The Popularity of Heritage Films

Pride and Prejudice

Having begun as a popular piece of literary work, where it was published on the 28th January 1813, the novel by Jane Austen has since evolved to modern audiences, where in 2003 the novel was named 2nd in the poll of the 'UK's Best-Loved Book'. This has therefore lead to the novel being adapted continuously either in the accurate events of the novel or even in other films that play on the same themes that arise in the novel including:

• 1998- You've got Mail


• 2001- Bridget Jones's Diary


• 2003- Pride and Prejudice: A Latter Day Comedy


• 2004- Bride and Prejudice (A Bollywood version)

Throughout every adaptation or version of Pride and Prejudice, they each follow the same theme of romance, where a problem arises between the two characters, until happiness can be found at the end. This could perhaps be why the film is usually seen to be targeted towards a female audience, as well as the fact that the narrative centralises around a female protagonist. Despite the time period that the novel was written in and its setting, the novel remains to be popular, perhaps due to the fact that many of the issues raised, they still remain to be relevent to the current generation, which is why the film has been adapted again and again.

However, despite the films modernisation, it remains to be portrayed in the same 1800 setting, as shown in the 2005 adaption starring Keira Knightley. This shows the fact that the films narrative is not only in the narrative, but also in the time period, which includes the setting and the costumes. However this could also be due to the stars that appear in the films such as Colin Firth and Keira Knightley.

In the 2005 adaptation, Elizabeth is first shown to the audience reading a novel, which automatically, through the use of symbolism, presents the idea of cleverness that in turn is used to appeal of the character by making her appear to have beauty as well as brains. The film also uses specific scenes such as the dance scene in order to show signs of the films historical significance in the fact that dancing was an important factor in the people of that time periods life, due to the fact that it was the only time that people were allowed to interact with other people in soceity. This scene in the film, also reflects the costumes of the characters, which are also used to suggest the supposed time period. However, unlike the BBC adaption, the 2005 changes the setting of certain scenes in order to provide a slightly different presentation of the film, such as with the proposal scene, where it is presented in the rain rather than inside, in order to use pathetic fallacy and make the situation appear more romantic. It is in the film that it offers a fictionalised fairy-tale ending, in comparison to the autobiographical 'The Duchess' and that of the fictionalised, but based on the famous painter Johannes Vermeer in 'Girl with a Pearl Earring, where the ending is more realistic.