Pride and Prejudice is one of Jane Austen’s most famous novels. It’s been adapted
into a TV series and a film, but which version is better—1995 or 2005? Pride and Prejudice was
published in 1813 and is a romantic story that features the Bennet family, a gentry-class family in
the Regency era, with a focus on Elizabeth Bennet’s complex love story with Mr Darcy. The
book is known for its superb character development, strong female identities, and the
complications of relationships.
The 1995 BBC mini-series, starring Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth, is praised for its accuracy
to the book and excellent character development throughout the six one-hour-long episodes.
Due to its length, it delves deeper into the story and the use of dialogue from Austen’s own
words brings a level of authenticity that the film does not achieve. The series is admired for its
authentic representation of British Regency life, clothing, mannerisms, social status and set
design. The long run time allows for you to see the development of feelings that Elizabeth
Bennet and Mr Darcy begin to feel for each other, as over the episodes you slowly see the hatred
turn into love. It has to be said that the story is much more explored in the 1995 adaptation
as the part that Mr Wickham plays in the story is much clearer. You can see the attachment
Lizzie has with him, and then when it is exposed that he is now married to her youngest sister,
it makes the reveal even more shocking. Overall, the 1995 TV show is an excellent
adaptation of Pride and Prejudice as it captured the novel perfectly and the main actors,
Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth, really bring the characters to life.
The 2005 film starring Keira Knightly and Matthew MacFayden is known for its stunning
landscapes and cinematography. As a newer, more modern film, they had access to better equipment and a
bigger budget than the 1995 adaptation. The main problem people have with the film is how
much shorter it is, with it only being two hours; it is unable to explore the story in as much depth as the 1995 version. They had to rush the story and pick out what they saw as the important
scenes, which means the film loses small details and the character development needed in a
Pride and Prejudice adaptation. Also, during the scenes of the Bennet family in their home, there is a
focus on their animals. The camera shots of mud and pigs in the home make the family
seem poorer than they are. They are not as rich as Mr Bingley or Mr Darcy, however, they do
own land and employ servants. Overall, the 2005 film is a great telling of the story. However,
it is hard to outdo something that is so widely loved, and with the 1995 show being much
longer, it is hard for the 2005 film to be better.
To conclude, the 1995 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice is superior to the 2005 film. The TV
show is more of an accurate representation of the book and the fact that it is much longer
does give it more of an advantage. I grew up on the 1995 show, so I therefore do believe it is
better.