Tag: Pride and Prejudice

Love Stories With Nora Ephron

I love this article where Nora Ephron picks her favorite rom-coms.

Hit List: Nora Ephron’s Love Stories
By Lauren Mechling

Manhattan
Woody Allen “was a pioneer of a more Freudian obstacle to love, which was the totally self-absorbed leading man’s character,” Ms. Ephron says of the 1979 film about a wrtier who dates a teenager and falls for his friends mistress. “What is miraculous about this movie is, you still love Woody.

Pride and Prejudice
Ms. Ephron says she was in “complete bliss” when she say Joe Wright’s 2005 adaptation of the classic, starring OScar noinee Keira Knightley. “It portrayed Elizabeth Bennet as a tomboy and I’ve never seen that done before,” she says. She also enjoyed the 1995 BBC version (available on DVD) starring Colin Firth.

Groundhog Day
“I remember when I saw the trailer, I thought ‘Oh, yeah right, how is this going to work?'” Ms. Ephron says of the 1993 Bill Murray comedy about a weatherman who falls in love while reliving the same day again and again. “And yet, it’s a miracle: Every time you see it, it moves one inch forward. You can’t believe it.”

The Lady Vanishes
“Most people think of it as a thriller, but the truth is, it’s a very classic romantic comedy that happens to have a thriller plot,” Ms. Ephron says of Alfred Hitchcok’s 1938 film about a couple searching for a woman who’s disappeared on a train.

What are your favorite romantic comedies? My all-time favorite is Bringing Up Baby and Annie Hall but I have a soft spot for Dirty Dancing.

Review: Pride and Prejudice (2005)

Today I saw Pride and Prejudice with my mother. She is a Jane Austen fanatic and my birthday present to her was to treat her to the latest Austen feature film adaptation.

First, let me say that, although it was not as great as Ang Lee’s Sense and Sensibility or even the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, the performances of Keira Knightley and company plus key moments, breathtaking cinematography and camera angles, make Pride and Prejudice a spectacular movie.

Knightley stars as the headstrong Elizabeth Bennett, with Talulah Riley, Rosamund Pike, Jena Malone, and Carey Mulligan costarring as her sisters, Jane, Mary, Lydia, and Kitty, respectively. Their hilariously overbearing mother (played brilliantly by Brenda Blethlyn) wants nothing more for her five daughters to be married to respectible gentlemen. Their befuddled father (Donald Sutherland) would prefer otherwise, but he really has no say in the matter.

Enter Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy, and the lives of the two eldest Bennett daughters (Jane and Elizabeth) are turned upside down.

For Mr. Bingley (Simon Woods) and Jane, it’s love at first sight. Of course the matter of their varying financial status becomes an issue for Bingley’s bitchy sister/relatives and Mr. Darcy. But that’s only a minor plot element.

The real story (and why Pride and Prejudice is considered to be one of the greatest love stories) is between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy (Matthew MacFadyen). First she hates him for his apparent arrogance, then he realizes his love for her (in an amazing scene that takes place in a downpour nonetheless.) But she cannot marry him because he hurt her sister by separating from Jane from Bingley. Their love is a vicious circle; back and forth is goes, which is why it so captivating.

Pride and Prejudice is an excellent mix of humor, romance, bantor, plot, characters, and scenery to make any viewer laugh and smile. Not to mention that any picture that has 15 minutes of Dame Judi Dench screen time involved, makes it worth seeing. Expect Keira Knightley’s name to be mentioned during the award season for her portrayal of Elizabeth.

Updated October 7, 2010