I feel like Austen's intent was to make Catherine exactly LIKE other girls. It's like a bit tongue in cheek, that Catherine is the heroine, but yet everything conspires to make her very ordinary. She has both parents, she isn't poor, she "doesn't learn anything before she is taught"🤣
Although I do so enjoy to see the movie I also LOVE reading the book or in my case get it read for me.. while I am either weawing,knitting, crochet,cooking or washing up....To hear Jane Austens books makes even bothersome mundane housekeeping a joy.
JJ Field made Mr Tilney my favourite Austen man for a really long time. I love that he is a clergyman (later portrayed as the unattractive suitor in Collins and Elton), that he is more feminine (he understands muslin!!) and that he has both the charisma (which Austen usually warns us against) and the kindness. He's a very distinct love interest and I think Field plays him perfectly.
I felt the same thing. JJ Feild is so fantastic as Mr Tilney, that I was considering displacing that zenith of Austen lead male performers that is Colin Firth. (Let's just say Firth managed to stay on top, but only by hair's breadth!) JJ as Tilney's charm, his seemingly ad-libbed facial expressions, and the character path he got to show has me returning to watch this film every few months since it came out.
@@fastbowler I suppose he and Firth are playing such wildly different characters that it wouldn't be unreasonable to like them both equally but for varying reasons!! If anything, Mr Tilney is probably more like Lizzie, at least in terms of wit which is probably another reason I like him so much (although Field is definitely the top reason aha).
I once jokingly said in an English class how different pride and prejudice would have been if Mr Collins had been Mr Tilney, and it devolved into an all out war.
Felicity Jones IS Catherine for me now. I thought she was pitch-perfect with a character who could easily come off as stupid or silly - much like Harriet Smith, but worse because she's the protagonist. Tilney could also easily come off as a bit creepy, puffed up by this naive girl admiring him precisely because she has no real experience in which to base her judgments (see: men in their mid-20s to 30s dating 18- or 19-year-olds now). Tilney largely avoids that trap here because he's slightly flattered, but probably more amused by Catherine's wide-eyed admiration and acceptance of whatever he tells her. It also helps to see Catherine enjoying the humor with which he approaches their interactions, and beginning to pick up a similarly arch manner.
Yes! I love the scene where they're riding together to Northanger Abbey and she jokes to him about there being vampires, and he just seems to enjoy being teased in return.
I’m pretty sure both of the carriage scenes happen in the book. The first time Thorpe tricks her, and when she reschedules with the Tilneys for a different day he cancels the walk for her and she has to run after them to set things right. I think Austen was trying to show that she’s gullible but still sensitive to rudeness and capable of respectability.
Yes, and also that she’s clueless about social conventions but mortified at the thought of breaking them. She wants to be good but is very inexperienced in “the ways of the world.”
Honestly after rewatching it recently, I think 2007 Northanger is just one of the best Austen movie adaptions PERIOD. One of the few that really captures the tone and humour of the source material.
I don’t know why Northanger Abbey gets less attention. It is literally my favorite Jane Austen novel. For me it’s, Northanger Abbey, then Persuasion in a close second, which is ironic since they are both set in Bath, but with an entirely different point of view of the city because of Jane’s age and experiences when she wrote them. Pride and Prejudice probably is third. I love the 2007 version and was excited when they finally made it as all I had was the 80’s adaptation. I’m surprised you didn’t comment more on the dream sequences from the 80’s version! They take the whole gothic horror thing seriously with that scene with Mrs. Allen sewing her fingers! 🤦🏼♀️
Persuasion 2007 is my favorite Jane Austen movie, followed closely by Northanger Abbey 2007. I wish these movies, and the books they're based on would get more love
I think Catherine's charm is that she is EXACTLY like other girls. She doesn't have anything to make her particularly outstanding. Seeing this video after the new persuasion, it feels like we're ready for a new Northanger Abbey, though hollywood seems to want a "not like other girls, but feminist" heroine instead of a normal boring girl who wantes to be special
4:20 happens in the novel, but after Catherine has already been tricked the 1st time by John. You need her to be tricked the 1st time so that we see her growing as a character. Also her impropriety of busting in the Tinley home shows that she is still working on herself as a character, at least I thought that when I read it.
That kiss at the end, though!!❤️ The 2007 version was the first movie where I was moved by an on-screen kiss. Felicity and JJ were so perfect together.
I love the 2007 version! The cast is just brilliant and did great job! Felicity & J.J. created a fantastic couple. And I really felt like during reading the book. Thank you for this video!
I think the older film does one thing really well. It sucks us into Katherine’s creepy, gothic, bad-lit fueled view of everything, almost making us accomplices to her delusions. From her gory fantasies echoing Radcliffe’s books, Hardy’s brooding, unpredictable general, and the creepy Marchioness to the eerie score with electric guitar that oddly works - It makes you wonder if maybe there really are dark secrets at Northanger. Then, when she learns her mistake and tosses the book in the fire, you feel like, “dang, had me going as well.” I’ve always thought Austen was both poking fun at and gently chastising readers of the gothic romances of her day in NA, and I thought the older movie, by filming it in a rather gothic style, did that same thing. Oh, and that final scene in which Katherine finally gets her own gothic moment, i thought was pretty clever. Great kiss (complete with tear from Schlesinger).
My best friend and I watched the 2007 version tonight after being utterly charmed by JJ Field in Austenland. What a gem this film was! It managed to be touching as well as pure fun. Those dream sequences were bonkers.
The woman who played Mrs Allen in the 2007 Northanger Abbey played Fanny Price in the 80’s adaptation of Mansfield Park. Love these battle of the Austen adaptations!
The scene where John Thorpe tells John and Eleanor that Catherine forgot about other plans is in the book. And Catherine does indeed say if I can’t be convinced to do wrong, I won’t be tricked into it. I seen that shows the Catherine is growing out of her gullibility
The 2007 version is one of my absolute favorite movies! I totally agree with you about the chemistry between the two leads and that is what sold their romance to me. They were both overflowing with so much charm I couldn't help but love them for it!
Interesting video. I do actually enjoy the older movie, but agree the newer one is better. In about every way. I actually reread all of Austen’s books recently and I found that while Tilney’s reaction is more bewildered than angry (or so it seemed to me) when he figures out Catherine’s suspicions, there is something very wrong with that scene in the ‘87 one. After mulling it over for a while, I think it’s a combination of cutting out about 90% of Tilney’s dialogue and then having her run off in hysterics (instead of merely mortified tears) when he’s barely said anything. Always jars me out of the movie. Also, Catherine’s not thrown out the next morning. She stays several more weeks, during which her relationship with Tilney heals to what it had been. Minor quibble, but I do recommend you reread the book (I had forgotten all this too). It won’t waste your time!
This particular novel is possibly the most autobiographical: the father is a vicar who is close friends with the local landowner; the heroine is a tomboy who is "almost pretty" who rolls down the hill behind the parsonage, and visits Bath for the first time at about the same age.
