Anne of Green Gables [DVD]

I was looking out for an action film like I always do, and when I came across this one, I thought it is not my sort of film, but because the rating was so good I thought I will check it out. I loved it and I am sure you will too!! I am 67 years old maybe my taste is changing. Enjoy this lovely film.

I was just scrawling through for something to watch and I decided to watch this film thinking it would be calm and quite quiet. I actually really enjoyed it, I thought it was a sweet adaptation. I really recommend it as a rainy Sunday afternoon film, laying under a blanket.

An excellent film version of a classic story, which every youngster should see. I bought this as a Christmas present for a grand-daughter

Just over a century has passed since Lucy Maud Montgomery wrote the original novel that this made-for-telly film is based on. During that time there have been dozens of film and telly versions of this wonderful book series. Some good, some not so good. This one has its moments, but it isn’t great, so if you are looking for a faithful film version of the book, I’d skip it. But if you are content with a decent enough film that is a rough blurry approximation of the source book, then you may well like this.Here are some of the areas where the clumsily titled ‘L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables’ departs from the novel. Anne, as played by Ella Ballentine, is a tad too pleasant for the mercurial, temper-prone Anne of the novel. Martin Sheen is altogether too big an actor for the part of Mathew who is shy and reclusive in the novel. This film (at an all too brief 90 minutes) only really covers the first, sunny, half of the book; ducking out when things get a tad darker in the second half. And the novel contains a great sense of the place – the fictional small town of Avonlea on Prince Edward Island – which you don’t get much of a feel for here.But in its favour, this is not a badly made film. It’s just that it isn’t a film of the book. It would have benefited from being much longer which would have allowed for better character development, the enhancement of Martin Sheen’s tiny role, the establishing of Avonlea and full coverage of the whole novel, not just the first half. Apparently, this version was originally planned as a 13 part miniseries, which makes much better sense to me.The producers of ‘L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables’ are following up on this film with two further ‘Green Gables’ films - one this year, ‘Good Stars’ in 2017, and one next year, ‘Fire & Dew’ in 2018. So, as I say, not great, not awful. Average is the word. Hence, 3 stars.

A condensed version of the original films but still very enjoyable. Loveable Anne n the rest of the cast were good.

not for me

My granddaughter loved this story. I have just bought the sequel for her

A poor version of the story. Mathew is not the shy gentle soul he is in the book. Marilla is not the strict cheerless old maid who gradually melts through the love of a child. Where is the light and shade of Anne who is a passionate child seeing beauty and magic in the world but is naughty and hot-tempered too. I never heard of ginger hair described as raspberry jam, what was wrong with carrots? Why do screen writers and producers always think they can improve on a classic.