Pride and Prejudice/Shakespeare in Love (DVD)

A literary double bill. 'Pride and Prejudice (2005) is an adaptation of the classic novel by Jane Austen starring Keira Knightley and Matthew MacFadyen. When wealthy Mr Bingley (Simon Woods) and his friend the dashing Mr Darcy (MacFadyen) arrive in a small Hertfordshire town, Mrs Bennett (Brenda Blethyn) sees it as the perfect opportunity to marry off her eligible daughters. But when Elizabeth Bennett (Knightley) meets Mr Darcy, their equally headstrong natures get in the way of true love. 'Shakespeare in Love' (1998) is a period comedy penned by Tom Stoppard, which won won seven Oscars, including those for Best Picture, Actress, Supporting Actress (Judi Dench) and Original Screenplay. In late 16th Century London, the theatre's most promising young playwright, Will Shakespeare (Joseph Fiennes), is suffering from writer's block. Rose Theatre owner Philip Henslowe (Geoffrey Rush) is desperate that Will's new play - tentatively entitled Romeo and Ethel the Pirate's Daughter - be finished, while a new cast member, Thomas Kent, is equally eager to make his stage debut. Kent has a secret however: 'he' is actually Viola De Lesseps (Gwyneth Paltrow), merchant's daughter and fiancé of Lord Wessex (Colin Firth). Adopting a disguise to enter a trade forbidden to women, matters become complicated when Will falls for her in her more conventional garb. It may take the intervention of Queen Elizabeth (Judi Dench) herself to make sure the course of true love runs smoothly and that the show goes on.