MovieChat Forums > Northanger Abbey (2008) Discussion > How Much Time Has PBS Cut Out?

How Much Time Has PBS Cut Out?


Last week's PBS airing of "Persuasion" in the U.S. was edited for time from the original length.

This week's "Northanger Abbey" is showing in the same 90-minute time space, minus the introduction, commercials, PBS self-congratulatory hype, etc., so will probably only be about 80 minutes long.

Amazon gives the length of the DVD of this film as 90 minutes, but Amazon U.K. gives the length as 120 minutes.

Does anyone know how much it has actually been cut for its PBS broadcast?

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No, I don't. I suspect it'll be much like last week- five minutes or so for the drivel you mentioned above.

Very annoying.

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The running time for the region 2 DVD is 93 minutes.

The showing of this film is currently being discussed at austenblog.com and two scenes were apparently cut for the version shown on PBS. The first is a fantasy of Catherine's which has her in the bath, when Henry walks in on her. The second is a scene of Catherine being back at home and burning her copy of 'The Mysteries of Udolpho' because she's ashamed of the influence these 'horrid' books have had on her.

As to why she chose to burn 'Udolpho' when throughout the film she's actually reading 'The Monk', your guess is as good as mine

You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope

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They also cut the adorable apple-picking scene

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The scenes that were cut were not terribly significant unlike some scenes cut from Persuasion.

1. A brief scene in the beginning after Catherine arrives in Bath and her Aunt says we should go to the tea room. What was cut was when both enter the tea room and everyone looks at them as if they do not belong their, the feel unwelcomed and leave. (Not terribly significant, very brief)

2. Catherine's fantasy where Tilney and Thorpe sword fight. (brief)

3. Where Catherine sits in the tub and has another fantasy where Tilney enters and asks her to stand, she does. (I love this scene because even though she is naked- you just see her back- Tilney's eyes never leave her face)

4. After General Tilney leaves Northanger Henry Tilney immediately gets a ladder and his sister and Catherine follow him to an apple tree where he drops apples down to them and they catch them (It's a playful fun scene, very short)

5. A brief scene at the end after she arrives home, she is so ashamed of herself that she burns her novels.

I checked several sites and they all have different running times. All iTV's original broadcasts (Northanger, Persuasion, and Mansfield) were aired as 2 hours, but this includes commercials. Northanger was not quite as long as Persuasion (only by about 5 minutes or so) but the DVD, I'm almost positive will include Northanger in it's entirety. I bought Persuasion and was afraid it would be edited like the PBS broadcast but the missing/shortened scenes where on the DVD.

So I hope the Northanger DVD includes these scenes, although brief, they added to the playful demeanor of Northanger Abbey!

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Your cuts pretty well line up with mine but for a couple differences. Here's what I wrote in another forum. I'll pass them on here, and you can see what differs.

The cuts I saw are:

1. When Catherine and Mrs. Allen enter the ball, they squeeze through the crowded floor, see the dancing pairs and Mrs. Allen suggests they go to the tea room. The entire tea room scene is cut. The scene goes directly to the bumping into of Mr. Tilney.

2. I don't remember what the building was but it was the one that Isabelle and Catherine went to after the library. The scene where they exit and the two young men start to follow them was gone.

3. The only interesting scene that was cut was the bathtub dream sequence.

4. When Catherine is invited to NA by the father - when they arrive late at the Allen residence to pick her up, missing was the conversation inside the home, with the Allens, about not keeping them waiting.

5. At dinner time at NA when General Tilney and Henry are waiting at the top of the steps to escort the ladies down to the dining room and General Tilney bellows when the meal will be on the table - all that was missing.

6. After General Tilney leaves for the day and you see the scene of his coach driving off and Henry, Catherine, and Eleanor are watching him being driven away - the scene that follows with the apple picking was cut out.

There may be others but that's all I caught. I feel that if PBS had to cut anything out, they did a better job with this one. I kind of missed the bathtub dream sequence where Henry Tilney dressed in Clergyman hat assists Catherine out of a bathtub set in the forest.

I checked the runtime on the dvd case and it was 90 minutes. I think you are right in it being about 5 minutes.



Genie (Florida)

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Mrs. Allen isn't Catherine's aunt. Her husband owns the estate where Mr. Morland is the clergyman.

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Thanks for filling in all the missing pieces, and after having seen it I do wish they were included in the PBS broadcast. I think the scenes, even if they are brief, add more to te main characters....and why on earth would you want to have the abridged version of this story?

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Oh... Thanks for the clarification, I wasn't 100% sure the relation between the Allens and the Morlands.

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It's a shame that the sword fight was edited out. It really didn't add anything to the story, but JJ Field looked very dashing in that scene!

You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope

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Do we know for a fact if the DVD will include the cut scenes?




I must hold on before I, too, go totally mad.

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I really don't understand why they cut any scenes on PBS. They had plenty of time to include them as the program was finished before it was even 9:30! It doesn't make sense. I had seen NA online before it aired in the US so when I watched it last night, I was like, "Wait, where's the bathtub scene," and some of the others missing. They better be on the dvd!

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According to austenblog.com the missing scenes WON'T be put into the Region 1 DVD. I can't imagine why this would happen.

You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope

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It really ANNOYS me when they cut scenes.

I hacked my DVD player to play region 2, so I will buy this one from Amazon UK.

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I remember seeing the swordfight - the one at night, correct? Henry is rescuing Catherine and Thorpe gives chase.

I was pretty sure that that dream was included.
__________
We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails. - Bertha Calloway

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I've heard about ten minutes. I noticed small cuts a lot of small cuts.

Catherine's little squee in the carriage while shopping
Sitting down to tea in the Lower Rooms
The bathtub fantasy sequence
Sitting all the way up in bed after one of her dreams
Watching General Tilney leave
The apple picking scene
Burning "The Mysteries of Upholdo"

I was very irritated by them! Apparently they aren't going to be on the Region 1 DVD, either.

__________
We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails. - Bertha Calloway

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The sword fight is on the DVD, but the rest of the cut scenes are not.

I am curious as to how faithful this version is to the book. It didn't seem as in depth as it could have been. I was suprised when it just sort of ended.

living is easy with your eyes closed

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I thought it was quite faithful to the book. When I first saw it last year I didn't even know what NA was about so some parts I didn't understand but then I read the book last summer and then watched it again and understood it better.

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Is the uncut NA still available to view online? And if so, does anyone have a link?

Thanks in advance!

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In case no one has replied to you I'll send a private message with a couple of links.

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I would like to purchase the uncut version also if it is available.
Mommy to two little monsters

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None of the cut scenes -- and not even any extras -- on the dvd. ugh!

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That is truly sad, since this was such a good show.

Mommy to two little monsters

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[deleted]

Most of the non-name brand personal dvd players will play all regions or at least PAL (Europe) and NTSC (the States).

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