A constant bone of contention amongst Janeites seems to be, “Is Mr. Darcy really proud or just a bit shy and awkward?”* Alert Janeite Allison sent us a YouTube video that answers the question for once and all: he wasn’t shy, he wasn’t proud…he was OBSESSED!

This video was made as an example/test by a teacher who is giving a class assignment in which students are to recut a movie trailer. We think he did a fine job, and got a giggle out of it. Though we think it needs vampyres. And ninjas.

*The book isn’t called Diffidence and Prejudice. Just saying.

Alert Janeite Carmen let us know that the latest adaptations of Mansfield Park, Northanger Abbey, and Persuasion either are or shortly will be available in Spain (Region 2). These DVDs contain English and Spanish audio tracks and subtitles. MP is available now, NA and P will be available on February 4.

A 3-pack of the new films also will be available on February 4 that will save some money over buying them separately.

MP: DVDGO - El Corte Inglés
NA: DVDGO - El Corte Inglés
P: DVDGO - El Corte Inglés
Package - DVDGO - El Corte Inglés

El Corte Inglés also has the special edition of P&P05 that comes with a 64-page book; not sure what that could be! A Making-Of type thing, perhaps?

With the Complete Jane Austen gearing up on PBS, everyone seems to have Jane Austen films on their minds, and there are several events coming up dedicated to Austen film adaptations old and new.

The Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., is having a special event, “Jane Austen Goes to the Movies,” on Wednesday, January 30th at 7 p.m.

Jane Austen has become one of Hollywood’s top screenwriters, with both feature films and television mini-series to her credit. Independent scholar and lecturer, Virginia Newmyer, examines the dramatization of the novels, and whether 20th-century scenarios have improved on the renowned author. The discussion, illustrated with images, interprets the ways in which Jane Austen wove the enduring questions of power, money, and social class into her romantic comedies, and how the themes have been transferred to the screen. Several films and videos are considered, including: Sense and Sensibility (1995 feature film), Pride and Prejudice (1980 BBC mini-series, 1995 BBC/A&E mini-series), Mansfield Park (1993 feature film), Emma (1996 feature film), Clueless (1995 feature film), and Persuasion (1995 feature film). In addition, both Becoming Jane, the 2007 feature film as fictional as the novels, and The Jane Austen Book Club, very different from the book, are included.

Tickets for this event are $20, but if you call and mention that you are an AustenBlog reader, you can get them for the member price of $15! La!

Alert Janeite Jen K. sent us some information about upcoming events sponsored by JASNA’s Greater New York region, kicking off this week. First is a pre-broadcast screening of the new adaptation of Persuasion, this Tuesday, January 8, at 6:30 p.m. at Wollman Auditorium at the Cooper Union. The event is co-sponsored by Penguin Books.

JASNA New York also is co-sponsoring (with Borders) post-broadcast discussions for each of the six novel adaptations on the Mondays after broadcast at several locations in New York and Connecticut.

Another very exciting New York area event (though it’s not listed on JASNA New York’s website, but Jen posted details at The Republic of Pemberley) is a screening of the 1995 adaptation of Persuasion with a discussion featuring Ciarán Hinds, who of course played Captain Wentworth in the film, and possibly Corin Redgrave, who played Sir Walter Elliot, discussing the film with Foster Hirsch of the Brooklyn College Film Department and Rachel Brownstein of the CUNY English Department. The event will be at Brooklyn College on Monday, February 4, 2008 at 3:30 p.m. at the Gershwin Theater, Brooklyn College Campus.

All of these events are free and open to the public.

We previously mentioned “Jane-uary” at the Kansas City Public Library, and as part of that endeavor the library will have a film series called “The Reel Jane Austen” featuring some of the big-screen adaptations, nicely balancing the small-screen versions on PBS. The series will include P&P 1940 and 2005, S&S 1995, and Emma 1996. (No Persuasion 95? Quel dommage!)

In conjunction with Rocky Mountain Public Radio, Audrey Sprenger of the Denver Central Library will present a film and lecture series, Jane Austen, Literature’s Posthumous It Girl.

Created to supplement Masterpiece Theatre’s winter telecast of The Complete Jane Austen, this short cinematic and academic course will chronicle Austen’s slow but steady rise in popularity since the late 1800s, compare her to other It Girls like aviator Amelia Earhart and actresses Jean Seberg and Brigitte Bardot, critique Amy Heckerling’s Clueless, a Hollywood Teen Re-Make of Austen’s Emma and finally, explore Karen Joy Fowler’s The Jane Austen Book Club, a fictional take on why Austen’s work and persona still endures.

The Denver Central Library will have a free screening of the new adaptation of Persuasion on Sunday, January 13, 2008 at 2 p.m. to kick off the series.