No the 1987 one is great! All the men in it are really creepy, it's hilarious. My favourite bit is when Mr Tilney spots Catherine outside the baths and kisses the tip of his walking cane.
Totally agree with you! The 1987 version makes me feel like I'm on a drug trip. The 2007 version is just adorable, especially the leads, and so well done.
Wow! You just hit the 1987 adaptation on the head! Chef’s kiss! I’d only add that Schlesinger was 23 but looked 17 (the age of Katherine) while Firth was 33 and looked 33! While I don’t normally complain about this kind of thing for low budget works, this case was an exception. It just looked like a young innocent girl being preyed upon by some creepy middle aged man. The mysterious stranger element just made it worse. I really feel Firth would have made a better Mr Elliot than anything else. He certainly didn’t work as Mr Tilney.
I'm not surprised the 2007 movie is so good - it's adapted by Andrew Davies, who of course wrote the much-loved 1995 P&P (as well as a very good adaptation of "Moll Flanders", starring Alex Kingston). Just watched it again this afternoon, as I was in need of some comfort viewing that wasn't five hours long 😀
But that changed scene with the walk was not wrong! They just took the next scene, where Thorp tricked Catherine again and she REALLY ran to Tilneys and explained everything immediately!
This was a very well put together and thoughtful video. I have a rebuttal though: Northanger Abbey 87 has a random cartwheeling servant boy, finger gore, and a vampire marquess. Does the 07 version have those? No. Check. Mate. Touchdown. Hole in one.
I admire you not only because of your sense to understand immaculate classics but also because historical fiction or classics are out of my range. I never ever could get into em, properly and you do that perfectly!I loved this btw!! 🖤
I think North Angerabbey is the best one for you to start with since it's short. Oooor conversely you can start with The Watson or Sanditon to get familiar with Ms. Austen's writing...be warned those are really good and interesting and UNFURNISHED!!! 😭😭😭😭😭😭 Thye cut off so cruelly, I wanted more!!
LOL, it must seem odd that I love them both! The 87 version is so wonderfully, wacky and, well, 80's! It has its own charm, even if you know it isn't faithful to the text. Its one true fault is Peter Firth's Henry Tilney, whom I think is ridiculous in the role. He oozes camp, but it seems like that must have been a directorial decision. Then again, that's also why it has its place in my heart. Thankfully, the 2007 version corrects all textual and casting "wrongs" and is a total tribute to Austen. In contrast to the other I cannot imagine a better, or more charming Tilney.
Captain Frederick Tilney unceremoniously (and very dangerously) cast Catherine out of his home in the middle of the night with zero regard for her safely or how she would get home. At best, he should have been socially ostracized for his lack of chivalry toward a defenseless, young woman, regardless of her social rank. As soon as she arrived home, Catherine's father should have ridden over to Northanger Abbey and whooped the Captain's ass (or challenged him to a duel). I would never, ever forgive the Captain for putting Catherine in such danger.
Thank you for giving your opinion up front and not dragging us along. SINCE you were so upfront I made sure I watched longer to help boost your analytics. 😊
in the book, Catherine does go the Tilney's house tell them John's way lying and she would much rather go walking with them, its the after the carriage ride, they (Isabelle/John/her bother) again try to force her to go out with them and John did go so far as tell Elinor that Catherine had changed her mind. Also Elinor did come to Catherine room at night to tell about having to leave, though she does not leave until first thing in the morning.
Northanger Abbey is her third finished novel after Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility which were originally titled First Impressions and Elinor and Marianne. It was the first novel she sold although it was not published at the time. She later bought it back and it was then published after her death.
I can't wait until you get to Sense and Sensibility (1995!) and Persuasion. I know most people go nuts for P&P but I think adaptations of these 2 are sorely lacking and I'd love to see more.
I remember seeing the 1987 version as a young teenager with my aunts & us just thinking it was WILD compared to all other Austen we had seen to that point. It was a Austen fever dream. It was so nice to eventually see the newer version with Felicity Jones. 💜 I do kinda want to watch the older again (maybe along with the new Persuasion) just for some mirth though. 😹
Andrew Davies who wrote the screenplay fir the Colin Firth in the lake sexy scene that doesn’t exit in Austen text, explains that adaptations that are contemporary and good go into more depth with male characters, Austen uses make characters as window dressing. A good screenplay will make a character rounded if not multi faceted. Think about that.
Completely agree with everything you said. Northanger Abbey is my favorite of Austen's novels, and it was so sad that the only adaptation of it was the 1987. It was long overdue and I think the filmmakers did a beautiful job with it. The *only* fault I can find with it was that it left out my very favorite line (which, oddly enough, *WAS* included in the 1987 one!) The conversation that Catherine and Henry have in which he says he understands her perfectly, and she says "Me? Yes. I cannot speak well enough to be unintelligible." And he replies, "Bravo! An excellent satire on modern language." Peter Firth in the 1987 adaptation delivers that line so flatly, it just has no spark or joy in it. I could imagine JJ Feild saying it with a twinkle in his eye and throwing his head back laughing, but they left it out!! Even so, I forgive it because it's the Northanger Abbey adaptation that the book deserves.
Both of the tricks of John Thorpe are in the book, on different days. Each movie appears to have chosen to feature on a different trick (or attempted trick) while cutting out the either
You were definitely not too harsh on the ‘87 adaptation. I remember watching it back when it was the only one and I was so very confused. I think I even rewound the vcr to double check that was actually the end! So I was very excited when the new one came out it really is just streets ahead. 😀
I agree with you about pretty much everything you said... but given the choice I would rather watch the 1987 version. I just love the over the top dramatic nature of it. It is much more atmospheric and gothic. Although, why is the pageboy turning cartwheels on the lawn at the abbey? Never understood that! I don't like the scene where Mr Tilney finds out about Catherine's assumptions about his father in the 2007 version. It is overplayed. PS if you want a terrible Austen adaptation look no further than Billie Piper playing the lead in Mansfield Park. I saw it once and will never watch it again.
I have just seen the 2007 adaptation (I haven't seen the 1987 version): you are not correct about the second attempt at a walk with the Tilneys - John Thorpe does lie to them and Catherine "is in great agitation"..."It was painful to disappoint and displease them (ie Isabella, John and James), ; particularly to disappoint her brother [but] to have failed a second time in her engagement to Miss Tilney.....must have been wrong.......she had attended to what was due to others and to her own character." Not including this also misses out the delightful scene of Catherine running after the Tilneys, running into their lodgings, not waiting to be shown up, to give her explanation which "was deficient...only in being no explanation at all..." (Chapter 13) Also, the first engagement (had it taken place) was delayed by rain and Catherine accepted Thorpe's remark about the Tilneys going elsewhere
Northanger Abbey (2007) was what got me into Jane Austen in the first place and it's always had this special cherished place in my heart--I've read the book and watched the movie countless times, they're both very much like security blankets at this point. so imagine my surprise and dismay when I, a decade after discovering the 2007 version, found that there existed another adaptation. so, this is like April of last year, and I'm in such a State because of the state of the world, and I watch this movie and I'm so excited because it's an adaptation of my first Austen love that I've never seen (and finding adaptations I've never seen is getting harder and harder these days @God I deserve a good adaptation of Persuasion) AND THEN I watched it and it was terrible?? or maybe it wasn't, but it wasn't really Northanger Abbey, either. 🤷🏻♂️ all of that is to say, I totally agree that there's an objectively better adaptation, and I would go so far as to say that we could all collectively forget the 1987 version exists and be better for it.
