Perfect Mr. Darcy - Pride and Prejudice (1995) Discussion

[–] jscrump-1 19 years ago

David Rintoul was perfect as Mr.Darcy. I know Colin Firth`s fans are going to kill me for saying this, but David Rintoul is THE Mr.Darcy. Thank you so hot right now for showing me I`m not the only one who thinks so.

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[–] amertzanis 19 years ago

Thank the lord I am not the only one who thinks that David Rintoul is the perfect Mr Darcy. I first saw this version when I was ten and it affected me deeply. Indeed, the man I married is tall with dark curly hair......
I also feel that Rintoul's Darcy is nearer that portrayed by Austen..His feelings were meant to be well hidden. As someone else has posted on this site it was as a kind of shield. After all his sister had been almost ruined by someone after her fortune and standing.

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[–] llpvt 19 years ago

I'm Jane Austen addict ... read all the books and seen all the movies that I could get my hands on. I think the 1980 P&P production is by far the worst of any of them... the characters don't act, they merely wander in, announce things, then run out again. And Rintoul reminded me of nothing so much at the monster in Young Frankenstein. Darcy's supposed to be reserved and proper, but he needn't be a complete zombie!

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[–] missock 18 years ago

I agree 100%.

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[–] Homeric 17 years ago

I third the motion. He is a zombie and this has some of the worst acting I've ever seen. Too bad I bought the DVD. What a waste of money. Any of the other versions is better...much much better.

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[–] nanoulaki 7 years ago

agree ?

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[–] sestra151 18 years ago

Darcy's being so angry at Mr Wickham is understandable even when he doesn't really show that anger. You can see the hurt in his face though when Elizabeth blows him off at the party. When she and he finally make amends at the end, he seems visibly more relaxed, and I imagined their honeymoon to be quite passionate. ;-)

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[–] StarClem12 18 years ago

yes .yes. yes. wasn't he georgeous and soooo sexy! Colin Firth is the fav with everyone who havn't see this 1980 version, but a genuine Austen fanatic prefers D.R.

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[–] Julie-30 18 years ago

I agree. I thought Firth looked constipated rather than intense, but Rintoul is much closer to the way JA described Darcy. Very aloof. Very reserved.

I do confess to having a crush on Matthew MacFadyen though.

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[–] deabalo 17 years ago

I have seen this version, the A&E and the 2005 movie, in my opinion Colin Firth made the best Darcy. Although David was very handsome but I will have to agree with another that he was very stiff.

"We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of the dreams." -Willy Wonka

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[–] sevenwaters 17 years ago

I think that Colin Firth was a better Mr Darcy because David Rintoul did not how enough emotion after Elizabeth rejected him up until when she eventually accepted him. That rejection, when he had been so sure she would accept, was the catalyst for a serious change in his character, particularly towards her, and I don't think it came across as well in this version.

But I am not saying he is bad, just not as good as Colin Firth.

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[–] flavia18 17 years ago

I have agreed for *decades*! In fact, compared to David Rintoul, I cannot see what *anyone* sees in Colin Firth as "Mr. Darcy."! Rintoul is handsomer, even his voice is more attractive!

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[–] 17 years ago

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[–] eek-a-mouse 18 years ago

He is indeed the perfect nineteenth-century Mr Darcy.Colin Firth's Darcy is attractive,but too contemporary.

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[–] Russcity133 18 years ago

David Rintoul was the first Mr. Darcy I ever saw. He was very suitably dour at the beginning, yet rather sweet in the role towards the end of the story. I had not read the book and was completely charmed, surprised and fascinated when he suddenly proposed to Elizabeth, and rushed out of the room like all the hounds of hell were after him, when she turned him down. It made me follow the whole series avidly. The scene of them talking in the garden at the end was also very charming. Elizabeth Garvie was also superb and mischievous as Lizzie. After it ended I read the book and was even more charmed and amused... it's so witty.

The 1995 miniseries with Colin Firth did not move me as much. Colin Firth seemed too heavy-jowled and provincial looking to be aristocratic. Rintoul has more chiseled, aristocratic-looking features.

I am very impressed with the latest Mr. Darcy, Matthew Macfadyen... he looks suitably-aristocratic in a more intense, boyish way, and his acting is a cleverly layered performance, with a lot of sensitivity. There are some interesting contrasts of moods and expressions after his initial grim-faced veneer begins to fall away, along with some moments of vulnerability, towards the end of the story, in which he looks amazingly alluring. It is his performance which makes me forgive Focus Films for missing out some of the amusing exchanges between Darcy and Caroline Bingley, as well as some of him with Lizzie. Miss Bingley's teasing of Darcy (about Lizzie) is one of the funniest things in the book. Nevertheless it's a visually-stunning, amusing, moving film. Kiera Knightley was pretty good too, as a tomboyish Lizzie.

