It was like a Heavenly chorus in my hears…Working Title (the makers of Bridget Jones, Notting Hill et al), Jane Austin's Pride and Prejudice, and film, all in one sentence. Wow. My Mum and I had been anticipating this one for a very long time. We practically leapt out of our seats in excitement when we first saw the trailers. I am a massive fan of British Films, the majority of which have been produced by Working Title - Shaun of the Dead, Bridget Jones, Four Weddings and A Funeral… to name but a few. I am also a huuuuge fan of costume dramas. Love them. Adore them. Will see them all and praise the books that spawned them.

The casting of the film is brilliantly done - you don't question any of the characters, even if you are an avid fan of the BBC production with the rather dashing Colin Firth. It just all works so incredibly well.
Keira Knightly has won an Oscar nomination for her portrayal of our heroine, and deservedly so. She's completely believable as Lizzie, in both her quiet elegance and sisterly role in the family. Lizzie's stubborn nature bounces off Matthew McFadyen's Mr Darcy, who is played with a cool, calm air of snobbish grumpiness to be quite frank! McFadyen is simply brilliant as Darcy. He's damn attractive - as all Darcy's should be, but able to convince us that his feelings run to the depth of his heart. As the character develops and Lizzie learns more of her Darcy's true nature, we as the audience all fall in love with him, along with her, you can't help it!
Rosamund Pike is sickingly beautiful as the eldest sister, Jane - she's absolutely gorgeous, all blonde and dainty. Urgh, just makes you want to don a dress and float round the moors for a few hours. Brenda Blethyn is brilliant as Mrs Bennet - an amazing mother-hen type figure, with fantastic lines such as; "Lizzie, when you have five daughters, you tell me what else you will think about" in response to her daughter criticising her obsession with seeing them all married off. Donald Sutherland is the perfect match for Brenda, cast alongside her as Mr Bennet. He allows us to see him as the long suffering man of a house of six women, and yet manages to retain the role as head of the household.

I just have to say a quick word about Mr Collins. He has got to be one of the most hilarious characters in the whole film. Excellently portrayed by Tom Hollander, his voice is as irritating as nails on a blackboard, but it's constant references to his 'patron' Lady Katherine (Dame Judi Dench), matched by a blind determination to marry Jane, and then Lizzie, that is just so brilliant - Austen has created a character who is an amazingly stark contrast to the genteel glamour of the sisters.

The DVD extras are pretty good too. Instead of hatching together various scenes and popping a cheap voice over to create seemingly no-end of extras, Pride and Prejudice focus on behind-the-scenes action, which makes a pleasant change. I won't go through and chat about each and every one, as that would bore you. And me. One of the highlights is entitled 'The Politics of Dating', which I fully expected to be one of the afore mentioned mix and matches - but was pleased to find a mini-documentary discussing the difficulties potential couples had to face in Austen's time, with input from the cast themselves, as well as various experts.
The alternate US ending was disappointing. I personally don't like the British ending - I'm obviously not going to tell you what it is, but I can't help but feel that it's lazy to be honest. The extras don't offer you the opportunity to see the whole film with the US ending, instead you just see the clip. It is very American, and personally I think it fails to tie in with the style of the film, but it's nice to see it.