Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen's comedy of manners which has become a hit film in Britain, is now repeating its success in America, partially, it is thought, because of a specially-tailored romantic ending.
An eight-minute segment has been added for US audiences who love ultra-happy endings.
Elizabeth Bennet, played by Keira Knightley, kisses Mr Darcy (Matthew MacFadyen) "in a moonlit haze of post-nuptial bliss" as he repeatedly sighs her name.
British viewers were given a more reserved conclusion, with Elizabeth's father, played by Donald Sutherland, giving his consent when Darcy asks for her hand in marriage. Then, in an expansive mood, he declares of his unwed daughters: "And if any young men come for Mary or Kitty, send them in, for I am quite at my leisure."
Sutherland said that it was decided that US audiences needed a "sweeter film".
MacFadyen said in an American interview: "You got the more sugary [ending]. The Brits hated it."
(snip)
The embrace upset the 450 members of the Jane Austen Society of North America, who ridiculed it at a preview screening.
Elsa Solender, a member and former president of the society, said: "It has nothing at all of Jane Austen in it, is inconsistent with the first two thirds of the film, insults the audience with its banality and ought to be cut before release."
Hmpf! The film still hasn't made it to Italy.
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