Alert Janeite Julie let us know that a 2-disc “Collector’s Edition” of Pride and Prejudice 2005 will be released on November 13. We dug around the official site and found the specs. The main difference seems to be that it includes a full-frame version as well as a widescreen version of the film, both with commentary from Joe “Go Jump In A Lake” Wright, and the addition of some bonus features:

• Conversations with the Cast
• The Politics of Dating
• The Stately Homes of Pride & Prejudice
• Galleries of the 19th Century
• Pride & Prejudice Family Tree

Some of these are already available on the HD-DVD version. Missing from the original DVD is “Behind-the-Scenes at the Ball.” Probably not worth it if you already have the DVD.

Have to agree; we haven’t laughed that much in a movie theater since we saw Blazing Saddles. You know when you laugh so hard you think you’re going to throw up? That’s how it was exactly!

Thanks to Alert Janeite Paola for the link!

Alert Janeite MJ Ryan wrote to tell us that there will be a free screening of P&P 2005 at The Magnolia theater in Dallas on Monday, August 20, at 7 p.m. The Dallas Theater Center will be at the screening to give away tickets to their upcoming stage production of Pride and Prejudice, which runs from August 29-September 23.

A special edition of Persuasions On-Line, the online journal of the Jane Austen Society of North America, looks at P&P05 with a variety of papers on all aspects of the film.

We haven’t had a chance to sit and read the new issue extensively but look forward to perusing all the papers (and invite AustenBlog readers over to the Molland’s forum to discuss it). We did quickly skim Barbara K. Seeber’s paper on various cinematic treatments of Mr. Bennet and were struck by this selection: (more…)

Alert Janeite Franka reports that one of the dresses worn by Keira Knightley in the 2005 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice is for sale at the very spendy price of £3,995 (US$6,629).

A dress worn by Elizabeth Bennet (Keira Knightley) in the wonderful 2005 adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice. This custom made, simple, empire line brown/maroon cotton dress has hidden buttons up the front and a paler coloured piece of ribbon detailing under the ‘bust’, also there is a green satin lining dress underneath. There is no size marked but it is labelled “Sands Films”. Keira has earned an Academy Awards nomination for Best Actress in a leading role for her inspiring performance in the film. She can be seen wearing this style of dress at the very beginning of the film as we seen her make her way home after enjoying some peaceful time away from the turbulent family. This dress also features on the cover of the DVD and for the promotional posters for the film’s release.

Proof positive that Keira Knightley could be beautiful dressed in a burlap sack.

It all seems so long ago, doesn’t it? All the civilized, reasoned discussion we Janeites had over Pride and Prejudice 2005? ‘Twas a model of online deportment, if memory serves, and our memory ALWAYS serves. *cough*

Peg Kerr recently discovered AustenBlog and was kind enough to send along a link to an entry from her LiveJournal in which she wrote up a Q&A with the director of P&P05, Joe Wright, after a screening of the film. Check it out!

The Jane Austen Society of North America has put out a call for papers for a special edition of Persuasions On-Line to be published in July 2007 focusing on the 2005 adaptation of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE.

Persuasions On-Line announces a special issue on the most recent film adaptation of Pride and Prejudice: the 2005 Focus Features film starring Keira Knightley and Matthew MacFadyen.

The film garnered the attention and praise of film critics and the Academy, earning Keira Knightley glowing reviews and a nomination for Best Actress. The scholarly reception of the film has been far more mixed and limited, and often considers the film only in the context of other Austen adaptations, especially the 1995 Colin Firth/Jennifer Ehle BBC/A&E production. We invite papers that offer substantive critical readings of the 2005 Focus Features Production in a variety of contexts.

Guidelines are available through the link. When the issue is published we certainly will post a link.

Speaking of YouTube…

Thanks for the heads-up to Marsha, who no doubt will take great delight in being called an Alert Janeite.

Alert Janeite Chantel wrote to tell us that the sheet music for P&P3 is available at Amazon, for those who wish to play upon the pianoforte. Remember, no excellence in music is to be acquired without constant practice! Lady Catherine said so!

The Guardian has listed PRIDE AND PREJUDICE in its list of the 50 best film adaptations of all time. We are astonished to note that no other Austen adaptation made the list. It is unclear what criteria was used for the listing; from the article, it seems as though the quality of the original was weighed as much as the film, which is kind of strange in our opinion.

Thanks to Alert Janeite Robyn for sending us the link.

The BBC reports that AOL will soon be offering legal downloads of movies, and PRIDE AND PREJUDICE will be among the first offered.

Fans will pay £19.99 for a DVD of their chosen film plus two digital copies to keep indefinitely - one for their home computer and one for a portable device.

Universal said it could “completely revolutionise” how people watch movies.

There is a catch, of course.

However users will not be able to burn copies of the films to DVD themselves and the files will be compatible only with PCs and Windows software.

