Netflix Alters Ending To 'The Notebook' Defying Death Itself

The Notebook is the classic tale of rich girl, Allie (played by Rachel McAdams), who falls for poor and hopelessly unattractive young ruffian, Noah (played by Ryan Gosling). It's most remembered for its tearjerker of an ending, in which (SPOILERS) it's revealed that the two seniors whose tale frames the story are in fact the future Noah and Allie. Noah's been reading to Allie from his notebook, either out of romantic sentiment or because he was too cheap to spring for a Tom Clancy paperback. We also learn that Allie has dementia, meaning that the story's all new to her. (Or who knows? Maybe Noah's making it all up to prank a senile stranger.)

In the closing moments of the film, Noah curls up with Allie, and the two die together hand-in-hand. Pass the goddamn Kleenex. Then it cuts to a flock of birds for some reason. We can only assume they contain the reincarnated souls of the couple, thus paving the way for an animated romp centered on their hilarious avian adventures.

But UK Netflix's version of the movie omits this scene. Instead of showing the couple lovingly shedding their mortal coils together, it just cuts to the birds and ends. The weirdest part is that no one's exactly sure what the hell happened here. Netflix claims they didn't edit the film, and that this was just the copy sent to them.

So if they really didn't edit the movie, where did this phantom ending come from? No one knows! Even the fancy DVD edition, which is crammed full of deleted scenes (and ... stickers, for some reason) doesn't contain this version. So somewhere out there is a rogue editor, intercepting mail to tinker with depressing love stories. Hey, maybe next you could try altering Titanic so that Rose shimmies over to make some room for Jack on that door?

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