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Pride and Prejudice

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1995 British television drama series

Key facts

Genre
Costume drama
Based on
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Screenplay by
Andrew Davies
Directed by
Simon Langton
Starring
Jennifer Ehle , Colin Firth
Theme music composer
Carl Davis
Country of origin
United Kingdom
Original language
English
Producer
Sue Birtwistle
Cinematography
John Kenway
Running time
327 minutes
Network
BBC1
Release
24 September ( 1995-09-24 ) –, 29 October 1995 ( 1995-10-29 )

via Wikipedia infobox

~40 min read

Encyclopedic overview

Pride and Prejudice is a six-episode 1995 British television drama, adapted by Andrew Davies from Jane Austen's 1813 novel of the same name. Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth starred as Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy, respectively. Produced by Sue Birtwistle and directed by Simon Langton, the serial was a BBC production with additional funding from the American A&E Network. BBC1 originally broadcast the 55-minute episodes from 24 September to 29 October 1995. In the United States, the A&E Network aired the series in double episodes on three consecutive nights beginning 14 January 1996.

Critically acclaimed and a popular success, Pride and Prejudice was honoured with several awards, including the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress for Jennifer Ehle and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Costume Design for a Miniseries or a Special. The role of Mr. Darcy elevated Colin Firth to stardom. A scene showing Firth in a wet shirt was recognised as "one of the most unforgettable moments in British TV history". The New York Times called the adaptation "a witty mix of love stories and social conniving, cleverly wrapped in the ambitions and illusions of a provincial gentry". The series inspired author Helen Fielding to write the popular Bridget Jones novels, and their screen adaptations subsequently featured Firth as Bridget's love interest, Mark Darcy.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Pride and Prejudice” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.