Search - Anne of Green Gables - A New Beginning on DVD

Blasphemy

Nancy Smith | Cleveland, Ohio | 07/31/2009

(1 out of 5 stars)

"I love Anne of Green Gables. I've read every book written by L.M. Montgomery, practically every book about L.M. Montgomery and I've seen a number of adaptations of Anne in various forms from plays to movies. This movie has nothing to do with Anne of Green Gables or L.M. Montgomery. When are the producers going to stop trying to shoehorn their own ideas for characters and plot into the Green Gables name. This isn't a horrible movie but it isn't Anne of Green Gables. Anne is an orphan that is at the very foundation of who she is as a character. Anne Shirley develops her imagination to deal with the often harsh conditions she has had to endure and she learns to thrive when she is placed in a loving environment. This movie dismisses all of that and creates something that is contrary to the spirit of Anne of Green Gables. A note to the producers, I'm not sure if you know this but L.M. Montgomery wrote a total of 8 books related directly to Anne and they were all successes and beautifully written books with endearing characters and sharp, heart felt plots, you should have used her works to create your films. You certainly didn't improve upon them. Rachel Lynde would definitely not approve."

OK film unless you're looking for Anne

janehofstra | New York, NY United States | 10/14/2009

(1 out of 5 stars)

"I gave this a chance, and by that I mean I watched it before writing this review. For the record, I loved the first two Sullivan Anne adaptations. The first installment was truly magical and I return to it frequently; the beginning strain of music is always enough to make me smile. The second installment (The Sequel) wasn't quite as true to the books given the challenging task of condensing "Anne of Avonlea", "Anne of the Islands" and "Anne of Windy Poplars" into one film (the last a charming but largely uneventful series of letters from Anne to Gil in the three years between their engagement and marriage), but I consider it a worthy adaptation in that it retains the mood, magic, and characterizations of the first film and source material (though I did miss seeing Anne and Gil in college, the ensuing drama with Roy and Christine, Patty's Place, and all the additional very memorable characters). To be fair, it would have to be a television series to remain entirely true to the books.

With regard to this fourth installment...first of all, whose bright idea was it to kill off Gilbert Blythe?! That's just WRONG. That being said, there's nothing particularly awful about this film (great scenery, solid acting), though the story is convoluted and jumps around a bit much for my taste...so long as you can get over the glaring omission of the title character herself. I don't blame Sullivan for wanting to return to magical Avonlea, but he really should've changed the names and called the film something else entirely. Even "The Continuing Story" (Part 3) was tolerable and that was only because Megan Follows and Jonathan Crombie returned as Anne and Gil (their reunion scene in war-torn Europe was nearly enough to make me forgive the film's deviation from the books). If they wanted to continue the thread from Part 3, they would've been better off with a loose adaptation of "Rilla of Ingleside", the final book of the Anne stories which focuses on her children.

My single biggest problem with this story is that it re-writes history: Anne Shirley is an ORPHAN, it's a fact that shapes her indelibly. Her parents died of fever when she was a baby and she later revisits their old home (in Anne of the Islands). Anne has no memory of her parents though she loves them dearly and subsequently names two of her children after them (Walther Cuthbert and Bertha Marilla Blythe if memory serves). She does not, as this film suggests, make up the story that she is an orphan (Walter Shirley did not indirectly kill his wife in a wagon accident and become a guilt-ridden absentee father). Anne was imaginative, yes, but she was not a liar. It's also out of character and very difficult to believe that Marilla Cuthbert would ever hide Walter Shirley's letters from Anne. As it is, this installment is Anne fan fiction minus Anne and minus the magic. Perhaps someone with lesser attachment to L.M. Montgomery's Anne Shirley Blythe can appreciate "A New Beginning". Unfortunately, I could not.

BTW, this film is avalaible on Netflix. I did not purchase it.

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Oh dear.... what have they done to this classic?

Frances Christman | Lafayette, Indiana | 11/01/2009

(1 out of 5 stars)

"As Anne said in this movie "Christopher Columbus!!!!!" what happened to my favorite book? ...Is Kevin Sullivan going senile? suffering from dementia? Alzheimer? If so, I am truly sorry. If not, the man deserves to be flogged! What on God's Green earth was the man thinking about????????? Destroying the foundation of Anne... and messing up with strait as an arrow Marilla! Killing off Gilbert? and where are James, Walter, Shirley, Anne (aka Nan) and Diana (the twins) and Rilla? If you're going to give Anne and Gilbert children, could you at the very least give them THEIR children?

And not only that but STEALING 2 scenes from Jane Eyre? (I believe the 1944 version with Orson Wells and Joan Fontaine): The punishment of standing on a stool for hours? and the cutting of the hair?? Oh for Pete's sakes...

I borrowed this one through NetFlix, and after suffering through... took it OFF my wishlist. I'd rather remember the Road to Avonlea series and the first 2 Anne movies (Megan Follows, Colleen Dewhurst version)
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A very disappointing story....

DKM | PA | 10/18/2009

(1 out of 5 stars)

"This weekend I purchased the dvd. I was happy to see it for $18.99 at Costco as I had the dvd in my Amazon Wish List for some time and was waiting for the price to come down. I put the movie on as soon as I got home and settled in for an evening of fun...I wish I had not purchased or watched this very long, depressing and at times badly acted addition to one of my favorite stories of all time! In truth is, this movie almost ruins the whole thing for me and to find out it is fiction and does not remain true to Lucy's writings was a real surprise. What were they thinking?

The little girl playing Anne was a very good little actress and was a close second to the original Megan Follows. Shirley MacLaine was well cast as well. Barbara Hershey should have stayed home for this one as she just did not have what it takes to carry the role(I believe it is the fault of poor story writing) Sorry Barbara, loved you in Beaches though!! :)

My anticipation was very high for this movie, now I will sell it...not even worth keeping this one.

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