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November 25, 2005 16:44 IST
 Added to the many charms of Pride & Prejudice, the movie version of the Jane Austen classic, was the long drawn, charming and extremely romantic ending created specially for the North American version. Though some purists in America surely grumbled a bit, calling it too sugary, director Joe Wright defended it stoutly, asserting it was "a very natural and spontaneous way to end the film." Now, the ending has become so popular that it is being slapped on the British version too, even though the film, which has grossed nearly $30 million, is coming to the end of its first run there.
The film has just begun its international run, and it is quite likely that audiences worldwide will now watch the American ending in which Keira Knightley [Images] and Matthew MacFadyen affirm their love for each other, clearly indicating that they are going to be happily married for a long, long time.
"Frankly, I made the ending specially for the American audiences," Joe Wright chuckled, as he told Rediff.com he was afraid Americans (and by extension Canadians) had a great appetite for romantic and happy endings. "They tell me in France [Images] that they add extra sugar to the champagne they import to America," he added.
He also said that during the first few days of the film showing in England [Images], he had sneaked into several cinemas in London [Images] and other cities and had found audiences of all ages reacting positively to the film. He had no apologies for making a sugary ending for the American version, he said, but was very happy the way the British version ended.
The film, set in England in the late 18th century, studies the declining fortunes of a family whose daughters have to be married off respectably before it is too late. One of the daughters, a rebellious one, is both attracted and repulsed by the aristocratic and mysterious Darcy.
 In America, major critics did not mind at all that director Wright had made a lively, fast-paced film out of the popular classic. "The title, replacing the author's 'and' with an ampersand, signals its jaunty approach," declared the San Francisco Chronicle. The Boston Globe called the movie, "...a jaunty romantic comedy that leaves us as incandescently happy as its characters." And in the Chicago Sun-Times, Roger Ebert wrote it was "...one of the most delightful and heartwarming adaptations made from Austen or anybody else."
The decision to add the new ending to the British edition, which is now on some 500 screens, came as the film's fans began a campaign that the American version, which is eight minutes longer, be included on the eventual DVD release, according to The Guardian.
The reaction has been mixed in the UK. 'Oh God! Pride & Prejudice is to be re-released in Britain with the cheesy extra ending," complained the British publication Entertainment-Wise, "that was filmed especially for those cringe loving Yanks."
The film was in a limited run in America for two weeks in some 221 theaters, grossing an impressive $7.2 million. Now, it is playing in about 1100 theaters and is expected to be among the top 7 films of the week, jumping three positions from its previous posting. It is also expected to gross major Golden Globe and a handful of Oscar nominations, especially for the incandescent Keira Knightley portraying the free spirited daughter.
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