@@debra-vs hi Debra, I have, and I do like it. I agree it's lovely in many respects. Without a question the best adaptation of Persuasion. But to my personal taste, it just lacks a little something, I don't get the same magical sparkly feeling from it as I do from the actual book. So I'm still dreaming of a new and better adaptation.
I agree with much of what you thought, except the fact that telling Catherine to leave in the night would actually have made Eleanor and Henry monsters at the time. Like that was much worse than rude, that was akin to ruining her reputation, and I think for a fairly accurate adaptation that was a gross mistake. (I'm a little defensive of Catherine because while she is pretty silly to think that Henry's dad physically killed their mom....I think the book takes the tact that she merely overshot her assumptions, not that their foundation was incorrect. General Tilney clearly did a great deal of psychological damage to the whole family).
That old version where they take the baths with trays around their necks so they can have snacks and drinks while taking the waters? I always thought that was hilarious! (probably also historically accurate if weird) Also it is accurate in that (apart from their initial meeting where he doesn't flirtatiously comment on muslins) he leaves Bath and then comes back later with his family, while he is gone is when all of the other dramas happen . Catherine does make effusive apologies about the carriage ride in the book, both during and after the carriage ride. Also James' engagement with Isabella is completely out of the blue in the book . And yeah, I was totally disappointed that she didn't have that conversation with Eleanor just before she was kicked out, they kind of made Eleanor insignificant when in fact it was her friendship that allowed Catherine to get to know Tilney and the family better and feel reassured about a traumatic event
OMG, you need to do Pride and Prejudice! There are so many versions to choose from! Although I'm sure that "Pride and Prejudice with Zombies" will be your favorite!
I liked your commentary but I do hold the old version close to my heart just because we are so starved for choice when it comes to NA movies. To me it seemed the writers were merging NA with Mysteries of Udolfo.
I grew up with the 1987 version, I saw it when it first was shown in the US, I don't remember when, just that it was on PBS and we recorded it off the tv. I had no idea back then that the original story was supposed to be satire of gothic novels, lol, I mean I know now, but back then I absolutely loved the 1987 adaptation, it was so magical and slightly scary as a child, and I actually liked the music. So in that way I will always have a fondness for the 1987 version, even if the 2007 represents the book better, and I understand that the producers of the 1987 version wanted to make it in the gothic style. I absolutely loved the costumes though, and so far it's one of the only productions that has what I would consider to be the right look for the 1790s
I think you have been a child and have grown up on the 1987 version to appreciate it, lol, I've heard some of the same things about Jim Henson's Labyrinth, if you have never seen that film till you were an adult in the 2010s or beyond you tend t be pretty weirded out by it, not saying everyone was, but still
what's wrong with the communal bath scene? I mean that was what going to Bath was for, to take the waters, and have you never met anyone at a public bath before?, lol, it happened more than a few times for me when I was living in Korea, lol, I didn't see anything wrong with this scene
omg!!! I just realized my experience with Northanger Abby as a child not knowing anything about the story or book is maybe what some younger people are experiencing now with the new Netflix's Persuasion, hahahhahahahah, oh this is funny, though to be fair, I would say if I had to compare Northanger Abby 1987 to Persuasion 2022, I'd say that 1987 wins in my book
You got the impression that General Tillney in the 1987 was a nice guy!!!?????? hahahhahahahahhahaha try watching that character in this adaptation as a 9-10 year old who grew up with a narcissistic father and could pick up subtlety better, I was terrified of the character, lol, and Eleanor was terrified of her father but it was shown more subtly
This book is much more endearing to me now im old enough to be Catherines mother. The narration is so cheeky and nraeks that 4th wall so often - it's great
nice review, however about this scene (4:45) where John Thorpe tells Catherine that he told Miss Tinley that Catherine will not be able to go on a walk with them because she already has an engagement with the Thorpe, actually they have not changed the scene, they simply replaced the scene of the first promised walk between the Tinley and Catherine with the scene, always present in the book, of the second walk. In fact, after Catherine was unable to go on a walk with the Tinley because she was deceived by John Thorpe, she and Miss Tinley agree again to go on a walk together, but the Thorpe and Catherine's brother have decided that they are going to go on a horse-drawn ride on the same day, so they try to dissuade Catherine from going on a walk with Miss Tinley and go on a ride with them instead, however, seeing her adamant, John Thorpe decides to go to Miss Tinley and tells her that he was sent by Catherine to tell her that she won't be able to go on a walk with her on Monday because she has to go on a trip with her friends but that she can go on Tuesday, and otherwise the scene plays out exactly as they put it in the film in 1987, in fact Catherine is outraged when she finds out what John Thorpe did and immediately rushes to the Tinleys' house telling them panting that what John Thorpe had told them was not true and that she would gladly go for a walk with them. So in reality the scene of the film is actually taken exactly the same from the book, but I don't know why they exchanged the scene of the first promised walk with the Tinley with this scene, which I find a little bit senseless since it is during the very first ride/walk that Catherine starts to understand the true character of John Thorpe, and with this second walk it only makes her opinion of him worse
John's lie and Catherine's marching up to the Tilneys and saying he was living does indeed happen in the book,BUUUUUUUUUT after the initial time John lied and Catherine believed him. I agree you need the first one to let the second one make sense. Anyone who watches these drama know that Catherine was not acting with propriety when she did that, John's 1st lie would make sense of her reaction. Edit: the 2007 version nails John! I mean like I could imagine a better version of John than that one. If the ever do a miniseries (which I totes here for) they need to recast that actor!!
honestly I love northanger abbey so much, I think it might be my favourite austen novel yet - I studied the Gothic during my a-levels so I *adored* austen for ripping the piss out of it. the 2007 version is just so enjoyable to watch, EVERYONE understood the assignment, and Feild and Jones are so wholesome together :(
I was waiting for you to talk about that odd scene in the 1987 version in which the pageboy beckons Catherine outside and turns cartwheels across the yard and by the music in the background and expressions on her face we're supposed to feel like it's very dramatic and significant but it makes absolutely no sense! 🤔
I haven't seen the 87 and just saw the 07 version. Doesn't sound like I will look into the 87 movie. But the 87 scene where she runs to tell the Tilney's is book accurate
I grew up watching the 80s BBC adaptations and the random nature of Northanger Abbey was always odd. I do like the 2007 version so much better, especially, as you said, the chemistry between the leads. And I love that Mrs. Allen is Fanny Price from the 80s! Spotting the 80s Austin actors is always a fun game.
