Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning

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Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning
Anne of Green Gables A New Beginning poster.jpg
a poster for this film
Written by Kevin Sullivan
Directed by Kevin Sullivan
Starring Hannah Endicott-Douglas
Barbara Hershey
Shirley MacLaine
Rachel Blanchard
Music by Peter Breiner
Country of origin Canada
Original languageEnglish
Production
ProducersKevin Sullivan
Trudy Grant
CinematographyYuri Yakubiw
Editor Gordon McClellan
Running time144 minutes (approx.)
Production company Sullivan Entertainment
Release
Original network CTV
Original releaseDecember 14, 2008 (2008-12-14)
Related

Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning is a 2008 Canadian made-for-television drama film and the fourth and final film in Sullivan Entertainment's Anne of Green Gables series. [1] It was released in 2008 on CTV. Before the broadcast, CTV had recently acquired the rights to the entire Anne catalogue including the 1985 miniseries. [2]

Contents

Created to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Lucy Maud Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables novel, the film stars Barbara Hershey as the middle-aged Anne Shirley and 14-year-old Hannah Endicott-Douglas as a young Anne, with Shirley MacLaine playing matriarch Amelia Thomas. Kevin Sullivan wrote a completely new screenplay for the three-hour movie based on Montgomery's characters (serving as a prequel to his three previous miniseries movies broadcast originally on CBC) and not directly from her books. [2] The story follows Anne's life before she arrives at Green Gables.

Plot

Anne, now a middle-aged woman, is troubled by recent events in her life. Her husband, Gilbert, has been killed overseas while a medical doctor during World War II (this did not happen in the books). Her two daughters are preoccupied with their own families, and her adopted son Dominic has yet to return from the war. When a long-hidden secret is discovered under the floorboards at Green Gables, Anne retreats into her memories to relive her troubled early years prior to arriving as an orphan at Green Gables, and being adopted by the Cuthberts.

The impact of this difficult period has a far-reaching effect on this older woman, once she discovers the truth about her real parents. She begins a delicate search for her birth-father. It is a journey through a past fraught with danger, uncertainty, heartache, and joy. In the parade of humanity Anne encounters, she also faces the root of her desire to find true "kindred spirits," and an imagination to use her talents as a writer to inspire others.

Release

The telefilm premiered on Sunday December 14, 2008 on CTV; it was broadcast in high definition. [3] In the United States, it has aired on PBS member stations since November 2010. [4] [5] [6] [7] It was released on DVD on May 5, 2009, by Sullivan Entertainment. [1] [8] The company also published a soundtrack, first available for download on January 8, 2009, and then on CD on June 16, 2009. [9] [10] [11]

Prior to the film's debut, Key Porter Books published a novelization of the film by Kevin Sullivan in October 2008. [12] [13]

Cast

Production notes

All of the movie's actual location photography was shot in various places around the Ontario area, using existing houses, streetscapes and natural environments. Period mansions were used as the backdrop for the Thomas residences, and an historic Quaker Boys School converted into the Bolingbroke Poorhouse for the film.

When they could not film on location, the production crew and special effects team employed the technology of the green screen and fully computerized to digitally create the background, or specific details that location filming could not produce.

Of the major cast members from the original trilogy of films, only Patricia Hamilton (Rachel Lynde) reprised her original character. Barbara Hershey replaced Megan Follows as Anne, although Follows briefly appears in archive footage when Anne is reminiscing. Colleen Dewhurst, who had played Marilla Cuthbert in the first two miniseries and the spin-off series Road to Avonlea before her death in 1991, and Jonathan Crombie, who previously portrayed Gilbert Blythe, are also featured in archive footage presented as flashbacks. For the role of young Anne, Sullivan held a cross-Canada open casting call in July 2007, including submissions from YouTube, before Hannah Endicott-Douglas auditioned the part. [16]

Reception

In its debut on CTV, the film was watched by 1,042,000 viewers, a number that was seen as low compared to Sullivan's earlier Anne productions. [17]

The film was not well received by critics or fans. The Globe and Mail's Kate Taylor said the film, "never justifies its presumption in inventing a new creation story for a Canadian literary icon." [18] Bill Brioux felt that "maybe Anne just doesn't age all that well. Maybe she is supposed to stay in freckles and pigtails, locked in that perfect P.E.I. prism Montgomery authored and Sullivan so artfully adapted when they both were in their 20s." [19]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Anne of Green Gables</i> 1908 novel by Lucy Maud Montgomery

Anne of Green Gables is a 1908 novel by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery. Written for all ages, it has been considered a classic children's novel since the mid-20th century. Set in the late 19th century, the novel recounts the adventures of 11 year old orphan girl Anne Shirley sent by mistake to two middle-aged siblings, Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, who had originally intended to adopt a boy to help them on their farm in the fictional town of Avonlea in Prince Edward Island, Canada. The novel recounts how Anne makes her way through life with the Cuthberts, in school, and within the town.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anne Shirley</span> Fictional character Anne Cuthbert

Anne Shirley is a fictional character introduced in the 1908 novel Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery. Shirley is featured throughout the classic book series, which revolve around her life and family in 19th and 20th-century Prince Edward Island.

