L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables The Good Stars DVD

Thoughts of the First Movie:I have loved Green Gables, Avonlea and PEI, since I was a child. I first watched Megan Follows as Anne Shirley when it aired on television. I was instantly entranced by the actors and how the entire story arc drew you in.Megan Follows is pretty close to what I pictured when I first read Anne of Green Gables. Her look and the way she carried herself were just right. Plus, she did an amazing job portraying the fun, perky, exaggerated exuberance of the character. She reacted dramatically and over-the-top the way the character was meant to. When she was angry, you knew it. When she was hurt or sad, you felt it. When she was happy, you were too. This new version, played by Ella Ballentine, while cute, sweet and likeable, just didn't quite capture the magic of the character. She's too calm and not excited enough about the world, not like the character is supposed to be. Like, during the scene when she eats ice cream for the first time, she's way to laid back about it. She should have been a bit more enthusiastic.Colleen Dewhurst played a perfect Marilla. She was brash, curt, sensible and wasn't immediately sure how to mother a child. She treated Anne like she was an adult, and a bit of an annoying nuisance when they first met. She continued to treat her like she was older than she was, but eventually she learned to open her heart to Anne and love her like a mother would. In a way, she claims Anne as the daughter she was never able to have. The new version of Marilla, played by Sara Botsford, is the exact opposite. Sara did a good job acting, but her portrayal of Marilla makes the character too maternal, too soft from the beginning. Marilla is a woman who has spent her life with her brother. She hasn't had any romantic relationships since her childhood days, and even then it was only once. She didn't have any experience with children, but here she almost seems like she does. Though, her way of disciplining Anne could definitely use some work. The original Marilla flipped her lid when Anne lost her cool with Rachel, but in the new version Marilla stays calm and levelheaded, which isn't how the character really would have behaved.Next, Matthew Cuthbert. Richard Farnsworth's portrayal was the epitome of what the character was, who he was and how he behaved. His personality was one of quiet reserve, with the occasional opinion that got spoken allowed. When he wanted to get Marilla to agree to something, he would coax her into it, all while trying to make her think it was her idea, though she usually caught on to his game pretty quickly. He was a sweet grandfather-uncle type who bonded with Anne almost immediately. As for Martin Sheen's version, well he's Martin Sheen and I love him as an actor, but again his portrayal of this beloved character just didn't hit the mark.Patricia Hamilton was perfect as Rachel Lynde. She was frosty at times and warm at others. She was outspoken and curt, but truthful. Kate Henning did a pretty good job portraying this character. She seemed a bit soft at times, but she was closer to the original than some of the others.I have mixed feelings about the actresses who played Diana Barry. Schuyler Grant acted more like the character in the book, her personality came closer to what it should have been. However, Julia Lalonde seemed much closer to the correct age of the character. If Lalonde had acted the part the way Grant had, she would have been perfect.Last, but certainly not least, Gilbert Blythe. Jonathan Crombie was sweet, cute (Probably my first tv crush) and he had the right temperament for the character. Though, he seemed a bit old to play the character to me, he still did a fantastic job. He exuded the charm and smug self-assuredness that the character was supposed to have. Drew Haytaoglu's new version of Gilbert is still pretty good. He's the right age and definitely has the naughty-boy-who-picks-on-the-girls behavior down, but his physical appearance doesn't match. Gilbert was described as having dark, wavy/curly hair and hazel eyes, but Haytaoglu has straight, slicked, blondes hair and blue eyes. Other than that, I think Drew did a good job.Aside from Drew, and Ella or Rachel a few times, the other actors all seemed to be on some kind of sedative. They all portrayed their characters as much calmer, quieter versions of what they were supposed to be. I gave this a 3/5 stars because, If I had never read the books or watched the original TV series with Megan and Colleen, then I probably would have loved this. It's a feel good, cute movie. However, I have read/seen the originals, therefore I know that this is a watered down, condensed version of the story and there were a lot of dramatic moments that were left out, moments that helped to develop the story, the characters and the depth of their relationships within it.Off to watch the next part, hope it gets a bit better.Added note:The second movie, The Good Stars', is much better! I especially liked the actresses they hired to portray Aunt Josephine and Miss Stacey. Plus, they hired a new actress to portray Mrs. Barry. Overall, the cast did a much better job this time.

