Pride & Prejudice Publicity: Gender, Glamour, Sex

Joe Wright (Director of P&P 2005) noted that he heard the 1940 P&P film referred to as the "Olivier version" and 1996 P&P mini-series referred to as the "Firth version." So he wanted his 2005 adaptation to be regarded as the “Knightley” version; the woman's point of view.*

In looking at the publicity stills, it’s easy to see his point. On the 1996 mini-series cover, Darcy looms large while the 2005 photo focuses on Elizabeth. I’ve believed this is partly due to the fact that both Firth and Knightley are more famous in the US than their co-stars.** (Note: both photos put Darcy at the center, looking out at "us").

So should I take these photos more seriously? Does emphasizing the male over the female (and vice versa) tell us about the audience each P&P adaptation hopes to attract?

The 2005 photo is sensual. Knightley appears both glamorous and natural, like a modern model, and MacFadyen looks like a rugged farmer. Wouldn’t he fit perfectly on a cover of Lady Chatterley's Lover?

On the 1996 cover, Firth appears the proud aristocrat. Sex is suggested by the bed Ehle sits on; by her (distractingly) pushed-up breasts.

So (in odd juxtaposition with Wright’s desire to show the woman’s point of view) is the sexy, youthful Knightley appealing more to men, to teens? Is the staid but dashing Firth attracting a more intellectual crowd (particularly women who have read the novel)?

On the 1980 BBC cover above (Elizabeth Garvie/David Rintoul), Darcy is barely seen at all. Elizabeth/Garvie looks meek, modest, unglamorous. No sex appeal here. It seems impossible to believe she belongs to the same world as Knightley.

On the 1940 cover above (Greer Garson/Laurence Olivier), Elizabeth and Darcy share the stage, but she has the upper hand. Darcy is the picture of galantry. Jane Austen is not being marketed here, but Hollywood-style glamour.

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* Wright’s Interview with WNYC’s Leonard Lopate.

** One of my favorite examples of marketing the better-known actor instead of the story-lead is the DVD cover of Jane Eyre (1983). When looking at the picture below, I expect the film to be called "Edward Rochester"?

Wolfboy thinks that this cover alone (if the book was unknown) might suggest that Jane Eyre is a story about a transsexual.

The original video cover above, however, featured Jane (Zelah Clarke) & Edward (Timothy Dalton of James Bond fame) equally. The pose is loving and tender.

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