The streaming giant is "getting to the bottom" of how this happened, although it emphasized that it "did not edit" The Notebook. Most likely, a distributor had a different edit of the movie in its library and uploaded that to Netflix. The company added that the edition coming to the US on March 1st will represent the familiar cut.

Alternate edits are common in the movie industry. Studios frequently trim movies to fit regional tastes and requirements, and that's not including re-releases or versions for audience testing (Terminator 2's ending is a classic example). However, it's rare that you see companies accidentally release the wrong version, especially on internet services. This is a gaffe you (hopefully) won't see again for a long, long time.