I have always battled with movie/dvd versions of Northanger Abby, I read it as a teenager and have never watched anything that created my "version" of it .. hopefully we will see a "re do" in the making soon.
Northanger is so much fun, which I think the 2007 version caught perfectly with the daydreaming sequences. It was fun to get double Austen-JJ too with this and Austenland :)
I’d never seen the ‘87 version. I’ll avoid it and rewatch the version I love. The two leads have fabulous chemistry. And Carey with her flirtations with men while Catherine looks on shocked and confused… so great!
Thank you for the review. I love the adaptation made in 2007. The two leads really are Henry and Catherine for me. I have seen the other version and found it more of a mystery .
I love the 2007 adaptation so much, but I'd be excited to see another adaptation. Especially now when mystery movies (like knives out) are popular again.
i can't wait for the rest of this series! i want to hear your thoughts on mansfield park -- i've seen the 1983 series and the 2007 movie and I didn't particularly like either.
🏰 I was so happy to watch your video on Northanger Abby. This has become my #1 go to film to watch and relax too. I have watched both versions, the newer version is by far the best! Thank you for your video.
It’s actually more than a decade since I watched the 1987 adaptation but I’m sure there’s this totally peculiar bit set in the abbey with a small boy doing cartwheels on the grounds outside… like super strange. My mum and I could barely keep a straight face while watching.
The 1987 version was too bizarre. When Catherine and Tilney have their first kiss, if you look closely, there's a string of saliva getting longer as they part. I can't get past that sight. JJ Fields is one of my favorite actors portraying an Austen heartthrob, and he's a sight of which I can't get enough.
The 2007 version was my first exposure to Northanger Abbey and I think it made it my top spot Austen film, I guess mostly because Catherine felt like my spirit animal much more than other Austen heroines.
For anyone who has watched the BBC 1987 adaptation and can make it through to the end, I want to ask if you noticed the long string of saliva between the pair as they pull away from the kiss? Or is that just a spiderweb or possibly a filming glitch?
Thank you for saving me from wasting my time with the 2007 version. I had tried to watch it on several occastons but just could not get into it. Now I know why.
I loved your analysis! Everything you said was very on point and I agree completely! Northanger abbey is my favorite Jane austen work but it seems to be underrated :((
I haven't read the book for years, but I just watched the 2007 movie and there were a few things that struck me as odd. You addressed one of them, when she's kicked out in the middle of the night. The other thing is how Thorpe tells General Tilney about Catherine's "wealth", not sure why Thorpe did that or would do that, but also, it looks really odd how General Tilney suddenly fawns all over her. He just took Thorpe at his word? Then, who invited her to Northanger Abbey? I need to reread the book, but in the movie some things seem very contrived. But if that was Austen's first novel, and it was a satire, that really sheds light on it.
That is in the book. Thorpe tells General Tilney about Catherine's wealth as a brag because he feels sure Catherine will marry him. So he exaggerates her wealth to make himself look good. The general takes him at his word then, and later when he kicks Catherine out. But honestly I feel both adaptations miss the mark.
I love the 2007 version. I honestly didn't even know there was another adaptation. I would honestly love to see what a modern-day version of Northanger Abbey would be like and if it could work.
I am so glad that you enjoyed the 2007 Northanger Abbey! I loved this version. Felicity Jones is perfect as Catherine and JJ Feild is a very attractive Mr Tilney!! I loved your comments.
While the 2000s version is obviously a better adaptation, I sort of love the bizarre quality of the 80s version. Maybe it's because I'm a child of the 80s, the weird romantic aesthetic where it seems like anyone might be a secret vampire. It has its own vibe.
I loved Northanger Abbey the first time I read it. It's still a favorite. I agree that the 1987 version is a major disaster and the worst of the Austen adaptations. The bath scene was just plain absurd! I haven't had the opportunity to see the later version, but it sounds well worth viewing.
Eugh. The 87 adaptation looks so awful. Northanger Abbey is a favourite of mine. I felt the 2007 captured the spirit of the book, and had such great casting! Great video and so useful as I now know never to hunt down that 87. Thank you!
Wow, no, I highly disagree! While I don't think that either can be considered a near perfect adaptation, I do not think the 2007 follows the novel at all and goes out of its way to make Catherine a prettier, wittier and smarter person than she is in the book. And the subplot which punishes Isabella above and beyond the book and also somehow makes Isabella less prettier and less "sophisticated" than she initially appears to Catherine. I felt that 2007 version gave a lie to it's opening line, as this Catherine is truly pretty, more ladylike and far less.... awkward 17 year old. I didn't mind the fantasy sequences in the 1987 movie because it shows how Catherine is processing a slightly more cosmopolitan world of her upbringing through the lenses of her recent interest in gothic novels. I also found that the friendship with Eleanor Tilney was less meaningful in the 2007 version.
I like this book so much, I wasn’t a fan of the movie, but I like the concept. I can see it adapted in a modern reinterpretation, it would work so well! Catherine would be a fan of horror movies nowadays.
I feel like Austen's intent was to make Catherine exactly LIKE other girls. It's like a bit tongue in cheek, that Catherine is the heroine, but yet everything conspires to make her very ordinary. She has both parents, she isn't poor, she "doesn't learn anything before she is taught"🤣
The 2007 Northanger Abbey is honestly one of my favourite comfort movies. I've lost count of how many times I've watched it.
Same!
The scream dream-Mrs-Allen makes during the coach attack always makes me giggle, especially when she faints so comically right after.
Ditto
Although I do so enjoy to see the movie I also LOVE reading the book or in my case get it read for me.. while I am either weawing,knitting, crochet,cooking or washing up....To hear Jane Austens books makes even bothersome mundane housekeeping a joy.
Mine too
JJ Field made Mr Tilney my favourite Austen man for a really long time. I love that he is a clergyman (later portrayed as the unattractive suitor in Collins and Elton), that he is more feminine (he understands muslin!!) and that he has both the charisma (which Austen usually warns us against) and the kindness. He's a very distinct love interest and I think Field plays him perfectly.
I felt the same thing. JJ Feild is so fantastic as Mr Tilney, that I was considering displacing that zenith of Austen lead male performers that is Colin Firth. (Let's just say Firth managed to stay on top, but only by hair's breadth!) JJ as Tilney's charm, his seemingly ad-libbed facial expressions, and the character path he got to show has me returning to watch this film every few months since it came out.
@@fastbowler I suppose he and Firth are playing such wildly different characters that it wouldn't be unreasonable to like them both equally but for varying reasons!! If anything, Mr Tilney is probably more like Lizzie, at least in terms of wit which is probably another reason I like him so much (although Field is definitely the top reason aha).
I once jokingly said in an English class how different pride and prejudice would have been if Mr Collins had been Mr Tilney, and it devolved into an all out war.
Swoon. I love JJ Field and wish he did more acting. He’s so talented and not so handsome as to be unbelievable.
