)

- "Macfayden’s hulking moodiness is a fitting counterpart to Knightley’s Lizzie." 

"Twenty-year-old Elizabeth Bennet (here played by Keira Knightley), whose intelligence is her greatest gift and whose cleverness is her greatest burden, and Darcy (Matthew Macfadyen), a young man of privilege and breeding who unconsciously hides his sensitive, fine-grained character behind a scrim of snobbery. The casting here is more perfect than in any “Pride & Prejudice” adaptation I’ve seen (I confess I’m not a fan of the popular 1995 British miniseries, which I found so slow, proper and reverent that it seemed a direct inversion of the spirit of the book)." (Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com)

- "In a later scene (Knightley and Macfadyen as Lizzie and Darcy dance together everyone else somehow vanishes (in their eyes, certainly), and they are left alone within the love they feel. But a lot must happen before the happy ending, and I particularly admired a scene in the rain where Darcy and Lizzie have an angry argument. This argument serves two purposes: It clears up misunderstandings, and it allows both characters to see each other as the true and brave people they really are. It is not enough for them to love each other; they must also love the goodness in each other, and that is where the story's true emotion lies. When Lizzie and Darcy finally accept each other in "Pride & Prejudice," I felt an almost unreasonable happiness. Why was that? I am impervious to romance in most films, seeing it as a manifestation of box office requirements. Here is it different, because Darcy and Elizabeth are good and decent people who would rather do the right thing than convenience themselves. Anyone who will sacrifice their own happiness for higher considerations deserves to be happy. When they realize that about each other their hearts leap, and, reader, so did mine. (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times)

2. Bennet Family/Bennet Sisters

Another one of the many beautiful things and reasons why I love watching this version of P&P so much was the brilliant and accurate casting of the Bennet family. The Bennet family really looked and acted like a real family. They also displayed similar mannerisms that you can't help but believe it when Caroline Bingley (who made me want to slap her, lol...after she) made a mocking remark to Lizzie (who wittingly said to Darcy that she "dearly loves to laugh") about her "family trait." I love this Bennet family and loved all their scenes together. Hands down the best Bennet family of any P&P adaptations I've ever seen! Also, the casting of the young Bennet sisters were spot on and accurate in this version of P&P. The young actresses who played the Bennet girls from Jane to Lydia were closer in ages (in the book Jane was about 22/Rosamund was 26; Mary was 18/Talulah was 20; Kitty was 17/Carey was 20; and Lydia was 15/Jena was 20) of the characters they were portraying especially Keira's Elizabeth "Lizzie" (she was 19 when she filmed this movie in 2004 and exactly 20 years old, the same age as her book counterpart EB, when this movie was released in theaters in 2005).

3. P&P (2005) ensemble cast

The main and supporting cast of this movie was brilliant and amazing. It's definitely one of the best things I love about this version and I dare say their casting were far superior to other versions of P&P because they were all just very talented and great actors, from newcomers to veterans. Most of the actors from this movie has also moved into better things after their P&P movie was released nearly a decade ago and had been active in various TV & films as well as stage plays over the years.

P&P 2005 cast: Keira Knightley, Matthew Macfadyen, Rosamund Pike, Jena Malone, Carey Mulligan, Talulah Riley, Rupert Friend, Brenda Blethyn, Donald Sutherland, Judi Dench, Tom Hollander, Simon Woods, Kelly Reilly, and Claudie Blakley

[The cast of Pride & Prejudice at the
P&P London Premiere, September 5, 2005]

"Got all the actors to improvise as much as possible to give it a kind of reality and a freshness." (Joe Wright)

"The next decision was to cast the actors according to their characters' ages in the book. A young cast for the story about first love. The hunt for Elizabeth became easy once Tim (Bevan) said "Go to Montreal and meet Keira. If you like her and she likes you, you have a movie." We went, we loved her, Keira said "yes," and we had a movie. The search for Darcy was a long one. We meet everyone, but there was never really any doubt that it would always be our first choice, Matthew Macfadyen. Three of our teenagers had never acted before: Carey Mulligan ("Kitty"), Talulah Riley ("Mary"), and Tamzin Merchant ("Georgiana"). Balance was required, so along with Keira, we cast Jena Malone, at nineteen a veteran of more than 20 films. Donald Sutherland, Brenda Blethyn, Judi Dench added weight and experience to our youthful cocktail." (Paul Webster, P&P producer)

4. P&P Movie Soundtrack - *Oscar Nominated for Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score (Pride & Prejudice)  - Dario Marianelli

The beautiful, timeless music, and original soundtrack of this movie was a gem in itself. I love every single track in this memorable P&P soundtrack and the similar instrumental music/scores used in the sequences/scenes in the film. Just like the beautiful P&P movie, this masterpiece soundtrack of P&P never gets old. I never get tired of listening to every track of this soundtrack. It's just soothing and beautiful. I can listen to it from the first track to the last, backwards and forwards. Also, when I listen to every track, I instantly knew and can picture in my head which scene or sequences in the movie those tracks were used. This was (and still is, nearly a decade later) the best movie soundtrack of any P&P adaptations I've ever heard.

