More Pride and Prejudice (1995/6 ed.)

A&E, an American cable television channel, would like your help. ;-) They are selling yet another edition of their wonderful 1995/6 Pride and Prejudice TV mini-series. Yes, another version! Just as there are multiple big and little screen adaptations of Jane Austen's masterpiece, A&E has sold multiple versions of the adaptation they co-produced with the BBC in the mid-1990s. In the extended entry of this blog, I've listed, with pictures, the various products A&E has sold.

The newest item from A&E is their "10^th Anniversary Limited Collector's Edition." The BBC released their own 10^th anniversary edition last year. Here are a couple of links for this A&E / U.S. 10^th anniversary edition:

• Amazon.com's listing, which was posted a few months ago, but hasn't been updated. Hat tip: AustenBlog.
• Press release and sales page at New Video. Hat tip: E.E. Knight.

So what do we know about this newest version from A&E? It is a widescreen 3-disc set, with the following extras:

• Biography's episode on Jane Austen, which will also be sold separately. Does anyone know if this has been shown on television yet or is it new?
• New interviews about the making of the the show. But I haven't seen any information on who the participants are or the length of the interviews. For all we know, it's a 10-minute interview with the executive producer and the screenwriter--NO IDEA!
• The book "The Making of Pride and Prejudice," which looks to be the exact same version that was released eleven years ago in the U.K. If it's the same book, I highly recommend it, but it's too bad they didn't update it.

What we must speculate on: Is this 10^th anniversary edition being remastered for better picture quality? The Amazon link above claims this will be a "Newly remastered widescreen print." I've been suspicious of that from the start because the previous DVD from A&E, The Special Edition, claims to be "Completely Digitally Remastered for the Ultimate in Picture and Sound Quality." Contrary to this claim, the Special Edition has weak color quality. The 10^th anniversary press release does NOT say anything about this version being "newly" remastered. In fact, the comparison on the first page of the press release suggests this version has exactly the same 2 discs of the show that the Special Edition has; only the third disc is new. I'm guessing, based on what we know so far, that the "10^th Anniversary Limited Collector's Edition" DVD, will have the same less-than-great picture quality found on the Special Edition. I hope I'm wrong.

I haven't decided whether I'll purchase this 10^th Anniversary DVD set of P&P. I'll wait for more information on the extra interviews and whether this version has been remastered or not. For those of you that are interested, the cheapest price I've seen so far is just under $36.

Let us know if you have more information. Thanks. (Again, picture-history of A&E's products via the link below. Enjoy--or snipe, as you feel is required.)

Here's the history of A&E commercial editions of their P&P TV mini-series from the mid-1990s:

First A&E sold the video boxed set (first image below) and the laserdisc, which were released shortly after the original airing of the show. The color quality on the laserdisc is very good. As I remember, they were both pretty expensive; I got the laserdisc on sale and still enjoy watching it. UPDATE per Mags Comment: She's right, there was also a video tape set with two, instead of six, tapes. According to Amazon.com, the cover for the 2-tape set looks like the laserdisc cover shown below. (If anyone thinks Amazon.com is showing the wrong image, let me know.) Both tape sets are still available at Amazon; interestingly, the 2-disc set costs more.

      

Following these came the first DVD release. A very expensive edition with no extras. I have access to this version, but haven't viewed it in a while, but I think it has good picture quality--I'll have to check. This version has become very rare and difficult to find.

Then in 2001, A&E released a second DVD edition, which they called "The Special Edition." It was less expensive, had a few extras, and for the first time, at least in the U.S., was in widescreen, not fullscreen. Unfortunately, this version has poor color quality--despite the claim on the box that says: "Completely Digitally Remastered for the Ultimate in Picture and Sound Quality." This edition is widely available.

And now, A&E's latest DVD version--less expensive than the first DVD, but more expensive than the Special Edition version. No word on the picture quality of this version. (Look carefully to see that Firth's hair has been straightened up a bit--too funny. You can click on the images for an enlargement.)

Why do I suspect this latest version won't be the last version? Hmm. ;-)  And why has A&E made Jennifer Ehle's image so small? The British versions don't seem to do this. (In case they missed it: This wasn't Colin Firth playing Hamlet! This is P&P! Elizabeth and Darcy should be equal on the cover!) Very bad indeed.

NOTE: This listing does not include any of the BBC offerings of the same production.

Comments

[Mags]

Wow, you have a laserdisc?!? You win the Geek War. *does Wayne's World not-worthy thing*

There also is a two-VHS tape edition, because that's the one I got from the library many years ago! I didn't see it until several years after it came out, believe it or not. They had the six-tape set at Blockbuster and I couldn't deal with it, but when I saw the two tapes I didn't mind as much (weird, I know!)

I have the Special Edition and I just adjust the color on my TV when I watch it and it's not too bad. But for a DVD it should be better.

I've seen the JA Biography episode--it was on A&E and the Biography Channel a couple of years ago. I don't have cable, but a friend taped it for me. Do a search on AustenBlog, I wrote about it. Joan Ray (President of JASNA) is interviewed, Stephanie Barron, Claudia Johnson, Gurinder Chadha, I can't remember who else. It wasn't bad but it wasn't great and there are a couple of groaners. It hasn't been available on DVD until now; it was available on VHS for a short time after it aired.

Someone had said that the 10th anniversary documentary that the Beeb did last year was to be on it as well. I would like to just buy the DVD with the extras. ;-)

[Missy]

Thanks, Mags. I've added the 2-tape video set to the listing. Good grief, a TV shouldn't have to be adjusted to watch a DVD of P&P! I wish I could see the British DVD if they added nice extras. Sigh--time for a trip across the pond. ;-)

Thanks for stopping in.

[Michele A]

Interesting, because A&E is offering this for shipment on August 29, while Amazon still says September 26.

I may grouse about it, but I know in the end I will buy it. Why? Because, like Mount Everest, it's there!

Missy, where did you see it for $36?

[Missy]

Michele A, I noticed that PBS is now doing the same with some of their shows. I guess they try to get the die-hard fans to purchase at a higher price before going for volume sales at lower prices through retailers. Doesn't mean it works; I'll wait for the lower prices. ;-)

P&P 10th Anniversary edition is currently just under $36 at DeepDiscountDVD. Let me know what you think of the extras if you get it!