Northanger Abbey (BBC, 1986) | Katharine Schlesinger, Peter Firth

Northanger Abbey (BBC, 1986) | Katharine Schlesinger, Peter Firth | See it more than once before you decide

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Northanger Abbey (...

	Northanger Abbey (BBC, 1986) Katharine Schlesinger, Peter Firth Bfs Entertainment, 2000 average customer review:based on 120 reviews view larger image
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Jane Austen goes Gothic in this darkly dramatic rendering of her Northanger Abbey, a novel that wasn't published until after her early and sudden death. Austen pokes fun at her peers in this story, in which her heroine, Catherine Morland (Katharine Schlesinger), is hopelessly addicted to macabre romance novels that wreak havoc on her imagination. She comes from a large, but loving family, and she's taken, as a companion, to the decadent society of Bath. There, she meets the duplicitous Thorpe siblings, Isabella (Cassie Stuart) and John (Jonathan Coy), and the kindly Tilney sister and brother, Eleanor (Ingrid Lacey) and Henry (Peter Firth). The Tilneys also have an elder brother, the snobbish soldier Frederick (Greg Hicks), and an oddly eerie father, General Tilney (Robert Hardy). Needless to say, all this provides plenty of fodder for fantasies and Catherine comes up with many, even imagining all sorts of evils on a visit to the Tilney family home, Northanger Abbey. The soundtrack is more than a little melodramatic, but it's best to think of it as a humorous touch rather than a serious, punctuating one. --N.F. Mendoza

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Enjoyed this DVD

We enjoyed watching this version of Northanger Abbey. It takes you back to a more civilized time! Would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys period pieces.

See it more than once before you decide

It's true that it isn't anything like what you usually seek when you get a Jane Austen film. So the first time I saw it I did find parts a bit tasteless and disturbing. But it's a movie I've watched many times. For greatest satisfaction I find it best to take it on its own terms. I think some probably give it a negative review simply because it is very, very different from what they expect. But after forgetting expectations and just watching it as any other film, you may feel very differently. Some key scenes (such as the confrontation between Henry Tilney and his father) would benefit from greater development. The end I find rushed. Overall a film I enjoy watching.

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