Listen to sample tracks and see/read more about this beautiful P&P soundtrack here: Pride & Prejudice Movie Soundtrack

5. P&P's stunningly gorgeous scenery and locations

 

The stunningly gorgeous cinematography and beautiful locations of this movie alone, made this version already the best in my eyes. It's so lush and rich in colors, it's like looking at those picturesque paintings. They were just so breathtakingly beautiful and glorious to look at. Nearly a decade since the movie's theatrical release and they never look outdated either. I was lucky and fortunate enough to have visited a few of the filming locations (ie. Chatsworth/Pemberley, Haddon Hall/Lambton Inn, and the Peak District) in Derbyshire, England (UK) of this movie in 2010 and I must say it's as exquisite seeing them in the movie as it is in person. It made me love this movie even more and can say now that I've been there in at least a few of these beautiful locations. I would most definitely love to visit other filming locations of this movie that I didn't get a chance to visit to including the Temple of Apollo (where Darcy first proposed to Elizabeth in the rain scene) in Stourhead, Wiltshire (England UK).

“The film was to be beautiful not pretty, romantic but not sentimental. We would set it in a countryside full of life, as muddy as things must have been back then”. (Paul Webster, P&P producer)

Related posts:

• 16 Beautiful Things I love about the 2005 Pride & Prejudice film 
• Photos: P&P Filming Locations (updated)
• Photos: Chatsworth House and Haddon Hall as Pride & Prejudice's Pemberley and Inn at Lambton (P&P/Derbyshire filming locations)
• My First European Trip (part 2)
• My first European trip (September 2010)

"Shooting through the summer of 2004 was a delight. We made the film all across England in half a dozen counties using seven different stately homes." (Paul Webster, Pride & Prejudice producer)

The fact that the East Midlands region of England was used extensively for location filming for Pride and Prejudice is especially fitting given that Jane Austen drew on the Derbyshire landscape for some of her most descriptive passages in the novel. Austen's descriptions of the county refer to there being "no finer county in England than Derbyshire", and feature "all the celebrated beauties of Matlock, Chatsworth, Dovedale, and the Peak." (via Visit Britain)

6. P&P Movie's Memorable Dialogues/Quotable Quotes

You know a movie did an excellent job when you can remember a dialogue in a particular scene or can quote every character's quotable lines (and memorable witty one-liners) uttered in the movie. This film certainly did that for me and more. As I've seen this movie countless of times since 2005, I know (and can quote) every single line by heart. Deborah Moggach, the novelist (The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Tulip Fever) and screenwriter who adapted brilliantly, the script for this movie, did a fantastic job in making the audience/viewers of this film remember so many clever and witty lines not just from the main characters but also from supporting to minor characters such as the Netherfield Butler ("A Mrs. Bennet, a Miss Bennet, a Miss Bennet, and a Miss Bennet, Sir.") and a few servants (ie. "Do you not think him a handsome man, miss?"). I have so many favorite quotes from this movie that I can't even pick just one. This version of P&P definitely had the best and most memorable lines/quotes that's quite unique and stand out and that this movie can claim to own some of them (that were originally written by Moggach and some not exact same quotes from the P&P novel) especially parts of Darcy's famous and memorable quotes from both the first proposal ("I love You. Most Ardently.") and second proposal ("You have bewitched me body and soul...") scenes. When you hear or see someone use these unforgettable quotes, you know instantly which version of P&P (and exactly which scenes) they came from and it's from this 2005 movie.

Here are some (of the many) Memorable Quotes (from almost every character) from the P&P (2005) movie...

Deborah Moggach - adapts Pride & Prejudice screenplay (from Novel to Screen)

“I tried to be truthful to the book, which has a perfect three-act structure, so I haven’t changed a lot. It is so beautifully shaped as a story: the ultimate romance about two people who think they hate each other but who are really passionately in love. I felt, `If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.’ (Deborah Moggach, Screenwriter and novelist)

In her adaptation, Moggach paid extra attention to Jane Austen’s dialogue. She explains, “I’ve sort of pulled a comb through the dialogue; of course, you can’t reproduce Austen’s fiercely wonderful dialogue in its entirety. But we’ve kept quite a lot of it, because it’s like cooking with the very, very best ingredients. People love the book so much that they know it word for word. It was tempting sometimes to veer scenes towards a line that is so loved, one which you know that if people miss it they will be very upset.”