Road to Avonlea is a Canadian television series first broadcast in Canada between January 7, 1990, and March 31, 1996, as part of the CBC Family Hour anthology series, and in the United States starting on March 5, 1990. It was created by Kevin Sullivan and produced by Sullivan Films in association with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and the Disney Channel, with additional funding from Telefilm Canada. It follows the adventures of Sara Stanley, a young girl sent to live with her relatives in early 20th-century eastern Canada. It was loosely adapted from novels by Lucy Maud Montgomery, with many characters and episodes inspired by her stories.

<i>Anne of Green Gables</i> (1985 film) 1985 film

Anne of Green Gables is a 1985 Canadian made-for-television drama film based on the 1908 novel of the same name by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery, and is the first in a series of four films. The film stars Megan Follows in the title role of Anne Shirley and was produced and directed by Kevin Sullivan for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It was released theatrically in Iran, Israel, Europe, and Japan.

<i>Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel</i> 1987 film

Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel, also known as Anne of Avonlea or Anne of Avonlea: The Continuing Story of Anne of Green Gables, is a 1987 Canadian television miniseries film and the second in a series of four films. A sequel to the 1985 miniseries Anne of Green Gables, it is based on Lucy Maud Montgomery's novels Anne of Avonlea, Anne of the Island, and Anne of Windy Poplars.

<i>Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story</i> Canadian TV series or program

Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story is a 2000 miniseries television film, and the third installment in a series of four films. The film was highly anticipated among fans of Anne of Green Gables, and was the most controversial and heavily criticized of the three film adaptations written and produced by Kevin Sullivan.

<i>Anne of Avonlea</i> Book by Lucy Maud Montgomery

Anne of Avonlea is a 1909 novel by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery.

<i>Anne of the Island</i> 1915 novel by Lucy Maud Montgomery

Anne of the Island is the third book in the Anne of Green Gables series, written by Lucy Maud Montgomery about Anne Shirley. Anne of the Island is the third book of the eight-book sequels written by L. M. Montgomery, about Anne Shirley and her friends. In the book, Anne leaves Green Gables for the first time to go to Redmond College to get a bachelor of arts degree at the age of 18.

<i>Anne of Windy Poplars</i> Book by Lucy Maud Montgomery

Anne of Windy Poplars—published as Anne of Windy Willows in the UK, Australia, and Japan—is an epistolary novel by Canadian author L. M. Montgomery. First published in 1936 by McClelland and Stewart, it details Anne Shirley's experiences while serving as principal of a high school in Summerside, Prince Edward Island over three years. A large portion of the novel is presented through letters Anne writes to her fiancé, Gilbert Blythe. Chronologically, the book is fourth in the series, but it was the seventh book written.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kevin Sullivan (producer)</span> Canadian film director and producer

Kevin Roderick Sullivan is a Canadian writer, director and producer of film and television programs.

<i>Anne of Green Gables</i> (1919 film) 1919 film by William Desmond Taylor

Anne of Green Gables is a 1919 American silent comedy-drama film directed by William Desmond Taylor. The film was based upon the 1908 novel of the same name by Lucy Maud Montgomery. By 1999, all prints of the film were believed to have been lost.

<i>Anne of Green Gables</i> (1934 film) 1934 film by George Nicholls, Jr.

Anne of Green Gables is a 1934 American comedy drama film directed by George Nicholls, Jr., based upon the 1908 novel Anne of Green Gables by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery. Dawn O'Day, who portrayed the title character in the film, changed her stage name to Anne Shirley, which she was billed as for this and all subsequent roles. The film was a surprise hit, becoming one of four top-grossing films RKO made that year as noted in The R.K.O. Story, published by Arlington House.

<i>Anne of Green Gables</i> (1956 film) 1956 television film by Don Harron

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<i>Chronicles of Avonlea</i> Short-story collection by L. M. Montgomery

Chronicles of Avonlea is a collection of short stories by L. M. Montgomery, related to the Anne of Green Gables series. It features an abundance of stories relating to the fictional Canadian village of Avonlea, and was first published in 1912. Sometimes marketed as a book in the Anne Shirley series, Anne plays only a minor role in the book: out of the 12 stories in the collection, she stars in only one, and has a small supporting role in another. She is otherwise only briefly mentioned in passing in five other stories: "Each in His Own Tongue", '"Little Joscelyn"', "The Winning of Lucinda", '"Quarantine at Alexander Abraham's" and "The End of a Quarrel".

<i>Before Green Gables</i>

Before Green Gables is the title of a prequel to the Anne Shirley series. The book was published in 2008 by Puffin, a division of Penguin Books, as part of Puffin's celebration of Anne Shirley's centennial anniversary, which sees the Anne Shirley series re-released to commemorate the event. The first book in the Anne Shirley series was Anne of Green Gables, which was published in 1908.

<i>Anne of Green Gables: The Animated Series</i> Television series

Anne of Green Gables: The Animated Series is a Canadian animated children's television series produced by Sullivan Entertainment and developed by writer/director/producer Kevin Sullivan, based on the 1908 novel Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery. Many supporting characters are sourced from Sullivan's television series Road to Avonlea, which is based on Montgomery's books The Story Girl and The Golden Road. One season of the series was produced, with 26 episodes, originally airing from 2001 to 2002. The series was developed for PBS member stations and was originally distributed by PBS from 2001 to 2005, then later by American Public Television from 2010-2015. It is the second animated series based on the Anne of Green Gables story. The first one is of the same name, produced by Nippon Animation in 1979.

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References

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  14. 1 2 DeMara, Bruce. "The once and future Anne Shirley". The Star. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
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