Pride & Prejudice: Book vs. Movie
Joe Wright’s Pride & Prejudice (2005) adapts Jane Austen’s 1813 novel. Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen play Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy, whose first impressions complicate a growing attraction.
From Books Adapted
How much of the book it covers
The movie tells the book’s central story through Elizabeth
The movie covers Elizabeth and Darcy’s story through to its conclusion. Screenwriter Deborah Moggach kept the book’s overall structure but concentrated it on Elizabeth. She also made Elizabeth keep more of her worries to herself instead of confiding in Jane and Charlotte as she does in the book.
This is a separate adaptation from the 1995 series, not a continuation of it.
How it was adapted
The filmmakers chose 1797 for the setting
Austen published the book in 1813, but began its earlier version, First Impressions, around 1797. Joe Wright and his team chose that earlier period for the movie. The decision also shaped the clothes: the women’s costumes use the earlier, lower waistlines rather than making everyone wear the high-waisted dresses associated with Regency adaptations.
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The American release adds another ending
The British theatrical version ends with Mr. Bennet after he has agreed to Elizabeth’s marriage. The American version continues to Elizabeth and Darcy together at Pemberley, with a kiss. Wright said the filmmakers wanted to avoid ending with a wedding scene. Different audience responses led to the two releases using different conclusions.
About the book and the movie
- Author
- Jane Austen
- Year
- 1813
- Pages
- 448Buy book
- Audiobook length
- 13 hr 30 minGet audiobook
- Narrator
- Lillian Rachel, Amanda Friday, Josh Innerst, Danielle Cohen, Jeff Moon, Anna Grace, Lance Rasmussen
Elizabeth Bennet has four sisters, little money, and a mother intent on securing husbands for them before the family loses its home. The arrival of Mr. Bingley brings a promising attachment for her sister Jane, but his friend Darcy gives Elizabeth every reason to dislike him. Between proposals, family embarrassments, and conflicting accounts of Darcy’s character, she must decide how much to trust her own judgment.
- Director
- Joe Wright
- Writer
- Deborah Moggach
- Year
- 2005
- Runtime
- 2 hr 7 minWatch on Amazon
- Cast
- Keira Knightley, Matthew Macfadyen, Brenda Blethyn, Donald Sutherland
- Genre
- Drama, Romance
- IMDb
- View on IMDb
At a local dance, Elizabeth Bennet hears the wealthy Mr. Darcy dismiss her and decides that his manners match his reputation for pride. Further meetings bring an attraction neither handles well, complicated by his involvement in her sister Jane’s romance and her trust in a charming officer. With her family’s future dependent on marriage, Elizabeth resists the idea that security alone should determine whom she accepts.
Other adaptations of this book
Pride and PrejudiceSeries · 1995 · BBC OneDetails
- Creator
- Andrew Davies
- Writer
- Andrew Davies
- Year
- 1995
- Episode
- 55 min
- Seasons
- 1
- Episodes
- 6
- Network
- BBC One
- Cast
- Jennifer Ehle, Colin Firth, Susannah Harker, Alison Steadman
The Bennet household is thrown into activity when a wealthy bachelor rents nearby Netherfield, raising Mrs. Bennet’s hopes for her five daughters. Jane’s attachment to Mr. Bingley draws Elizabeth repeatedly into the company of his reserved friend Darcy. Over visits, dances, and family crises, Elizabeth’s dislike of Darcy becomes entangled with stories about his past and the consequences of her relatives’ behavior.
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