7. Memorable First and Second Proposal scenes

 

Hands down, this version of P&P had the best, unique, and most memorable first and second proposal scenes from the main OTP (Elizabeth & Darcy) of all the P&P adaptations made that I've ever seen...then and now (past, present, and future...no comparison, really...for me, this movie wins every time when it comes to Elizabeth & Darcy's first and second proposal scenes). Say what you will about this version of P&P, but this one did a superb job on this two scenes alone because director Joe Wright and his crew dared to be fresh, creative, artistic, and different on their approach on certain key scenes especially for these proposal scenes...in my opinion, and far more superior than other P&P adaptations when it came down to the two most important scenes in the novel. The deviation from the source material (the original Pride and Prejudice novel by Jane Austen) to fit the movie version's two-hour time frame, most definitely impressed me as a viewer, because it wasn't the typical and standard P&P adaptation...and I saw something new and different (that hasn't been done before in other versions) yet still captured the heart and spirit of the book's first and second proposal scenes (meaning, it may have changed its setting/location of a certain scene, but it still kept the important dialogues and characters' emotions that you don't even care if they are indoors or outdoors because the actual scenes and lines from the book were still present there) as it was done so brilliantly and much more interesting than in the book (as far as its gorgeous setting goes...I love the intense and dark setting in the rain for Darcy's first proposal scene outdoor than indoor and Darcy walking in slow-mo in that misty morning, in the second proposal scene with the sunrise coming over Elizabeth & Darcy as they finally became a couple and we see their foreheads together...so romantic and beautiful...I love watching and replaying these scenes over and over!) and made this movie stand out and unique compared to other version's first and second proposal scenes.

First Proposal "Rain" scene

Second Proposal "Misty morning" scene

8. Memorable Scenes/Moments

So many great moments and memorable scenes in this movie...it's hard to pick just one. I love pretty much every scene in this movie especially the following...

All Elizabeth & Darcy scenes

Elizabeth & Darcy/Jane & Bingley at Netherfield Ball

Mr. Collins' marriage proposal to Elizabeth Bennet

Elizabeth & Darcy with Georgiana at Pemberley scene

Jane Bennet & Mr. Bingley - marriage proposal scene

Jane and Lizzie Bennet sister bonding moments

 

Lizzie and her Papa Bennet at the library scene

 

And many more (too many to list and cover here)...!

9. P&P costumes/Symbolism

You know this movie's costumes were great and influential when they've been re-used and recycled in other Regency era dramas, including Becoming Jane, Sense and Sensibility and Northanger Abbey. See Recycled Pride & Prejudice Movie Costumes post.


Costume Designs - *Oscar Nominated for Best Achievement in Costume Design (Pride & Prejudice) - Jacqueline Durran

Related post: Pride & Prejudice Costumes designed by Jacqueline Durran

“If you see closely Darcy costumes in the course of the film change quite radically. In the early scenes he´s wearing a very buttoned up, very rigid, very stiff style of costume. In the middle stage, he´s wearing the same style but in a softer fabric and a softer cut and, by the end of the film, he´s wearing a much looser cut, an open jacket, a more country style, less uptight, less rigid. His costumes reflect the other changes in his character”. (Jacqueline Durran, Costume designer)

“Lizzie Bennet was the tomboy, and wore earth colours because she loved the countryside. Jane was the most refined, and yet it’s still all a bit slapdash and homemade, because the Bennets have no money.

One of the main things Joe wanted was for the whole thing to have a provincial feel. Mary is the bluestocking: serious and practical. And then Lydia and Kitty are a bit Tweedledum and Tweedledee in a kind of teenage way. I tried to make it so that they’d be sort of mirror images. If one’s wearing a green dress, the other will wear a green jacket; so you always have a visual asymmetry between the two”. (Jacqueline Durann)

"The Empire Lines were just coming in, so high society such as Caroline Bingley, would be wearing an Empire Line dress..." (Joe Wright)

Symbolism - (ie. hands, candles, ribbons, etc.) - I love the interesting, little details and symbolism used in this movie.

“I did find myself clenching my hands quite often. I had this secret: I thought that in Darcy’s encounters with Lizzie, whenever she gets at him, really hits him with a sort of verbal body blow, he couldn’t react right then. He’d be totally infuriated. But it would tickle him so much.” (Matthew Macfadyen)

 "There's lots of Fives in this [Pride & Prejudice] film. The candles remind me of the five daughters." (Joe Wright)