RE some other person's review complaining of sexual/lesbianism - IN HIS DEFENSE, I will say that I couldn't stomach more than 15 minutes of the NETFLIX "Anne With an E" series, and even from that, I remember it being pretty dark for what you would expect from this series if you know it well. To anyone who might read that review and put off watching the show, know that there is NO sexual innuendo or lewd-ity of any kind, and as someone else mentioned, the only *possible* thing that could have been confused in that way is the bosom friendship that Anne and Dianna swear to each other (which was included in the original Sullivan series) and is in no way sexual - it's laughable even that someone might think otherwise.On that note, a comparison of this series to that of the Sulivan/Megan Follows lore:If you are someone who grew up reading the books and/or associating Megan Follows with AoGG, you may find it difficult on that point alone to consider watching a new reimagined series. However, (imho), if you watch this with an open mind and understand that no series will ever be able to replace that of Sullivan (much like Disney trying to reinvent their classics), this series is absolutely enjoyable within its own right. It has the hallmarks of a modern show with respect to it being shot in HD (vs. being remastered), the soundtrack is more 'Hallmark-y', and all the actors obviously wear more makeup. If you've never seen the Sullivan series and even if you have, watch this series, allow yourself 'to believe' in it, and you will surely enjoy it.As for its shortcomings: the acting does seem a bit plastic and strained at times, however I don't believe the actors/actresses are at fault in this case. As someone else noted, this series moves along VERY rapidly, never really giving you the chance to feel like you are actually watching Anne grow up and discover her new life - it's almost akin to viewing a highlight reel of all her most memorable experiences from the books/other series, meshed together to form a new series, but with modern acting/music/cinematography. Again though and as in any other instance when comparing a book to its televised format, naturally certain details will be left out and certain changes will be made, subject to the director's imagination and interpretation.Closing suggestion(s): if you have Amazon Prime (and either have, or have not watched the Sullivan series), watch this one, enjoy it for what it's worth, and appreciate a modern spin on a beloved, classic story. If you have NOT watched the Sullivan series, *after* watching this series, THEN go watch that one, and you can make up your own mind as to which one you enjoy more. Finally, if you've never read the books (or listened to the audio versions), do that last. Working the other way around will obviously only set you up for disappointment, and in this order, you will come to discover new and omitted details, which will enrich your appreciation of L.M. Montgomery's work.Hopefully this review helps - happy watching (and/or reading)!

This is a beautiful film and I had been looking forward to watching it with my husband, but it was spoiled somewhat by the dreadful sound quality. I am going deaf so put on headphones to watch it but, even with the volume turned up fully, I missed quite a lot of the dialogue. My husband, who is NOT going deaf, also had to turn up the volume to maximum in order to catch most, but not all, of the conversation. This must surely mean this is either a 'pirate' copy or a really badly produced film...I tend to think it cannot be the latter. It did not entirely ruin the experience but, at this price, I expected a decent quality soundtrack. I actually rate the film as 5* but the DVD quality as 1*, so I am giving an overall rating of a generous 4*, mainly because of the WONDERFUL Colleen Dewhurst, whom I have admired for many years.

This is a heart-warming movie however, for me, it is let down by the picture quality of the DVD.

Anne of Green Gables was one of my Christmas stocking fillers, while growing up we used to play it on Video as a family and then VHS fizzled out and went onto DVD, I was so happy, it was so lovely to reminisce my childhood.

Childhood favourite. Loved watching it again after many years. Great dvd

simply love it - even now as an adult