Review of Pride and Prejudice (1940) by Gavin S — 27 May 2014

I love the book, it is hands-down brilliant. And I like this movie, it is delightful, the casting was excellent all around; Olivier and Garson were both excellent in their roles, and Edna May Oliver as Lady Catherine De Burgh was brilliant.

I deducted one star for costuming and hairstyles of the female actresses in particular. The costuming was completely wrong, more like 1860s styles, which is not correct for the Regency period (1811-1820).

Most of the women's hairstyles were ok, but again, some were not correct for the period, which was about 1810. In the first half of the movie, Greer Garson's hair was styled in the then popular 1940s style which looked bizarre, and in the second half, they made an attempt for something a little closer to period and then switched back to the 1940s style.

Bizarre. Other than these defects, the movie is completely enjoyable and doesn't stray too far from the book. That being said, it must be remembered that this movie was made during the "Golden Age" of moviemaking in Hollywood, and they lavished it up, sometimes without concern for whether or not everything looked right, doing what might increase ticket sales, the bottom line.

Even so, it's well worth watching and appreciating.