Watching Pride & Prejudice film on Blu-ray

Posted by Le on Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Some new little things I discovered upon my first few viewings recently of Pride & Prejudice film starring Keira Knightley & Matthew Macfadyen on Blu-ray...I first mentioned about this on Facebook, I thought I'd list them here with images stills from the movie (see more HD stills from blu-ray version here! Also, check out and read Blu-ray Review: Pride & Prejudice and More P&P Blu-ray Reviews) for your reading pleasure.

But first, check out and read my previous post about...

Pride & Prejudice Movie: Little things you may have failed to noticed upon first viewing...

Three years ago, I started listing the random lil' things I failed to noticed in Thing you failed to noticed upon first viewing... (on standard dvd) thread at the P&P Forum and fellow members/P&P fans had also listed their own list of things they failed to noticed in their first few (or even as many times as an astonishing 50+ more times of) viewings. Check it out! You'll read some interesting things a lot of us have failed to noticed because we were too busy staring at the handsome Mr. Darcy or his lady love, Lizzie Bennet...even though we've seen this film too many times, lol.

Now, onto the new things I discovered upon my first view viewing of P&P on blu-ray...

 - In the opening scene where Elizabeth Bennet was walking and reading a book, it was said that she was reading the original P&P novel's original title, "First Impressions," but I never really paid attention to the text (on my countless viewings of this film) on the last two pages that Lizzie was reading until now when I viewed this film on blu-ray. It was shown on the movie, but it wasn't clear on the standard DVD. On blu-ray, you can kinda clearly see/read the text when you paused it. It was interesting how it was the same story she was reading, but the characters' names and locations were altered. No wonder, Lizzie looked kinda amused when she was reading it, lol.


Here are the characters name change and locations from the book she was reading:

(image source: Jane Austen Daily)

Elizabeth = Katherine
Darcy = Cardy
Lydia = Sophia
Bingleys = Ainleys
Miss Bingley = Miss Ainley
Pemberley = Eastley
Derbyshire = Wiltshire
Georgiana = Charlotte
The Gardiners = relatives

In the last paragraph, it read like this...
With the Gardiners relatives, they were always on the most intimate terms. Darcy Cardy, as well as Elizabeth Katherine, really loved them; and they were both ever sensible of the warmest gratitude towards the persons who, by bringing her into Derbyshire Wiltshire, had been the means of uniting them.

The End.
- At the beginning of the film where we hear "Dawn" playing, Mary was seen playing the piano...and there it sounded like you hear the sound of Mary's piano playing...

- At the Meryton Ball (the first Ball at the Assembly), when The Bennets were introduced by Sir William Lucas to the Bingleys and Mr. Darcy, two young kids (including a lil' girl barely seen in front of Mrs. Bennet, which I just noticed on this still I've seen so many times from the movie just now, lol...see still to your left!) were running in front of the Bennet family in the middle of introduction. I never noticed this on standard DVD, but after watching the blu-ray version, I went back and watch my standard DVD and there it was...two young kids running around...it only took me a million times of viewing before I noticed it, lol.

- Also, at the Meryton Ball (as well as Netherfield Ball), the dancing scenes (and its floors and faces of extras) were seen much clearly on blu-ray.

- Some wine glasses are randomly and clearly seen on the bleachers where Charlotte and Lizzie were watching and listening to Bingley and Darcy's conversations.

- In that same Bingley/Darcy conversations where Darcy said, "Tolerable I dare say, but not handsome enough to tempt me" about Lizzie, he kept looking to his left side, probably looking for Lizzie, but what he didn't know she was under the bleachers watching and listening to him slight her, lol...

- Darcy had his eyes only for Lizzie on both the Meryton and Netherfield Balls.
- The Lizzie/Jane under the covers combo in their bedroom looks very clear in blu-ray, you can even see their bed covers' reflection at their glass window!

- I just noticed that Betsy (the maid), besides her random humming songs, she actually uttered a small line handing Jane the letter that Caroline Bingley wrote to her from Netherfield Hall. The letter's text to: Miss Jane Bennet of Longbourne, Hertfordshire (though you can only see "H" on the still) and Betsy said: "A letter addressed to Miss Bennet, ma'am...from Netherfield Hall."
- Also, Betsy can be seen pretty much at every Bennet house scenes as well as the other servants like Mr. and Mrs. Hill.

