1940 PRIDE AND PREJUDICE to be released on Region 1 DVD October 10
Alert Janeite Missyisms wrote to tell us that the 1940 film adaptation of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE starring Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier will finally be released on Region 1 DVD on October 10. From the DVD release information:
Like the arrows she launches at an archery target during an elegant lawn party, Elizabeth Bennet’s wit is pointed and unerring. “If you want to be really refined, you have to be dead,” she says, skewering the imperious airs of her hosts. Jane Austen’s timeless 1813 novel of unlikely romance is richly adapted in this lavish Academy Award winner. Greer Garson portrays spirited Elizabeth, one of five Bennet sisters hoping for matrimony. Laurence Olivier plays Darcy, whose arrival at a nearby estate sets maiden hearts aflutter. But first impressions can mean so very much. Elizabeth and Darcy find reasons to view each other with disdain, setting in motion a velvet struggle of Pride and Prejudice, perception and reality, forgiveness and love. You’ll be irresistibly caught up in it.
Not much in the way of extras–the theatrical trailer, which is on my VHS version (”Girls, learn from these husband-hunters!” or something equally silly. Good for a giggle, definitely.) We rather like this version, despite the egregious plot changes, bizarre costuming, and campy silliness. The cast is excellent–we especially love Edmund Gwenn as Mr. Bennet–and there’s no over-the-top melodrama or mushiness, which is out of place in a Jane Austen adaptation in our humble opinion. It’s FUNNY! Go figure!