So how long do you suppose it will take for some enterprising young spirit to figure out how to work around that “can’t burn a DVD” feature?

Alert Janeite Mandy wrote to tell us that Burghley House, which was the setting for Rosings Park in P&P3, will reopen in April with a special exhibition based on the film and on THE DAVINCI CODE, which also was filmed there.

Insert your own joke about blasphemy here.

The PRIDE AND PREJUDICE content will include costumes worn by Keira Knightley and Judi Dench and behind-the-scenes footage and filming information.

Alert Janeite Dianne from JASA wrote to tell us that the Region 4 DVD for PRIDE AND PREJUDICE has been released. She also passed on the following:

…the list of extras on the back cover includes something called “The Life and Times of Jane Austin”. Seriously. On the back cover of the DVD. In print. Fortunately for my poor nerves, it doesn’t appear anywhere else, and the featurette itself has the correct spelling.

*sigh* Dorothy! A strong pot of tea, directly! With a generous splash of the Tullamore Dew, if you please.

Well, the DVD cover for P2 got corrected eventually, so we’ll hold out hope for the Janeites down under!

We were amused by Chris Campbell’s review of P&P3, which included some editorial commentary that verged on the Machiavellian.

Here’s a little suggestion for men who derive entertainment out of seeing their better halves get steamed up.

Tell them that Matthew Macfadyen is better than Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy.

If they’ve seen both versions of Jane Austen’s classic novel, you WILL get a reaction and it will likely involve expletives you’ve never heard come out of their mouth before.

In my experience, women adore Firth as Mr. Darcy in the 1995 mini-series. I’ve heard it from female reporters, friends - even strangers in restaurants. The guy is a friggin’ icon.

We will go out on a limb and say that Mr. Macfadyen, though handsome and talented and whose fans are certainly enthusiastic, is not The New Colin Firth. We think that sobriquet belongs more properly to Richard Armitage in NORTH AND SOUTH. The excitement around his portrayal of John Thornton in that series has the same intensity we remember from the early days of the Firth!Darcy phenomenon. Now despise us if you dare!

Ugh. This is what happens when the ignorant watch “creative” adaptations.

To fans of Austen, who wrote Sense and Sensibility, adapted for the screen by Emma Thompson, whose hand is in this script, too, this is worth the fuss. For the rest of us, it is a ponderous soap opera.

Pride and Prejudice? Ponderous soap opera? Ye God and all the little fishes.

Austen’s female-dominated universe is intolerable, to borrow a term from the story.

Son, if you had even a nodding acquaintance with the story, such a comment might be permissible. As such, stand still while we wield the Cluebat of Janeite Righteousness upside your melon. *WHACK!*

Dang, that’s a thick one. Better take another swing. *WHACK!*

The story’s focus is the Bennets, a family with many daughters parented by a bystander father (Donald Sutherland) and an overbearing mum (Brenda Blethyn at her creakiest). They flit, sniff and tromp about–rarely without the music
blaring–as they play with ribbons, gossip about others and yammer on at the dining table.

Not Jane’s fault. Not her fault. NOT. JANE’S. BALLY. FAULT!

This is the late 18th century and, since the family farm doesn’t make much money,

It makes two thousand pounds per year, actually. In today’s money, roughly a hundred grand–or $175,000. Do you make that much, Mr. Big Shot Movie Reviewer? Hmm?

Director Wright lavishes this adaptation with glimmering touches of color, luminous lighting and graceful movements, and the pictures are breathtaking.

Oh, fine, say nice things about Mr. Throw Gritty Realistic Mud All Over Jane Austen And You Stuck-Up Prissy Janeites Can Go Jump In The Lake If You Don’t Like It. We tried to tell him, but nooooooo.

Macfadyen and Dench are notably underrepresented though Knightley, Blethyn and screenwriter Deborah Moggach are featured in location interviews, which lend themselves to the spirit of the movie.

“I was just trying to capture the spirit of the thing.” (And the first person who can name that movie reference gets a thousand points that don’t mean anything.)

Alert Janeite Carol wrote to tell us that the Manolo for the Brides blog is running a contest, the prize for which is a P&P3 DVD package with tea and other goodies. Entrants have to submit a “bizarre or hilarious” wedding story by February 27.

There is much that could be snarked in the blog entry–wandering spelling, perception of 18th century modes of cleanliness–but the Editrix has been in every secondhand shop in Southeastern Pennsylvania today looking for a nice dresser with drawers that might actually hold something (in other words, what modern furniture makers are NOT making) and does not have the energy. Besides, they’re giving away a lovely prize, it seems rather churlish.

Hmmm! After we reported a contest to win a P&P3 DVD sponsored by a newspaper in West Virginia, it was won by someone living in South Dakota. Emily Feekes, could you be an AustenBlog reader? Come, confess!

Emily wrote a very nice essay on the film, btw; check it out!