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intereact!Director: Kevin Sullivan
Actors: Megan Follows, Colleen Dewhurst, Richard Farnsworth, Patricia Hamilton, and Marilyn Lightstone
Rated: G (General Audience)
Retail Price (not our price): $24.99
Release Date: 2001-11-13
Theatrical Release Date: 1986-02-17
Studio: Sullivan
Run Time: 250 minutes
Format: Array
Format: Color, DVD-Video, Full Screen, Original recording remastered, Subtitled, Import, NTSC
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Discs: 1
Editorial Reviews (supplied by Amazon.com):
1) Amazon.com
This gorgeous adaptation of Lucy Maud Montgomery's classic children's story is well worth watching with the whole family. Produced for Canadian television, it's one of those rare productions that actually sticks to the book and even enhances it through first-rate performances and an excellent script. Set on bucolic Prince Edward Island in the late 19th century, Anne of Green Gables is the story of Anne Shirley, an imaginative and headstrong orphan. When brother and sister Marilla and Mathew Cuthbert decide to adopt an orphan boy to help Matthew work the farm, they are astonished when Anne arrives at the train station by mistake. "What use is she to us?" grumbles the gruff Marilla. "We might be of some use to her," answers Matthew, who has taken an instant liking to the talkative Anne. As Anne grows up, her adventures are both hilarious and moving. It's a delight to watch as she forms a friendship with the beautiful Diana and her admirer--the dashing Gilbert Blythe--then dyes her hair green, cracks a slate over Gilbert's head when he calls her "Carrots," and finds a sympathetic teacher who encourages her to attend college. Richard Farnsworth is perfect as the shy and gentle bachelor Matthew, who confides to Anne that he never went courting because "I would have had to say something." Colleen Dewhurst delivers a nuanced and powerful performance as Marilla, a seemingly cold-hearted spinster whose no-nonsense exterior conceals a warm heart. And as Anne, Megan Follows strikes the perfect note, maturing from freckle-faced orphan to elegant and poised young woman. --Elisabeth Keating
Customer Reviews (supplied by Amazon.com):
Average Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5
1) A film for teachers that don't want to teach... [Rating: 3 out of 5]
Films are amazing because they can literally take any shape, any sound, any form, and any size. They are the chameleon of entertainment. As a viewer, you cannot jump into a film with expectations, because due to the circumstances listed above, one may never know the particular outcome. Films can arrive in forms of made-for-television releases, direct-to-DVD releases, or through mainstream venues. It is a magical moment beginning a film through the ending - there is a level of unknown as well as random emotions throughout. "Anne of Green Gables" was one of those surprise random moments for me where I didn't know what to expect, but went through a barrage of emotion before arriving to this conclusion. In film, it may be cliché to say "size does matter", but with exploding budgets and timelines over 120 minutes, size is becoming a hot commodity in Hollywood. "Anne of Green Gables" is one of those low budget, little screen book adaptations that literally takes every page and puts it in cinematic lights. Carrying both positive and negative attributes, "Anne of Green Gables" takes three hours of your life, puts it in a made-for-TV blender, blends, and forces you to drink the resulting concoction. How does it taste going down? Don't worry - that is what I am here for."Anne of Green Gables" begins with Anne's life in an orphanage, living with uncaring foster parents, all the way through her lavish life with her new parents, Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert. She goes through the struggles of being an independent woman living in a prim and proper world. Leading us as Anne is Megan Follows, a young girl with a television filled resume, who provides us with the shell of Anne, but not quite the full-body development. Follows is my first experience with Anne, and since there is little to judge, I must admit she was follow-able, but not quite developed. The words that she engulfed were charismatic, she defined the role, but when she walked, cried, or ran - she didn't seem to be that same Anne again. Follows felt like a stage actress trapped in an invisible cinema box. Either she wasn't allowed the explore all the elements, or she just didn't have to. This film was your typical made-for-TV movie that didn't need actors escaping their shells because they had picturesque views and longevity on their side. They were telling a story, not winning awards - and with this film it was obvious. Don't yell - I did like what Follows did, I just didn't love her performance. Perhaps a stack rankings of all the others that portrayed Anne would allow Fellows' performance to stand out, but watching this film alone - something just felt missing. Richard Farnsworth's Matthew was another abandoned character, with no emotion and void of life. Every time he opened his mouth, nothing of excitement protruded. Colleen Dewhurst was the cliché angry woman, unwilling to change, yet something about Anne eventually brings her to a new understanding of life. These two were the leading figures around Anne, and working together they provided a good story - but poorly developed characters. There was minimal emotion surrounding them as they went from scene to scene. For these actors, it was obviously a job; they allowed the movie to tell the story.Having never read the story of Anne and her adventures at Green Gables, director Kevin Sullivan should be commended for bringing such a drab story to life. The adventures of the protagonist Anne includes minimal excitement, the cliché drunken friend, the