Review of Pride And Prejudice

Introduction

At last, Pride and Prejudice is available in the UK on a Region 2 disc set. While this might not seem like a big deal, fans of this BBC pinnacle of costume drama have only been able to get a DVD copy previously by buying from the US. This has always vexed me - a BRITISH Broadcasting Corporation production, with English actors, filmed and set in England... and yet, you couldn`t buy it here on DVD... Having bitten the bullet and imported the US edition, I was always extremely disappointed with the quality. The picture was full-screen, with a particularly washed out nature. Large areas of light shades were always subject to blocking and MPEG smearing, and even the sound was thin and brittle. I was fascinated, therefore, to see if two additional years of waiting would improve the BBC`s UK release.

Video

Now this is more like it. The Region 2 Pride and Prejudice is framed at 1.78:1 in glorious anamorphic. The picture finally has the contrast and detail it deserves. In a back-to-back viewing against the Region 1 copy, there is no comparison whatsoever - colours are stronger and more defined, blacks are actually black, and the amount of additional information lost to the pan and scan copy is revealed. The picture still has a slightly yellow tinge to it, but for the most part, colours (especially fleshtones) are reasonably realistic.

When it comes to the encoding, again the Region 2 disc enjoys a far superior finish. There were only a few minor glitches on wide pans or large areas of pale colours like walls. This was, however, nothing which would distract from general viewing.

It must be remembered that this is not a feature film, but a made-for-television drama. As such, the production values, and hence the picture quality does not always reach the levels of the Hollywood blockbuster. However, considering its origins, the picture on Pride and Prejudice is actually stunning and better than anyone has the right to expect.

Audio

Although only encoded in Dolby Digital 2-channel (another throwback to its television heritage) the sound on this disc is again a vast improvement on the original copy. The musical tracks are deep and rhythmical, with a convincing use of the orchestra to generate period atmosphere.

Vocals - so important in this presentation - are also handled excellently, and there is very rarely any problem hearing the speech during conversation unless there is extremely loud background noise. The sound at all times remains clear, precise and convincing.

Due to the nature of the show, Pride and Prejudice does not exactly conjure up a maelstrom of surround sound experiences, especially in Dolby 2.0. However, for the material to hand, the sounds used are extremely suitable, and draw the viewer into the image quite satisfactorily.

Features

In the final death blow to the Region 1 copy, the Region 2 also includes a `making of` featurette, which allows a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the period drama. Although not the longest featurette ever, this did provide an interesting look into the production, and is required viewing for fans of Colin Firth, period drama, or simply Pride and Prejudice and Jane Austen.

Conclusion

It is a huge relief that this disc is now available here, and a very pleasant surprise that it so resoundingly trounces the Region 1 version. I was always extremely disappointed with the hack-and-slashed picture format, and the ultimate poorness of the image on the US disc. This disc in comparison is crisp, and extracts the very best out of what is, effectively a reasonably small-scale production made for television. Both sound and picture really are excellent, although a 5.1 remix would, of course, have been welcome.

It may also be worth noting that this disc is dual-region with Region 4, so for any Australian readers, this is certainly the one to go for (I don`t think it`s actually been released in Oz yet) ! Region 1 collectors who are reading this may well want to think about getting themselves multi-region players (if they haven`t already to buy Friends).

While it is a shame that there is only a single item of extra material, this package already runs beyond 5 hours, and comes on two discs - you certainly get a lot for your money !

All in all, this package is highly recommended, and certainly a great way of losing yourself (or your wife/girlfriend !) for the best part of a day in front of the DVD player.

NB. Please note that subsequent to this review, an improved R1 Special Edition of Pride and Prejudice has been released, as has a R4 Australian version.