Sara L. Russell, aka Pinky Andrexa, last of the Cyber Vixen Poets From Outer Space.

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[–] 18 years ago

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[–] dr_valentine_mp 18 years ago

Totally agree! Rintoul's Darcy is perfect and true to Jane Austen's character. He also leaves more to the imagination in terms of being mysterious in the first couple of scenes and its precisely because of this initial portrayal that we're thrown off by his sudden expression of love when he proposes to Lizzy. I did see Colin Firth in the 1995 version and I have to say that he leans more towards the agitated modern day lover (seen it innumerable times) as opposed to the more 'hidden passion simmering underneath the cool aristocrat' character- that is Rintoul's portrayal. So much more sexier and desirable.

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[–] ChampCarReigns 18 years ago

Yep, I have to agree: David Rintoul is the ultimate Mr. Darcy. Colin Firth lacked a LOT, but then I wasn't crazy about that whole production. I haven't seen the latest version (I'm so not into Keira Knightley as Lizzie) so I don't have an opinion on McFayden, though I've really only heard good things about him. He's still no Rintoul, though. ;o)

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[–] ubu55 18 years ago

Another vote for David Rintoul here...

an even stronger vote for Elizabeth Garvie, who has always been far and away my favorite Elizabeth Bennett.

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[–] lupa_pam 18 years ago

are you completely serious. he does not capture the Mr. Darcy that is explained in the book. while i agree that Colin Firth appears more depressed then proud, at least he shows some emotion. this Darcy just kept the same expression during the entire movie. i would call him a good Darcy, but not the best ever.

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[–] qisabella 18 years ago

I thought the A&E production was terrible. This one was the best one, and the acting was perfect. I liked the Knightly version but it was a bit more romance novel than the other two.

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[–] Julie-30 18 years ago

Actually, both 1980 and 1995 are BBC productions. 1995 had A&E as co-producer, but they really just contributed cash. The BBC is the group that got that production off the ground.

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[–] maytloo 15 years ago

I've seen all three versions and my verdict: Colin Firth comes closest to what I thought Mr. Darcy should be like. My problem with David Rintoul is that he carried his haughty manner off too well. Also, there was an exchange between him and the Charles Bingley character after which I wondered how the two men were ever friends. I've had a crush on Matthew Macfadyen ever since I watched him in Spooks and to me, there was nothing more appealing than watching him walk across the field to Keira Knightley/Elizabeth. And her Elizabeth showed more emotion and 'heart' than the other two versions.

Update: I've since seen the ITV mini 'Lost in Austen' and anyone who liked CF and DR should watch Elliot Cowan as Mr. Darcy. And ladies, you should get a look at EC in the water scene. He wins the wet-shirt contest, hands down. CF doesn't even come close.

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[–] mrsmish 18 years ago

David Rintoul is a very good-looking Mr. Darcy, but I find his performance far too wooden. Yes, Darcy was good at concealing his emotions, but Rintoul's Darcy seemed to have none at all. Even his voice lacked inflection.

When this version was first telecast in 1980, I loved it, because it was the first adaptation I'd ever seen that was complete (the only previous one being the cute but totally incomplete and inaccurate Olivier version). No VCRs in 1980 (or if there were, I certainly could not afford one!), so P&P got my full attention, all engagements cancelled, phone off the hook for the 5 successive Sunday nights it was broadcast.

I bought the DVD about a year ago, and I've watched it a few times, the latest time this week. I thought Elizabeth Garvie was very good, and the Gardiners, in particular, were wonderful.

But David Rintoul remains a disappointment to me. In the scene where he returns from the house to follow Elizabeth and the Gardiners at Pemberley, his gait resembles a wind-up wooden soldier. Every time I see that walk, I think, I would be SCARED of someone who came after me walking like that. It's ROBO-DARCY!

Colin Firth will always be "my" Darcy, because I think his Darcy best captured the change in Darcy's demeanor. His softened behavior at the chance meeting at Pemberley was in total contrast to his previous behavior in Hertfordshire and at Rosings. I was as captivated by him at that moment as Elizabeth was.

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[–] kegibson-1 18 years ago

David Rintoul has to be the perfect Mr Darcy. Anyone would be a little scared of him at the beginning of the movie but by the end he perfectly shows what a charming and caring gentleman he truly is. One must remember that people actually behaved very differently back then an reserve was the norm. Colin firth was terrific as Earnest in The Importance of being Earntest but he failied to fill out the charachter of Mr. Darcy. I think Jane Austin would turn in her grave to find out that her charachter was put in so odd a scene as Mr Darcy meeting Elizabeth in wet pants and a shirt after swimming in a pond. Things like that are just not done in the books she wrote.