@@lovetolovefairytales I haven’t seen it but will have to look for it now
Felicity Jones IS Catherine for me now. I thought she was pitch-perfect with a character who could easily come off as stupid or silly - much like Harriet Smith, but worse because she's the protagonist. Tilney could also easily come off as a bit creepy, puffed up by this naive girl admiring him precisely because she has no real experience in which to base her judgments (see: men in their mid-20s to 30s dating 18- or 19-year-olds now). Tilney largely avoids that trap here because he's slightly flattered, but probably more amused by Catherine's wide-eyed admiration and acceptance of whatever he tells her. It also helps to see Catherine enjoying the humor with which he approaches their interactions, and beginning to pick up a similarly arch manner.
Yes! I love the scene where they're riding together to Northanger Abbey and she jokes to him about there being vampires, and he just seems to enjoy being teased in return.
I’m pretty sure both of the carriage scenes happen in the book. The first time Thorpe tricks her, and when she reschedules with the Tilneys for a different day he cancels the walk for her and she has to run after them to set things right. I think Austen was trying to show that she’s gullible but still sensitive to rudeness and capable of respectability.
Yes both are in the book
Yes both are in the book I came to say the same thing lol
Yes, and also that she’s clueless about social conventions but mortified at the thought of breaking them. She wants to be good but is very inexperienced in “the ways of the world.”
Yes, I was going to point out the same thing.
Honestly after rewatching it recently, I think 2007 Northanger is just one of the best Austen movie adaptions PERIOD. One of the few that really captures the tone and humour of the source material.
Except, the ending was re-written, not by Austen
I don’t know why Northanger Abbey gets less attention. It is literally my favorite Jane Austen novel. For me it’s, Northanger Abbey, then Persuasion in a close second, which is ironic since they are both set in Bath, but with an entirely different point of view of the city because of Jane’s age and experiences when she wrote them. Pride and Prejudice probably is third. I love the 2007 version and was excited when they finally made it as all I had was the 80’s adaptation. I’m surprised you didn’t comment more on the dream sequences from the 80’s version! They take the whole gothic horror thing seriously with that scene with Mrs. Allen sewing her fingers! 🤦🏼♀️
1996 Pride and Prejudice with Jennifer Ehle is my favorite Jane Austen movie.
Persuasion 2007 is my favorite Jane Austen movie, followed closely by Northanger Abbey 2007. I wish these movies, and the books they're based on would get more love
Why was she sewing her fingers!? 😂 That's creepy. Now I have to watch the 80s one.
I think Catherine's charm is that she is EXACTLY like other girls. She doesn't have anything to make her particularly outstanding. Seeing this video after the new persuasion, it feels like we're ready for a new Northanger Abbey, though hollywood seems to want a "not like other girls, but feminist" heroine instead of a normal boring girl who wantes to be special
4:20 happens in the novel, but after Catherine has already been tricked the 1st time by John. You need her to be tricked the 1st time so that we see her growing as a character. Also her impropriety of busting in the Tinley home shows that she is still working on herself as a character, at least I thought that when I read it.
That kiss at the end, though!!❤️ The 2007 version was the first movie where I was moved by an on-screen kiss. Felicity and JJ were so perfect together.
I love the 2007 version! The cast is just brilliant and did great job! Felicity & J.J. created a fantastic couple. And I really felt like during reading the book. Thank you for this video!
I think the older film does one thing really well. It sucks us into Katherine’s creepy, gothic, bad-lit fueled view of everything, almost making us accomplices to her delusions. From her gory fantasies echoing Radcliffe’s books, Hardy’s brooding, unpredictable general, and the creepy Marchioness to the eerie score with electric guitar that oddly works - It makes you wonder if maybe there really are dark secrets at Northanger. Then, when she learns her mistake and tosses the book in the fire, you feel like, “dang, had me going as well.”
I’ve always thought Austen was both poking fun at and gently chastising readers of the gothic romances of her day in NA, and I thought the older movie, by filming it in a rather gothic style, did that same thing.
Oh, and that final scene in which Katherine finally gets her own gothic moment, i thought was pretty clever. Great kiss (complete with tear from Schlesinger).
Agree 100% 👍
The 2007 version is arguably better is a lot of ways, but the '87 version *gets* it. Both the joke and Gothic literature.
@@vanyadolly Agree. I liked the newer one SO much better than I thought I would, being prejudiced by my fondness for the other.
My best friend and I watched the 2007 version tonight after being utterly charmed by JJ Field in Austenland. What a gem this film was! It managed to be touching as well as pure fun. Those dream sequences were bonkers.
The woman who played Mrs Allen in the 2007 Northanger Abbey played Fanny Price in the 80’s adaptation of Mansfield Park. Love these battle of the Austen adaptations!
The scene where John Thorpe tells John and Eleanor that Catherine forgot about other plans is in the book. And Catherine does indeed say if I can’t be convinced to do wrong, I won’t be tricked into it. I seen that shows the Catherine is growing out of her gullibility
I've only seen the 1987. I'm delighted to hear there's a better one. I think the book is terribly underrated. It's one of my favorites.
I find it impossible to believe that you didn’t know of the existence of the 2007 version. I’m astounded.
I assume by now you’ve seen it? Thoughts?
The 2007 version is one of my absolute favorite movies! I totally agree with you about the chemistry between the two leads and that is what sold their romance to me. They were both overflowing with so much charm I couldn't help but love them for it!
I love NORTHANGER ABBEY. My fave along with PERSUASION.
Interesting video. I do actually enjoy the older movie, but agree the newer one is better. In about every way.
I actually reread all of Austen’s books recently and I found that while Tilney’s reaction is more bewildered than angry (or so it seemed to me) when he figures out Catherine’s suspicions, there is something very wrong with that scene in the ‘87 one. After mulling it over for a while, I think it’s a combination of cutting out about 90% of Tilney’s dialogue and then having her run off in hysterics (instead of merely mortified tears) when he’s barely said anything. Always jars me out of the movie.
Also, Catherine’s not thrown out the next morning. She stays several more weeks, during which her relationship with Tilney heals to what it had been. Minor quibble, but I do recommend you reread the book (I had forgotten all this too). It won’t waste your time!
This particular novel is possibly the most autobiographical: the father is a vicar who is close friends with the local landowner; the heroine is a tomboy who is "almost pretty" who rolls down the hill behind the parsonage, and visits Bath for the first time at about the same age.
No the 1987 one is great! All the men in it are really creepy, it's hilarious. My favourite bit is when Mr Tilney spots Catherine outside the baths and kisses the tip of his walking cane.
Totally agree with you! The 1987 version makes me feel like I'm on a drug trip. The 2007 version is just adorable, especially the leads, and so well done.
I completely agree. The chemistry with the 2007 movie characters on all parts is felt through the screen. I’ve watched it no less than 100 times.
Wow! You just hit the 1987 adaptation on the head! Chef’s kiss!
I’d only add that Schlesinger was 23 but looked 17 (the age of Katherine) while Firth was 33 and looked 33! While I don’t normally complain about this kind of thing for low budget works, this case was an exception. It just looked like a young innocent girl being preyed upon by some creepy middle aged man. The mysterious stranger element just made it worse. I really feel Firth would have made a better Mr Elliot than anything else. He certainly didn’t work as Mr Tilney.
