“You have bewitched me, body and soul.” The line has launched a thousand swoons, and on Wednesday, July 8, it echoes across a Caltech courtyard as the library screens the 2005 film adaptation of Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” beneath the open sky.
The movie is the latest installment in the Caltech Library’s summer Outdoor Movie Nights, whose 2026 theme — “Classical Literature, but make it Y2K” — pairs literary chestnuts with their turn-of-the-millennium screen versions. This one stars Keira Knightley as the quick-witted Elizabeth Bennet and Matthew Macfadyen as the brooding Mr. Darcy, in a lush retelling of Austen’s comedy of love, class and misjudgment in Georgian England.
The screening unfolds at the Sherman Fairchild Library East Amphitheater, in the courtyard of the engineering library bordered by Olive Walk and San Pasqual Walk on the Caltech campus. Attendees are encouraged to bring blankets, pillows and low chairs, and free popcorn is provided. The film runs from 8 to 10 p.m.
Part of the appeal is the setting: a beloved period romance projected against the backdrop of one of the world’s leading science campuses, where a summer evening turns unexpectedly cinematic. Seating is on the lawn, so arriving early with a comfortable spot staked out is the surest way to settle in before the opening scene.
Caltech Library Outdoor Movie Night: “Pride and Prejudice” will take place on Wednesday, July 8 from 8 to 10 p.m. at the Sherman Fairchild Library East Amphitheater on the Caltech campus in Pasadena. Admission is free.
