If you haven't seen this analysis yet, here's a fun Battle of the Mr. Darcys. 
For the Colin Firth/Darcy fans,here's the infamous "Wet Shirt" scene from P&P 1995, and Elizabeth's unexpected encounter with Mr. Darcy during her visit to Pemberley. This is the moment I fell in love with Colin, but I have been hopelessly in love with Mr. Darcy since I was fourteen.Of the two men, who do you prefer as Mr. Darcy? Inquiring minds want to know. Please note, as of midnight 6-27-07 EST US, all voting has paused.
Thank you for the correction, Kimberley!
17 comments:
I firmly believe in First Impressions and loved Colin from the first moment I laid my eyes on him. Just to be fair I tried to watch the new version a second time, but Matthew just doesn’t cut it. But he tries and that’s what counts.
Oh! I voted for Matthew MacFadyen! I ADORE his Mr. Darcy, even though I expected not to like him!
I love, love, love Matthew as Mr. Darcy. Colin is great but Matthew is my vision of Darcy! :)
Darlings, I am keeping the polls open. Thank you Lady Jane for coming to Matthew's rescue. I thought he had more fans than none!
The race is on!
I am very glad, Ms. Place, and always happy to rally for Mr. Darcy! When will you call it?
Let me go on the record: I'll call it exactly one week after the original post. Oh, this is fun! But, be warned, I am rallying the Colin Firth fans to beat back those dastardly Macfadyen votes. LOL
I'm a Colin lover all the way. When he emerges from the lake - ooh la la. That's where you see just how tall he is!
And MacFadyen is in the lead! Lol This is fun!
Oh, and Cassandra of Troy, I love your reference to "First Impressions."
Hi, am back! Anyway, I didn't realise that I like Matthew's Darcy a liiiiitle bit better than Colin's; all because Matt's was a more sensitive Darcy (his interaction with Georgiana was cute). But. If you have a vote of Knightley vs Ehle, I will choose Ehle for Lizzy Bennet. Keira was okay, but Jennifer Ehle was THE Lizzy Bennet for me.
Colin Firth is Mr. Darcy and always will be. Check out amazon top 100 bestselling dvds of all time. A&E's P&P is always there. He played Darcy exactly the way Austen wrote the character.
By the way, this vote is fixed. I have never once voted here and it says I already have. So my vote was never even counted.
Oh, dear, anonymous. The vote is not fixed, because I am a huge Colin Firth fan and I am exhorting my friends to come and vote for Colin. Are you sure that you allowed 24 hours to pass before you voted again?
I have no way of knowing what happens if two people vote at the same time. Please try again. And believe me, I hope Colin will win.
Kelly, I agree. Matthew is also my vision of Darcy... ok i better go watch it again.. sigh..
If you have any interest in historical accuracy, or literary accuracy, the 2005 version with Keira Knightley and Matthew McFayden has to leave you pulling your hair and moaning. It is "Sixteen Candles" transferred to the early 1800s. Drip for the romantic trade -- but not Jane Austen.
The Jennifer Ehle/Colin Firth version is 10K times better. Not perfect, perhaps, but sumptuous and overpowering — any small quibbles are swept away. The two leads, Darcy and Elizabeth, are beautifully cast and acted. Meanwhile, though often overlooked, Susannah Harker, as Jane Bennet, is equally perfect as a well-bred Regency beauty — the epitome of a style that is no longer popular but was then the gold coin of the realm.
If you have any interest in historical accuracy, or literary accuracy, the 2005 version with Keira Knightley and Matthew McFayden has to leave you pulling your hair and moaning. It is "Sixteen Candles" transferred to the early 1800s. Drip for the romantic trade -- but not Jane Austen.
The Jennifer Ehle/Colin Firth version is 10K times better. Not perfect, perhaps, but sumptuous and overpowering — any small quibbles are swept away. The two leads, Darcy and Elizabeth, are beautifully cast and acted. Meanwhile, though often overlooked, Susannah Harker, as Jane Bennet, is equally perfect as a well-bred Regency beauty — the epitome of a style that is no longer popular but was then the gold coin of the realm.
Matthew MacFadyen is Mr Darcy.
He is cold and sad at the begining.
smouldering in the middle.
Adoring and hoplessly in love at the end.
He is Mr Darcy.
Colin was ok for the time of filming.
Matthew is wonderful, fulfilling and adoring.
For this is his time.
He is Mr Darcy
I voted for Colin as the better Mr. Darcy. Matthew was wonderful, all brooding and sad but a girl never forgets her first love.
Actually, historically speaking, both films are correct.
Having done many plays, both on stage and off, and worked with a costume designer who was a stickler for details (and accuracy), I can state with firm conviction that both sets, costumes, hair, etc. was done according to time period.
The directors merely decided to go with two different time periods - albeit they were really close together (as demonstrated with Caroline being at the height of fashion in the 2005 version with the Empire dresses she wore while in the 1995 mini series such dresses were worn by a much of the population).
As far as the 2005 version being less 'to code' as it were, I agree - but they clearly stated with almost every promotion of the movie that it was *based* on the novel by Jane Austen. (Who, herself, stated that “The work is rather too light, bright, and sparkling; it wants shade; it wants to be stretched out here and there with a long chapter of sense, if it could be had...” in regards to our beloved Pride & Prejudice.)
If you want the *true version* of Pride and Prejudice, I recommend reading the book over a movie any day.
As it is, I am overjoyed that we have two movies to draw in more would-be Austen enthusiasts.
Post a Comment