death of a loved one, the adolescent blurts of English - all can be found in other films of this nature like "Little House on the Prairie" or any "After School Special", but Sullivan did bring some snippets of joy to this story. He made it long, which allowed us to sink into the environment, believe that it was forced, and yet one can find simple joys in the stagy-ness of it all. Sullivan's direction was impeccable; he took no risks, created nothing original, and played it by the book. He allowed the story to grow, but again, there wasn't much story to grow. Anne stays in one place, runs around everywhere, and grows an iconic challenge with a local boy who is equally as talented (and equally as drab). I am not a pre-teen girl, I am missing the "bosom" friend, and obviously this film wasn't targeted towards my demographic, but it should still entertain. Anyone who argues that they could sit through such lifeless characters must be first in line to the new Larry the Cable Guy film. While I am drawing random tangents, my point is the meat was missing from this adventure. The scenery was fantastic, the pacing was fluent, but our characters could not bring me to a second viewing. Where was the passion in this film? Why did Sullivan allow cardboard to grace his screen?Overall, "Anne of Green Gables" was a lengthy film, with cardboard characters, but a plethora of beautiful scenes. There wasn't much music to talk about, outside of the same three chords played over and over again. Richard Farnsworth proved yet again that his name filled his resume, while Megan Follows played her part while keeping within her self-proclaimed box. As a reviewer of films, I want to see progression, development; strong single elements that make each film stand out from the cattle of the rest. With this film it felt safe, it was a family film that took no risks, it felt like a Styrofoam box on the ocean - you really should take it out, but you worry about getting wet and sea creatures. "Anne of Green Gables" was an 80s film without the pizzazz. If I had a daughter who wanted to watch this film, I could hope it would help her sleep. Coupled with the characters, the story is ironically bland, and even the director didn't push for risks. It was a film. I was happy when it was over, could never dream about watching it again, yet I can't fault it for anything dramatic. It wasn't the greatest made-for-TV film, but there is little to complain about. It was sterile. It was cardboard. It was copper.Grade: ** 1/2 out of *****2) Classic [Rating: 5 out of 5]
I bought this movie for my daughter and she has watched it many times, she loves the movie. She also had a movie party with her friends, they all came over to watch it, everyone enjoyed it.3) A movie to keep and watch over and over [Rating: 5 out of 5]
This had got to be one of the great stories that touches the child we wish we all had been.I love the entire Anne of Green Gables series...and Megan Follows, Colleen Dewhurst, Richard Farnsworth are excellent!4) A Family Classic [Rating: 5 out of 5]
This contains the three CBC/Disney Channel/PBS co-produced mini-series based on the Lucy Maud Montgomenry books starring Megan Follows as the complex Anne Shirley.The first Anne of Green Gables begins the story of Anne Shirley, she is an orphan with her head in the clouds and usually a book. Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert ask for a foster child to help out at their farm. Instead of the boy they expected, Anne Shirley arrives. They agree to keep her for the time being but Anne's head in the cloud constantly gets her in trouble. But what Marilla sees in Anne is herself and Matthew loves her spunk. Anne proves that she is quite intelligent and excells at the local school. Diana Berry becomes her best bossom buddy for life. While Gilbert Blythe becomes her love interest but she is not speaking to him because of his continual kidding. Anne trains to become a province teacher but decides to give it up when Matthew sudenly dies.This introduced us to the incredible Megan Follows who shined in as Anne. It also gave great roles to two American treasures, Colleen Dewhurst and Richard Farnsworth.In Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel (a.k.a. Anne of Avonlea), Anne's adventures in Avonlea continue. Anne wants to be a writer but everything submitted is rejected. That is until life long bossom buddy Diana Berry submits it to a writng competition and it wins. Anne gets a posting in Kingsport at an exclusive girls school. But she finds out that the Pringles run this town and she took the place of one of their clan. She spends the rest of the movie converting everyone over. On the romance side, Diana gets married but Anne rejects Gilbert's proposal.Once again, Megan Follows and Colleen Dewhurst give great performances and are joined by the great Wendy Hiller as the head of the Pringle clan (although she really can't stand her relatives.)Part 3 is Anne of Green Gables: The Story Continues. Anne is continuing her ambitions as a writer and her love for Gilbert Blythe. But WWI breaks out and Gilbert enlists. When Gilbert goes missing it's upto Anne to find him. (By the way this is not based on a LMM book but fans wanted closure, so the producers made this final episode!)This is a much more serious episode but Megan Follows shows you she is up to it.This new set has all three mini-series plus two documentaries and a lost mini - episode.If you want a DVD set that is good for the whole family. It is well written and directed. While it comes from books that are for children, the series is just told from a young girl's point of view but the film makers give it an adult treatment.5) Just a Wonderful Story [Rating: 5 out of 5]
Wonderful Story, Gorgious Anne and scenery. Tons of laughs. I CAN'T WAIT TO GET OUR BIG SCREEN TO WATCH THIS ON!!!! Truely one of the must have DVD's!