I'm not surprised the 2007 movie is so good - it's adapted by Andrew Davies, who of course wrote the much-loved 1995 P&P (as well as a very good adaptation of "Moll Flanders", starring Alex Kingston). Just watched it again this afternoon, as I was in need of some comfort viewing that wasn't five hours long 😀
But that changed scene with the walk was not wrong! They just took the next scene, where Thorp tricked Catherine again and she REALLY ran to Tilneys and explained everything immediately!
This was a very well put together and thoughtful video. I have a rebuttal though:
Northanger Abbey 87 has a random cartwheeling servant boy, finger gore, and a vampire marquess. Does the 07 version have those? No. Check. Mate. Touchdown. Hole in one.
That horrid heavy makeup too.🤣
Silly goose, don't forget all the homicidalness!
And the fantasies/nightmares that felt very S&M.
Omdays I thought I’d made up the cartwheeling servant boy and came to search the comments for this!!! So weird! How could she not mention it 😂😅
@@naomitrollopeillustration Maybe because then she'd have to try to explain it!
I admire you not only because of your sense to understand immaculate classics but also because historical fiction or classics are out of my range. I never ever could get into em, properly and you do that perfectly!I loved this btw!! 🖤
I think North Angerabbey is the best one for you to start with since it's short. Oooor conversely you can start with The Watson or Sanditon to get familiar with Ms. Austen's writing...be warned those are really good and interesting and UNFURNISHED!!! 😭😭😭😭😭😭 Thye cut off so cruelly, I wanted more!!
LOL, it must seem odd that I love them both! The 87 version is so wonderfully, wacky and, well, 80's! It has its own charm, even if you know it isn't faithful to the text. Its one true fault is Peter Firth's Henry Tilney, whom I think is ridiculous in the role. He oozes camp, but it seems like that must have been a directorial decision. Then again, that's also why it has its place in my heart. Thankfully, the 2007 version corrects all textual and casting "wrongs" and is a total tribute to Austen. In contrast to the other I cannot imagine a better, or more charming Tilney.
Captain Frederick Tilney unceremoniously (and very dangerously) cast Catherine out of his home in the middle of the night with zero regard for her safely or how she would get home. At best, he should have been socially ostracized for his lack of chivalry toward a defenseless, young woman, regardless of her social rank. As soon as she arrived home, Catherine's father should have ridden over to Northanger Abbey and whooped the Captain's ass (or challenged him to a duel). I would never, ever forgive the Captain for putting Catherine in such danger.
Thank you for giving your opinion up front and not dragging us along. SINCE you were so upfront I made sure I watched longer to help boost your analytics. 😊
in the book, Catherine does go the Tilney's house tell them John's way lying and she would much rather go walking with them, its the after the carriage ride, they (Isabelle/John/her bother) again try to force her to go out with them and John did go so far as tell Elinor that Catherine had changed her mind.
Also Elinor did come to Catherine room at night to tell about having to leave, though she does not leave until first thing in the morning.
Northanger Abbey is her third finished novel after Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility which were originally titled First Impressions and Elinor and Marianne. It was the first novel she sold although it was not published at the time. She later bought it back and it was then published after her death.
I can't wait until you get to Sense and Sensibility (1995!) and Persuasion. I know most people go nuts for P&P but I think adaptations of these 2 are sorely lacking and I'd love to see more.
I remember seeing the 1987 version as a young teenager with my aunts & us just thinking it was WILD compared to all other Austen we had seen to that point. It was a Austen fever dream. It was so nice to eventually see the newer version with Felicity Jones. 💜
I do kinda want to watch the older again (maybe along with the new Persuasion) just for some mirth though. 😹
Andrew Davies who wrote the screenplay fir the Colin Firth in the lake sexy scene that doesn’t exit in Austen text, explains that adaptations that are contemporary and good go into more depth with male characters, Austen uses make characters as window dressing. A good screenplay will make a character rounded if not multi faceted.
Think about that.
Completely agree with everything you said. Northanger Abbey is my favorite of Austen's novels, and it was so sad that the only adaptation of it was the 1987. It was long overdue and I think the filmmakers did a beautiful job with it. The *only* fault I can find with it was that it left out my very favorite line (which, oddly enough, *WAS* included in the 1987 one!) The conversation that Catherine and Henry have in which he says he understands her perfectly, and she says "Me? Yes. I cannot speak well enough to be unintelligible." And he replies, "Bravo! An excellent satire on modern language." Peter Firth in the 1987 adaptation delivers that line so flatly, it just has no spark or joy in it. I could imagine JJ Feild saying it with a twinkle in his eye and throwing his head back laughing, but they left it out!! Even so, I forgive it because it's the Northanger Abbey adaptation that the book deserves.
Both of the tricks of John Thorpe are in the book, on different days. Each movie appears to have chosen to feature on a different trick (or attempted trick) while cutting out the either
You were definitely not too harsh on the ‘87 adaptation. I remember watching it back when it was the only one and I was so very confused. I think I even rewound the vcr to double check that was actually the end! So I was very excited when the new one came out it really is just streets ahead. 😀
I agree with you about pretty much everything you said... but given the choice I would rather watch the 1987 version. I just love the over the top dramatic nature of it. It is much more atmospheric and gothic. Although, why is the pageboy turning cartwheels on the lawn at the abbey? Never understood that! I don't like the scene where Mr Tilney finds out about Catherine's assumptions about his father in the 2007 version. It is overplayed. PS if you want a terrible Austen adaptation look no further than Billie Piper playing the lead in Mansfield Park. I saw it once and will never watch it again.
It's my favourite too 👍
Agree! Everything she said is right, but I still love the 87 version so much!
Me watching with rapt attention despite never having read Northanger Abbey
I have just seen the 2007 adaptation (I haven't seen the 1987 version): you are not correct about the second attempt at a walk with the Tilneys - John Thorpe does lie to them and Catherine "is in great agitation"..."It was painful to disappoint and displease them (ie Isabella, John and James), ; particularly to disappoint her brother [but] to have failed a second time in her engagement to Miss Tilney.....must have been wrong.......she had attended to what was due to others and to her own character." Not including this also misses out the delightful scene of Catherine running after the Tilneys, running into their lodgings, not waiting to be shown up, to give her explanation which "was deficient...only in being no explanation at all..." (Chapter 13) Also, the first engagement (had it taken place) was delayed by rain and Catherine accepted Thorpe's remark about the Tilneys going elsewhere
You should check out the Cate Chronicles, Emma Approved, and the Lizzie Bennet Diaries on TH-cam. They count as adaptations.
