We Ranked All Adaptations of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice — And These 5 Still Stand Above the Rest

For many self-professed lover girls, Pride and Prejudice was the starting point for a lifelong affinity with unrealistic romantic expectations. Enemies-to-lovers tension, grand professions of ardent admiration and love, and arrogant, stoic men with enormous country estates: we wanted it all. Did I mention unrealistic?

Now, we have a new Pride and Prejudice adaptation to quench our perpetual thirst for Austen. Dolly Alderton, author, journalist and writer behind the book and TV adaptation of Everything I Know About Love, is writing and executive producing the six-part show which will be released on Netflix on December 3. Sadly, it’s been reported that it won’t feature the iconic lake scene, but there are plenty of other reasons to get excited about it.

In preparation for its hotly anticipated release, we’ve ranked the most notable Pride and Prejudice adaptations that have come before it.

The 1995 version has become so famed that it’s impossible to talk about Pride and Prejudice without reference to the BBC adaptation. Colin Firth played the Darcy of all Darcys – so much so that he (kind of) reprised the role years later (more on that to follow). Haughty and stoic, but steadfastly sincere, Firth’s Darcy was the perfect foil for Jennifer Ehle’s Lizzie, who was every bit as quick-witted, measured, and charming as Austen intended. Andrew Davies’ six-part retelling is arguably the most faithful adaptation of the novel, while also introducing non-canonical moments that have since become intrinsically tied to Pride and Prejudice – and period dramas more generally. Namely, Mr. Darcy emerging from a lake, dripping wet, billowy shirt fluttering in the wind.

There may be some contention over the top spot among Jane Austen die-hards, but regardless of rank position, Joe Wright’s four-time Oscar-nominated 2005 adaptation is a mesmerizing piece of filmmaking. Keira Knightley’s Lizzie is energetic, sharply opinionated, and fiercely independent, while Matthew Macfadyen’s Darcy is snobbish, albeit shy and endearingly puppy-eyed. Together, they create an almost unbearable romantic tension. Their performances unfold against a backdrop of sweeping English countryside: rain-soaked pastures, amber sunlight spilling into courtyards, and early-morning mist hanging over dewy fields. And then there’s the score, which is enough to put a lump in your throat from the first few notes of the strings. Perhaps the most visually beautiful version, even if it sacrifices some of the novel’s detail.

Gurinder Chadha, the director behind cult classic Bend It Like Beckham, retold the Austen story with a modern Bollywood twist. Aishwarya Rai plays Lalita Bakshi, our confident and fiercely independent heroine, opposite Martin Henderson as Mr. Darcy, a wealthy American hotelier. There’s plenty of familiar Austen territory – disapproving first impressions, meddling mothers and romantic misunderstandings – but in a cross-cultural reimagining that takes us across India, LA and London. While it strays from the original story, it’s a joyous, musical and emotional retelling that explores deeper themes of class, culture and identity.

Helen Fielding admitted that she borrowed the plot of Pride and Prejudice when writing her bestselling novel, Bridget Jones’s Diary. But the story became iconic in its own right, thanks to the brilliant casting of Colin Firth as a modern-day but still emotionally distant Mr. Darcy, Hugh Grant as incorrigible flirt Daniel Cleaver and Renée Zellweger as charmingly chaotic and candid Bridget. It’s an important reminder that Austen’s romantic misunderstandings work just as well in the 21st century as the do in the 18th.

Austen meets the undead in this gloriously ridiculous reimagining of the original. Based on Seth Grahame-Smith’s bestselling mash-up novel, the film takes the familiar Bennet family drama and throws a zombie apocalypse into the mix. The sisters are no longer preoccupied solely with securing advantageous marriages; they’re also highly trained zombie slayers. It might not be the most faithful adaptation of Austen’s novel, but it certainly gives the familiar enemies-to-lovers formula a bloody new lease of life. Does it need to exist? Perhaps not. Is it entertaining? Absolutely.

So how will the latest adaptation fare? We know the script is in safe hands thanks to Alderton – award-winning author, lover of Austen and all round sage on love, friendship and womanhood. As for casting, Alderton said in Vogue that she had been advised by Emma Thompson, who won the Academy Award for her own adaptation of Sense and Sensibility, that “90 per cent of Austen is the casting”, and it’s clear that she took her advice. Emma Corrin, who shone as Princess Diana in The Crown, is taking on the role of Elizabeth Bennet; Slow Horses‘ spy (and potential Bond) Jack Lowden gives his spin on Mr. Darcy, while Enola Holme’s star and Olivia Rodrigo ex Louis Partridge plays bad-boy Wickham. Olivia Coleman and Rufus Sewell take on the roles of the Bennet parents. With such an impressive cast and one of the most beloved love stories in literary history to contend with, the pressure is certainly on. We may have to wait until December to find out how it stacks up, but the competition is certainly stiff.

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