Joe Wright thinks empire dresses are ugly.
Joe Wright thinks empire dresses are ugly.
Joe Wright thinks empire dresses are UGLY!
Thanks to Alert Janeites Selena and Jen, both of whom sent us the link to the production notes from PRIDE AND PREJUDICE (PDF file), this costume geek was able to learn of the infamy described above.
Another early decision for the director was the approach to wardrobe, in tandem with costume designer Jacqueline Durran (Vera Drake). He explains, “I find empire line dresses are very ugly, so I did some research. Although the novel was published in 1813, Jane Austen wrote her first draft of Pride and Prejudice, then called First Impressions, around 1797. So we used the fashions of the earlier period, where the waist on dresses was lower and more flattering.
Curiously, the producers of the 1940 P&P thought the same thing, but they changed the setting to the 1840s, resulting in silly Gone With the Wind crinoline dresses. There’s nothing wrong with setting the film in 1796, but they did have a few pretty dresses then, too.
Also, if you’re so damn-fired concerned about “realism,” then how the heck does a man whose fortune is a mere £10,000 per year afford an estate like Chatsworth?
Here endeth the editorial.
In general the synopsis, etc. all sound basically okay except for a few things here and there, which is to be expected. But as a fun parlour game, let’s see how much of the commentary about “gritty realism” shows up in the reviews, with the syncophantic press parroting the company line.
Also, a different Alert Janeite named Jen wrote to let us know that extras in the film (Jen appeared in the scenes at the Meryton assembly and some scenes in the village) have received invitations to a screening of P&P3 on July 30 in Peterborough, near where the Meryton filming took place. Admission is by invitation only.
In other P&P3 news, Wendy Mitchell of indiewire.com saw a screening and liked it in spite of herself.
