Perfect Mr. Darcy

You are utterly and completely wrong. I saw this version when it was first televised, and I did like it. However, once I saw the 1995 version with Colin Firth as Darcy and Jennifer Ehle as Elizabeth, I knew they had finally gotten it completely right in terms of casting.

Rintoul is good but Firth is truly great. No other actor has captured the essence of the character the way he did.

I'd be willing to bet Tht even Jane Austen would choose Firth as her Darcy.

In my humble opinion, Colin Firth was the best actor to play Mr. Darcy. I think they intentionally wrote in more emotion and animation to his Mr. Darcy than the others simply because they wanted to take full advantage of his acting ability. I also think his Mr. Darcy had the best "chemistry" with his Elizabeth.

David Rintoul came off as physically the closest to what Austen described in the book. But he just wasn't as great of an actor, and that limited what he could do with the part.

But, once again, that is just my humble opinion...

Are you kidding me? Rintoul is ugly, has only one expression on his face the whole time and his acting is completely wooden.

Agree with OP. I like the 1980 P&P the best because it is most faithful to the book and has a live theater style which nicely depicts the formalities and subtlties of Regency era manners and social norms.

DR’s Darcy is spot on. Darcy in the book is very wooden, reserved, and formal. That is why he did not leave a good first impression on Elizabeth and everyone else in the Meryton social circles. They all value the simplistic openness of Bingley or the fake charm of a scoundrel like Wickham. Even at the end of the book, Darcy’s character is still misunderstood by them. Her parents and sisters are perplexed by her attraction to him.

For the record imo, the worst Mr. Darcy was Matthew Macfayden. He made Darcy seem pitiful and boring.