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[–] 18 years ago

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[–] Reesuh 18 years ago

I'm one of the few to disagree.

I thought Rintoul's performance was too wooden.

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[–] Dr_KTHT 18 years ago

At last -- after over 20 years it is nice to hear from other people who agree about David Rintoul's Darcy! I don't know what other people are talking about when they say that Rintoul did not show any emotion: He looked mortified in listening to some of his aunt's comments to Elizabeth, he looked very concerned when Elizabeth comes rushing in all distressed (after receiving the news about Wickham), he looked extremely angry and incredulous and shocked and mortified when Elizabeth refused his proposal, he looked delighted when engaged in repartee with Elizabeth, etc. He is supposed to be arrogant and reserved and extra guarded after Georgianna's trauma and he is supposed to be British and from a previous era and upper social class! Ever since I saw this version of P & P in the 80s I have thought of David Rintoul as the definitive Darcy and thereby the ideal "fantasy" man. I wish that David Rintoul had made movies since. I would be curious to see him in other roles and see how he looks now (maybe it's all for the best if I don't!). I recently read the risque "Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife" -- the provocative (because of all of the sex in it) proposed sequel to P & P and while some of the writing is a little silly (too many "betwixts"), it was interesting to associate this sequel with David Rintoul and Elizabeth Garvie's couple. By the way, am I the only one who loved Judy Parfitt's Lady Catherine de Bourgh as well as the Gardiners and Rev. Collins. I particularly enjoyed the way that she did the conversation in her sitting room during the Collins and Elizabeth's visit. I thought that Jane was good too in this version.

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[–] randommovies2002 18 years ago

I wish that David Rintoul had made movies since.

David Rintoul plays Dr. Clive in a Horatio Hornblower tv miniseries (2 films). The two epsideos are called "Mutiny" and "Retribution." You can usually purchase them in a 2-dvd set. The films are set in the year 1802, in the Napoleonic Wars. Here are the IMDb links

http://imdb.com/title/tt0273656/

http://imdb.com/title/tt0273657/

And no, you are not the only one who preferred Judy Parfitt. I LOVE this version and all the characterizations you noted in your post. :-)

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[–] Dr_KTHT 18 years ago

Thanks randommovies! I'll buy the Horatio Hornblower DVDs -- unless you warn me not to. Am I going to be horribly disillusioned by David Rintoul (now bald and obese) in a role of Dr. Clive: the clingy, desperate cross-dressing proctologist?

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[–] randommovies2002 18 years ago

Oh, Dr_KTHT! You are in for a real treat!

But STOP! WAIT! Don't order those dvds yet!

You mean you are among the "Hornblower Uninitiated"?! You have been missing a treasure, indeed! Do not begin with the 2 Hornblower films I linked in my above post. There are 4 Hornblowers before those, and you really ought to view them in the proper sequence. You are in for such a treat!

Check your local library. That's where I was first introduced to the Hornblower films. There are eight of them.

As for David Rintoul, I don't think you'll be horribly disillusioned, but his character is very unDarcy-like. He's still thin. He wears a horshair wig in Hornblower, so I cannot comment on his hair. He's the ship's doctor (Did they even have proctologists in 1803?) ;o)

It's so funny because every time he spoke, all I could think of was Darcy. And his carriage and manner of walking - it's all still there. :-)

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[–] flavia18 17 years ago

I must say that I have seen much more recent pictures of David Rintoul and, yes, he has lost a great deal of hair. But it in no way detracts from his handsomeness. His face is instantly recognizable.

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[–] jill_rooney 17 years ago

David Rintoul IS Darcy - I first saw it when I was 18 in 1980 - sigh! I used to read P+P under the desk when I was meant to be doing homework!!

Re the last writer's refs to other work by David Rintoul - he was Dr Finlay in a production in the 80's, I wasn't too keen on that as I felt he was a bit stiff (!!. He also does alot of talking books. I saw him on stage with Derek Jacobi in Richard ii in Bath and while on stage he was quite a grave character, when he came out of the stage door he was the bounciest, most enthusiastic man you could ever wish for!!!

Yes, I have MET DARCY...

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[–] jill_rooney 17 years ago

oh yes, and Elizabeth Garvie came into a shop where I was working once but I'm afraid she was rather grumpy and wanted to push into the queue because she and her husband (Anton Rogers) are famous (he was nice though).

I was very upset about her being unpleasant becasue I loved her Elizabeth so much.

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[–] Julie-30 17 years ago

I loved Judy Parfitt as Lady Catherine. This version also has my favorite Mrs. Gardiner, Mr. Collins, Charlotte, Miss Bingley and Mr. Wickham.

It's my favorite version and I think so many of the characters are well cast.

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