- After the scene where Jane went to the Netherfield Hall on a horseback to see the Bingleys where she sneezed and got ill, Lizzie was walking in the rain in the next scene where they have hanging clothes outside their house, you can see the chickens (and swans and goose?) clearly running around in front of her when she knocked at the door where Mr. Bennet opened it.

- When Lizzie was walking to Netherfield Hall to see Jane, in full screen mode, you can see Lizzie a lil' closer walking, which she kind of trip and almost fell...I never noticed that on the standard dvd as it was too far and dark (unless you zoomed in and in full screen mode). Very interesting!

- The pig on the Bennets looks even huge on blu-ray! Not too mention lights from the candles (on every scene you see it in the movie) looked pretty big (see a still of Jane with candle lights to your right!) as well.

- When Mr. Collins first arrived at the Bennets home, I just noticed his carriage behind him, which I never noticed on my countless viewings on standard dvd, lol.

- It's more clearer now on blu-ray when Mr. Bennet and the girls giggled when Mr. Collins was talking about Lady Catherine's daughter Anne and her "phaetons and ponies," lol...

- When Mr. Collins was telling Mrs. Bennet after dinner that the "eldest Miss Bennet has captured his special attention," you can see Mr. Bennet and his daughters at the drawing room in the background clearly with Jane fanning herself and yawning and Mary on a table nearby writing.

- At the ribbons shop, I just noticed the same man can be seen (towards the end of the movie, he told Mrs. Bennet, Jane, Lizzie, and Mary about Mr. Bingley's return to Herthfordshire), who was standing next to Jane looking for ribbons in the background where Lizzie and Wickham were talking...

-  Part of Lizzie's hair was in braid and it looked like a head band or was styled to look like a head band for the Netherfield Ball.

- Mr. Collins rode his own carriage solo to the Netherfield Ball. Looks like none of the Bennets rode with him, lol.

- For the Netherfield Ball, it looked like small white pearls are styled around Lizzie's hair with matching earings like a Christmas tree lights/ornaments, very interesting that it wasn't white flowers as they looked like on standard DVD. On blu-ray it was clear that it wasn't flowers, but they looked like small white pearls!!! Very interesting!

- When Mr. Collins asked the Bennets if he could have a "private audience with Miss Elizabeth," Mary looked up to him and had a brief smile. She clearly has a thing for him in this version, lol.

- Mr. Collins had a white flower at the Netherfield Ball and a pink flower when he proposed to Lizzie. Also, Jane had "ribbons, the ribbons" (which was interesting as, according to director Joe Wright on his P&P DVD commentary, "Rosamund Pike is obsessed with ribbons") and Mary and Lizzie both carried books in some scenes in the movie, Mrs. Bennet had apples and The Gardiners (especially Mr. Gardiner always eating a pie!) are always eating and drinking at every scene, lol. Very interesting!

- After Lizzie decline Mr. Collins proposal, the eavesdroppers aka Bennet women, lol...opened the door and you can see Collins looked at Mary briefly as Mary tried to smile, lol.

- Just before Darcy handed his letter to Lizzie at the Collins' home, he had to lower his head upon entering the door because he's so tall and he was seen clearly in the background on blu-ray than on standard DVD. Not too mention when Lizzie was reading his letter (with Darcy voice-over), his fast horse riding looks clearly and can be seen a lil' longer too. Very nice!

- Though I've noticed in my previous viewings on standard DVD the scene where Lydia was saying goodbye to her family and Wickham pulled her arms to sit back down the carriage! On blu-ray, I noticed how clear that part of that scene was and how Wickham was mean and scolding Lydia! Definitely a "a reference to domestic violence there from Mr. Wickham to Lydia," as director Joe Wright had pointed out on his P&P DVD Commentary about this scene.

- You can see Darcy and Bingley walking to the Bennets home in Longbourne very clearly...and they look even bigger (and handsome!) on full screen mode 2, lol.

- I just noticed for the first time ever (after countless of viewings on standard dvd) four swans swimming (not like seven swans swimming like on the Twelve Days of Christmas song, lol) on the lake just in front of the Pemberley House just before the US Ending "Mr. & Mrs. Darcy" scene. It's funny 'cause Joe Wright mentioned it on  his DVD commentary and I never noticed it till recently when I watched it on blu-ray, lol. Very interesting!

- At the same "Mr. & Mrs. Darcy" scene, on blu-ray you can see Darcy's smile clearly than on standard dvd.

And many more...but those are the ones I can remember seeing for now... after seeing P&P movie (again) on blu-ray. I'm sure I'll see more when I watch the movie over and over again, lol.