Northanger Abbey (2007) was what got me into Jane Austen in the first place and it's always had this special cherished place in my heart--I've read the book and watched the movie countless times, they're both very much like security blankets at this point. so imagine my surprise and dismay when I, a decade after discovering the 2007 version, found that there existed another adaptation.
so, this is like April of last year, and I'm in such a State because of the state of the world, and I watch this movie and I'm so excited because it's an adaptation of my first Austen love that I've never seen (and finding adaptations I've never seen is getting harder and harder these days @God I deserve a good adaptation of Persuasion) AND THEN I watched it and it was terrible?? or maybe it wasn't, but it wasn't really Northanger Abbey, either. 🤷🏻♂️
all of that is to say, I totally agree that there's an objectively better adaptation, and I would go so far as to say that we could all collectively forget the 1987 version exists and be better for it.
@God we are all dying for a good Persuasion adaptation, please make it happen
Have you not seen the 1995 'Persuasion' adaptation with Amanda Root and Ciarán Hinds? It's a lovely movie and one of my favorite Austen adaptations.
@@debra-vs hi Debra, I have, and I do like it. I agree it's lovely in many respects. Without a question the best adaptation of Persuasion. But to my personal taste, it just lacks a little something, I don't get the same magical sparkly feeling from it as I do from the actual book. So I'm still dreaming of a new and better adaptation.
2007 NA is one of my favorite movies of all time. 🥰🥰🥰
Absolute go-to feel good movie.
Thank you. I have started watching J.A. adaptations with my Wife and there are so many out there that I find it helpful to know which ones to see.
I agree with much of what you thought, except the fact that telling Catherine to leave in the night would actually have made Eleanor and Henry monsters at the time. Like that was much worse than rude, that was akin to ruining her reputation, and I think for a fairly accurate adaptation that was a gross mistake. (I'm a little defensive of Catherine because while she is pretty silly to think that Henry's dad physically killed their mom....I think the book takes the tact that she merely overshot her assumptions, not that their foundation was incorrect. General Tilney clearly did a great deal of psychological damage to the whole family).
That old version where they take the baths with trays around their necks so they can have snacks and drinks while taking the waters? I always thought that was hilarious! (probably also historically accurate if weird) Also it is accurate in that (apart from their initial meeting where he doesn't flirtatiously comment on muslins) he leaves Bath and then comes back later with his family, while he is gone is when all of the other dramas happen . Catherine does make effusive apologies about the carriage ride in the book, both during and after the carriage ride. Also James' engagement with Isabella is completely out of the blue in the book . And yeah, I was totally disappointed that she didn't have that conversation with Eleanor just before she was kicked out, they kind of made Eleanor insignificant when in fact it was her friendship that allowed Catherine to get to know Tilney and the family better and feel reassured about a traumatic event
OMG, you need to do Pride and Prejudice! There are so many versions to choose from! Although I'm sure that "Pride and Prejudice with Zombies" will be your favorite!
I need to read the book at some point 😬
I liked your commentary but I do hold the old version close to my heart just because we are so starved for choice when it comes to NA movies. To me it seemed the writers were merging NA with Mysteries of Udolfo.
I grew up with the 1987 version, I saw it when it first was shown in the US, I don't remember when, just that it was on PBS and we recorded it off the tv. I had no idea back then that the original story was supposed to be satire of gothic novels, lol, I mean I know now, but back then I absolutely loved the 1987 adaptation, it was so magical and slightly scary as a child, and I actually liked the music. So in that way I will always have a fondness for the 1987 version, even if the 2007 represents the book better, and I understand that the producers of the 1987 version wanted to make it in the gothic style. I absolutely loved the costumes though, and so far it's one of the only productions that has what I would consider to be the right look for the 1790s
I think you have been a child and have grown up on the 1987 version to appreciate it, lol, I've heard some of the same things about Jim Henson's Labyrinth, if you have never seen that film till you were an adult in the 2010s or beyond you tend t be pretty weirded out by it, not saying everyone was, but still
what's wrong with the communal bath scene? I mean that was what going to Bath was for, to take the waters, and have you never met anyone at a public bath before?, lol, it happened more than a few times for me when I was living in Korea, lol, I didn't see anything wrong with this scene
omg!!! I just realized my experience with Northanger Abby as a child not knowing anything about the story or book is maybe what some younger people are experiencing now with the new Netflix's Persuasion, hahahhahahahah, oh this is funny, though to be fair, I would say if I had to compare Northanger Abby 1987 to Persuasion 2022, I'd say that 1987 wins in my book
You got the impression that General Tillney in the 1987 was a nice guy!!!?????? hahahhahahahahhahaha try watching that character in this adaptation as a 9-10 year old who grew up with a narcissistic father and could pick up subtlety better, I was terrified of the character, lol, and Eleanor was terrified of her father but it was shown more subtly
This book is much more endearing to me now im old enough to be Catherines mother. The narration is so cheeky and nraeks that 4th wall so often - it's great
nice review, however about this scene (4:45) where John Thorpe tells Catherine that he told Miss Tinley that Catherine will not be able to go on a walk with them because she already has an engagement with the Thorpe, actually they have not changed the scene, they simply replaced the scene of the first promised walk between the Tinley and Catherine with the scene, always present in the book, of the second walk. In fact, after Catherine was unable to go on a walk with the Tinley because she was deceived by John Thorpe, she and Miss Tinley agree again to go on a walk together, but the Thorpe and Catherine's brother have decided that they are going to go on a horse-drawn ride on the same day, so they try to dissuade Catherine from going on a walk with Miss Tinley and go on a ride with them instead, however, seeing her adamant, John Thorpe decides to go to Miss Tinley and tells her that he was sent by Catherine to tell her that she won't be able to go on a walk with her on Monday because she has to go on a trip with her friends but that she can go on Tuesday, and otherwise the scene plays out exactly as they put it in the film in 1987, in fact Catherine is outraged when she finds out what John Thorpe did and immediately rushes to the Tinleys' house telling them panting that what John Thorpe had told them was not true and that she would gladly go for a walk with them. So in reality the scene of the film is actually taken exactly the same from the book, but I don't know why they exchanged the scene of the first promised walk with the Tinley with this scene, which I find a little bit senseless since it is during the very first ride/walk that Catherine starts to understand the true character of John Thorpe, and with this second walk it only makes her opinion of him worse
John's lie and Catherine's marching up to the Tilneys and saying he was living does indeed happen in the book,BUUUUUUUUUT after the initial time John lied and Catherine believed him. I agree you need the first one to let the second one make sense. Anyone who watches these drama know that Catherine was not acting with propriety when she did that, John's 1st lie would make sense of her reaction.
Edit: the 2007 version nails John! I mean like I could imagine a better version of John than that one. If the ever do a miniseries (which I totes here for) they need to recast that actor!!
honestly I love northanger abbey so much, I think it might be my favourite austen novel yet - I studied the Gothic during my a-levels so I *adored* austen for ripping the piss out of it. the 2007 version is just so enjoyable to watch, EVERYONE understood the assignment, and Feild and Jones are so wholesome together :(
I was waiting for you to talk about that odd scene in the 1987 version in which the pageboy beckons Catherine outside and turns cartwheels across the yard and by the music in the background and expressions on her face we're supposed to feel like it's very dramatic and significant but it makes absolutely no sense! 🤔
I haven't seen the 87 and just saw the 07 version. Doesn't sound like I will look into the 87 movie. But the 87 scene where she runs to tell the Tilney's is book accurate
I grew up watching the 80s BBC adaptations and the random nature of Northanger Abbey was always odd. I do like the 2007 version so much better, especially, as you said, the chemistry between the leads. And I love that Mrs. Allen is Fanny Price from the 80s! Spotting the 80s Austin actors is always a fun game.
