Fortunately, word got around and fans complained. A fantasy sequence, yes, but also conversations, small shots and moments. And it's not just a PAL/ NTSC timing thing lots of scenes were cut. That's almost 10 minutes missing from an already short movie.

Uncut, the movie runs just over 93 minutes. In 2008, when WGBH released this on DVD, it ran a just under 85 minutes.

It's no P&P 1995, but it's still very good. Granted, he may have had a few missteps (I remember his modern retelling of Othello being a little goofy but then again it seems to have quite good reviews, so maybe I need to revisit it), but this is not one of them. He's also been quite successful with Jane Austen, including the penultimate Pride & Prejudice version starring Colin Firth. This version is written by Andrew Davies, who's pretty much the reigning king of adapting classic novels for British television, responsible for amazing versions of Vanity Fair, Bleak House, The Way We Live Now, He Knew He Was Right, Wives & Daughters, and of course the more modern House of Cards series. And when she's invited for an extended stay in a medieval country house, things finally get out of hand for her. She has extensive daydreams and fantasies, which really set this one apart from Austen's other novels, to the point where she's neglectful of the real world. Far too many novels, according to everyone around her but she's hopelessly caught up in her gothic romances. You see, the lead character Catherine ( Felicity Jones) reads a lot of novels.

But that requires us to step further away from Austen's writing, and the top quality thereof because only a very small selection of audiences today could really appreciate all of the humor and implications of the novel as written. Of course, with some smart alterations by a clever screenwriter, changes can be made that help bridge modern viewers to the story.

A big part of the reason is because Austen was making a lot of direct references to - no, more than reference, almost parody of - contemporary literature. so I'd recommend the pair of them about equally, and even together. Neither are definitive both have their pros and cons and don't quite capture the entirety of the novel. There's pretty much only this version and the 1980s BBC one starring Peter Firth. Northanger Abbey is the most under-adapted Jane Austen novel. You sort of expect to have to dig through cut and censored prints of foreign horror movies on DVD but you don't expect it to be just as bad collecting Masterpiece Theaters!

Northanger abbey 2007