FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Roman Sampson One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Cristal The movie really just wants to entertain people.

diverdiva This is definitely the quintessential version of P & P! The actors were all perfectly cast and I agree with previous reviewers that Elizabeth Garvie captured the spirit of Lizzie to a 'T' (as did David Rintoul with Darcy). Yes, it's production values are a bit primitive (1979 after all!), but you forget the settings because the script and performances are all so absorbing. True to Jane Austen and completely enjoyable. Quick quibble with some other reviewers, who are obviously Austen fans, but not very 'up' on British history ... P & P took place in Georgian England (George III - late 1700s to early 1800s), not Victorian England (1837-1901). Ms Austen was long dead by the time Victoria ascended the throne!

Hotwok2013 "Pride & Prejudice" is easily the favourite of all of Jane Austen's six published novels. Many literary critics have tried to analyse why her books are still so popular in this day & age around 200 years after they were written. Probably the best reasons are that the themes of her novels, (love & marriage), are relevant at any time period & that she was just so darned good as a writer. Taken purely as a love story It is probably without equal which explains why it has been adapted for film & television so often. This 1980 version stars Elizabeth Garvie as Elizabeth Bennett who plays the sensible & spirited young lady really well but, for me David Rintoul as Fitzwilliam Darcy is even better. To my mind, he plays the proud, haughty & extremely handsome Darcy precisely as written & envisioned by Jane Austen. He is aloof, stiff & unemotional which makes it easy to see why Elizabeth dislikes him so much at first. Quite a number of reviewers of this adaptation of Pride & Prejudice have criticised Rintoul's performance. They claim he plays Darcy with too little emotion & in comparison with Colin Firth's 1995 performance is dull, uninteresting & unromantic. It is true that he isn't as outwardly romantic as played by Colin Firth but I disagree with that criticism. Rintoul nails him precisely as written by Jane Austen & what a shame we cannot get her opinion!. Another standout acting performance is given by Judy Parfitt as Darcy's aunt Lady Catherine De Bourgh. Ms Parfitt has a natural regal bearing combined with a beautifully intoned speaking voice & can just nail an upper-crust woman effortlessly. She also plays her with such a commanding air that you almost cannot help disliking her. That, too, is also true to the spirit of the book as written by Jane Austen. Malcolm Rennie is also excellent as the pompous, somewhat comical vicar Mr. Collins. The scene in which he proposes marriage to Elizabeth & is rejected by her is particularly well played by both of them. Both Priscilla Morgan & Moray Watson are also extremely good as Elizabeth Bennett's mother and father, respectively. Sabina Franklyn also does well playing Elizabeth's very pretty older sister Jane who will fall in love & marry Darcy's best friend Mr. Bingley (Osmund Bullock). Tessa Peake-Jones plays her bookish younger sister Mary who later got a more fames television role as Delboy's love interest Raquel in Only Fools & Horses. Natalie Ogle plays the youngest of the five Bennett sisters Lydia who is fatuous & will enter into a hasty, sham marriage with the handsome, (but deceitful & untrustworthy), Mr. Wickham (Peter Settelen). None of the sisters attend the marriage ceremony & when they return from their honeymoon Lydia is eager to tell her sisters all about it. Elizabeth does not want to know & delivers one of the books most memorable put-down lines. "I do not think there can be too little said on the subject!". There isn't a weak performance by anyone in the entire cast. The 1995 TV production with Colin Firth & Jennifer Ehle was pretty good, but this 1980 BBC production dramatised by Fay Weldon is closer to the book & definitely superior in my opinion.

TheLittleSongbird Now don't get me wrong, I absolutely adore the 1995 series, but seeing this version yesterday as part of my Jane Austen marathon this version is even better. The whole series is handsomely photographed, complete with sumptuous costumes and scenery and an evocative atmosphere, and the music is simple and of a beautifully hypnotic quality. The writing is thoughtful, witty and moving, as well as being true to Jane Austen's language, while the timeless story goes at a good length and pace and the crucial scenes and everything that made the book so good intact and with strong emotional impact. Elizabeth Garvie is a spirited Elizabeth, Irene Richard a superb Charlotte(much better than her Elinor in Sense and Sensibility) and David Rintoul a handsome and aloof Darcy. Judy Parfitt is also a sheer delight as Lady Catherine. So all in all, simply amazing and while ratings-wise I'd put this and 1995 on the same level as the best versions of the book, but as of now I give this one the edge. 10/10 Bethany Cox

HelenMary I'm not saying the other adaptations of Pride and Prejudice aren't good; they are. However, this one was the one I saw first (other than perhaps the Lawrence Olivier version), and I love it. It's done very sympathetically to the period, I think with my uneducated eye, and the actors aren't conventional or modern looking, and the script is brilliantly portrayed. David Rintoul is the perfect Darcy, old fashioned and haughty, and Lady Catherine is just splendid. Miss Elizabeth Bennett is the right combination of attractive, intelligent and with her own type of feminine arrogance, applicable to the day. All the characters are so amplified yet not so much that they are caricatures of themselves, which makes for memorable watching. Other versions are sort of watered down versions of this one. Watch it, the only problem is that it's quite hard to get hold of - I got my copy on DVD from the US on Amazon having only the video before. It's great easy watching for a mini series, and it's both touching and hilarious in equal part. It's a little cheesy in places but that's intentional I think.