I have always battled with movie/dvd versions of Northanger Abby, I read it as a teenager and have never watched anything that created my "version" of it .. hopefully we will see a "re do" in the making soon.
Northanger is so much fun, which I think the 2007 version caught perfectly with the daydreaming sequences. It was fun to get double Austen-JJ too with this and Austenland :)
The busy ballroom is covered through numerous pages of the novel. Just FYI
I’d never seen the ‘87 version. I’ll avoid it and rewatch the version I love. The two leads have fabulous chemistry.
And Carey with her flirtations with men while Catherine looks on shocked and confused… so great!
The bbc version with Schlesinger, Firth, Hardy is so true to the spirit of Austen's book that I have never wanted to watch another.
Thank you for the review. I love the adaptation made in 2007. The two leads really are Henry and Catherine for me. I have seen the other version and found it more of a mystery .
Thank you for this comparison and contrast. You put into words things that I had only vaguely felt.
I love the 2007 adaptation so much, but I'd be excited to see another adaptation. Especially now when mystery movies (like knives out) are popular again.
i can't wait for the rest of this series! i want to hear your thoughts on mansfield park -- i've seen the 1983 series and the 2007 movie and I didn't particularly like either.
🏰 I was so happy to watch your video on Northanger Abby. This has become my #1 go to film to watch and relax too. I have watched both versions, the newer version is by far the best! Thank you for your video.
I love the 2007 adaptation and I love JJ Field.
It’s actually more than a decade since I watched the 1987 adaptation but I’m sure there’s this totally peculiar bit set in the abbey with a small boy doing cartwheels on the grounds outside… like super strange. My mum and I could barely keep a straight face while watching.
The 1987 version was too bizarre. When Catherine and Tilney have their first kiss, if you look closely, there's a string of saliva getting longer as they part. I can't get past that sight. JJ Fields is one of my favorite actors portraying an Austen heartthrob, and he's a sight of which I can't get enough.
The 2007 version was my first exposure to Northanger Abbey and I think it made it my top spot Austen film, I guess mostly because Catherine felt like my spirit animal much more than other Austen heroines.
For anyone who has watched the BBC 1987 adaptation and can make it through to the end, I want to ask if you noticed the long string of saliva between the pair as they pull away from the kiss? Or is that just a spiderweb or possibly a filming glitch?
Where's my smelling salts?!? 😱
Thank you for saving me from wasting my time with the 2007 version. I had tried to watch it on several occastons but just could not get into it. Now I know why.
I loved your analysis! Everything you said was very on point and I agree completely! Northanger abbey is my favorite Jane austen work but it seems to be underrated :((
I haven't read the book for years, but I just watched the 2007 movie and there were a few things that struck me as odd. You addressed one of them, when she's kicked out in the middle of the night. The other thing is how Thorpe tells General Tilney about Catherine's "wealth", not sure why Thorpe did that or would do that, but also, it looks really odd how General Tilney suddenly fawns all over her. He just took Thorpe at his word? Then, who invited her to Northanger Abbey? I need to reread the book, but in the movie some things seem very contrived. But if that was Austen's first novel, and it was a satire, that really sheds light on it.
That is in the book. Thorpe tells General Tilney about Catherine's wealth as a brag because he feels sure Catherine will marry him. So he exaggerates her wealth to make himself look good. The general takes him at his word then, and later when he kicks Catherine out. But honestly I feel both adaptations miss the mark.
I was just waiting for a new video! By the way I hope you are feeling good from last week Daria❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
I love the 2007 version. I honestly didn't even know there was another adaptation. I would honestly love to see what a modern-day version of Northanger Abbey would be like and if it could work.
There is no battle. The 1987 version turned up unarmed and so high on meth it decided not to fight.
The only thing I don’t agree with is that the 80s version of NA is the worst Austen adaptation. The 80s Emma is worse if you ask me!
I am so glad that you enjoyed the 2007 Northanger Abbey! I loved this version. Felicity Jones is perfect as Catherine and JJ Feild is a very attractive Mr Tilney!! I loved your comments.
Nobody can beat JJ Feild…..at any portrayal. His Tilney is life.
While the 2000s version is obviously a better adaptation, I sort of love the bizarre quality of the 80s version. Maybe it's because I'm a child of the 80s, the weird romantic aesthetic where it seems like anyone might be a secret vampire. It has its own vibe.
I loved Northanger Abbey the first time I read it. It's still a favorite.
I agree that the 1987 version is a major disaster and the worst of the Austen adaptations. The bath scene was just plain absurd!
I haven't had the opportunity to see the later version, but it sounds well worth viewing.
If you ever get around to the P&P battle, I do hope you will include the 1940 Greer Garson/Laurence Olivier version. It's such a delight!
loving the series ! Please do one with Austen inspired movies such as prada to nada
I know absolutely nothing about this book and will probably not be watching the adaptations but I just know everything you said is correct 😌
just watched the 2007 version and surprised i dont see much about it i loved it!! gonna order the book
Eugh. The 87 adaptation looks so awful. Northanger Abbey is a favourite of mine. I felt the 2007 captured the spirit of the book, and had such great casting! Great video and so useful as I now know never to hunt down that 87. Thank you!
queen of movie comparisons
Wow, no, I highly disagree! While I don't think that either can be considered a near perfect adaptation, I do not think the 2007 follows the novel at all and goes out of its way to make Catherine a prettier, wittier and smarter person than she is in the book. And the subplot which punishes Isabella above and beyond the book and also somehow makes Isabella less prettier and less "sophisticated" than she initially appears to Catherine. I felt that 2007 version gave a lie to it's opening line, as this Catherine is truly pretty, more ladylike and far less.... awkward 17 year old. I didn't mind the fantasy sequences in the 1987 movie because it shows how Catherine is processing a slightly more cosmopolitan world of her upbringing through the lenses of her recent interest in gothic novels. I also found that the friendship with Eleanor Tilney was less meaningful in the 2007 version.
I strongly agree!
I like this book so much, I wasn’t a fan of the movie, but I like the concept. I can see it adapted in a modern reinterpretation, it would work so well! Catherine would be a fan of horror movies nowadays.
The part when Tom said he told the tilneys that she couldn’t come with them was in the book that actually did happen
Not me thinking about making regency gown while watching this while sewing cute cottagecore apron xDDD
HERE. WE. GO.
Gah this is the content I am here for alwaysssssss
Even though I haven’t watched aaall Austen adaptations, I’ve watched all the best rated ones but Northanter Abbey 2007 is honestly my most favourite.
Loved the 1987 version. Big fan of Katharine Schlesinger.
Now I really want to watch this movie!