DVD Review: Pride and Prejudice (2005)

February 28, 2006 by randomguru · 4 Comments 

My Rating: 9/10
pride and prejudiceThis movie was made available for the first time on DVD, so I just had to pick it up from the store this morning. Excellent movie, though purists/fans of the beloved BBC version might think otherwise!

The truth remains that I happen to love BOTH the BBC version AND this newer 2005 version, starring Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Bennet, and now I own both on DVD! I just happen to appreciate them both in different ways.

Keep in mind that the original BBC version was made for TV and was a mini-series that is 6 1/2 hours long… The newer, shorter version (just over 2 hours long) is excellent and has a completely different feel.

The director also wanted to cast a younger Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet which is more realistic to the novel, plus the setting is truly set during the precise period in which the novel was first written… in the late 1700s, and not in the early 1800s when the novel was first published. Many females loved Colin Firth’s version of Mr. Darcy, but the fact remains that he seemed a bit old for the role. So “dashing-ness superceded age.

Also, there was the original version in 1940 starring Greer Garson (as Elizabeth Bennet) and Sir Laurence Olivier (as Mr. Darcy) which is also very highly rated. Both Garson and Olivier were rather old for the roles as well.

In total, there were at least 6-7 different versions of “Pride and Prejudice” either on the silver screen or made for television. Each version was an “adaptation” of the original novel.

While the original BBC version is arguably the most faithful to the novel, the newer 2005 version in some respects is just as faithful, in regards to time period, ages of the characters, and the setting and costumes of the period. But the newer version was admittedly from the start an “adaptation” of the novel, as remarked by the director, Joe Wright.

In summary, the 2005 version is more passionate and emotional. And who’s to say that the characters weren’t passionate back in those days? The BBC version seems to lack a certain passion and emotion as if it were set in the Victorian Era, but the Victorian Era was from the early 1800s to the early 1900s… and though the novel was published during the early days of the Victorian Era, the story was actually set in the late 1700s when the novel was first written! So, which version is more faithful to the novel then?

Anyways, there have been many versions/adaptations to this beloved novel by Jane Austen, even one set in India (Bride and Prejudice)…. which one is the best? Well, is quite a subjective issue, really.

I thought Keira Knightley was superb as the witty, strong-willed and outspoken Elizabeth Bennet…. and she deservedly earned herself an Academy Award nomination for it. And although she may not win the Oscar, her performance will shine regardless….

And Matthew Macfadyen was just as superb as Mr. Darcy, a younger version and someone all the girls can swoon over, just as much as Colin Firth’s Mr. Darcy…

Filed under: Cinema
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lost piano

February 27, 2006 by randomguru · 5 Comments 

“If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician. I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music. … I get most joy in life out of music.”
—-Albert Einstein

I seem to have lost my inspiration for playing piano. It sort of makes me feel uneasy… because I haven’t touched a piano in weeks, literally. And it’s almost as if I’m afraid to touch one because I don’t know if I can play anymore…

As crazy as it seems, I’m at a point where I don’t really feel like playing… but, I just have to make myself… set up that keyboard and hook it up to my amplifier and just start playing some notes!

Well, it seems everything is a struggle right now… even my Yoga routine… it’s a constant struggle just to get myself to do piano and yoga, what’s up?

Anyway, I will try to practice some piano tonight, being that the big band rehearsal was cancelled. And I must do another Yoga routine tonight! Even if I have to do it while watching a DVD or the television!

Filed under: Music
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engaged…

February 27, 2006 by randomguru · 2 Comments 

I just wanted to extend my warmest congratulations to Annie and her fiance on their wedding engagement! I am so happy for the two of you… Congrats!

. . . .

may warm colours
and brilliant sunrises
begin your days…

may pastel hues
and glorious sunsets
prelude your nights…
—-carlos rull

Filed under: Musings
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climbing up on solsbury hill

February 23, 2006 by randomguru · 5 Comments 

I was feeling part of the scenery
I walked right out of the machinery
My heart going boom boom boom
“Hey”, he said, “grab your things, I’ve come to take you home.”
—-Peter Gabriel, Solsbury Hill

Filed under: Musings
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Podcast: Tiki Bar TV

February 23, 2006 by randomguru · 5 Comments 

lala

Pat has turned me on to TikiBar TV, a video podcast that is mostly ad libbed, and quite funny and wacky… dedicated to mixed drinks and cocktails, paradise and ultra-lounge culture!

One can learn how to make a variety of mixed drinks, and it’s easy getting a crush on the femme of the show… Lala!

Filed under: Musings
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The Gauntlet

February 22, 2006 by randomguru · 4 Comments 

ominous
forbidden…

stretching its talons
and wings of hatred across
the land, in this darkest of hours

where angels fear
in the darkness of the soul

we must pass, through
this essence of anguished, torture

the pain
unbearable, forthcoming
lost hope, plunged
into the deep grave of coldness

alive, only to
feel this pain, this sadness
this endless struggle

the mind
seeks to survive
this onslaught of misery
this burden, this gauntlet
that can not be avoided…

shelter
warmth
comfort…

no where in sight

torment, desolate
penetrating the heart
like an icy cold dagger, that
does not release its death grip
on mercy of its victim…

tortured
and broken
the light beyond the hills
is much too far, the warmth
non-existent…

cold and desolate
stricken with isolation
clinging to the hopes
and dreams that seem but
a vague memory from a past lifetime…

isolation…
the darkness that must be overcome…

© 2006 Carlos Rull

Filed under: Poetry
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