Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning (2008)

Anne, now a middle-aged woman, is troubled by recent events in her life. Her husband, Gilbert, has been killed overseas as a medical doctor during World War II. Her two daughters are ... See full summary »

Director:

Kevin Sullivan

Writers:

Lucy Maud Montgomery (characters), Kevin Sullivan

Stars:

Barbara Hershey, Rachel Blanchard, Shirley MacLaine

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Barbara Hershey	...	Older Anne Shirley
Rachel Blanchard	...	Louisa Thomas
Shirley MacLaine	...	Amelia Thomas
Ron Lea	...	Gene Armstrong
Bernard Behrens	...	Gabriel Blake
Hannah Endicott-Douglas	...	Young Anne Shirley
Natalie Radford	...	Bertha Shirley
Ben Carlson	...	Walter Shirley
Joan Gregson	...	Hepzibah Leach
Kyra Harper	...	Nellie Parkhurst
Mike Beaver	...	Doctor Thomas
Vivien Endicott Douglas	...	Violetta Thomas (as Vivien Endicott-Douglas)
Tyler Stevenson	...	Jock Thomas
Aiden Locke	...	Keith Thomas
Rex Southgate	...	Reverend Jones

Storyline

Anne, now a middle-aged woman, is troubled by recent events in her life. Her husband, Gilbert, has been killed overseas as a medical doctor during World War II. Her two daughters are pre-occupied with their own young 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. Still haunted by her early childhood, 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", an inspired imagination and the impetus to use her talents as a...

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Plot Keywords:

anne shirley | place name in title | color in title | character name in title | 

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Genres:

Drama | Family

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Details

Official Sites:

CTV Site Official site

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 December 2008 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Ana de las Tejas Verdes: un nuevo comienzo

Filming Locations:

Dundas, Ontario, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

Anne Prequel Productions,Sullivan Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

144 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ben Carlson who plays Walter Shirley is the real life son of actress Patricia Hamilton, who plays Rachel Lynde.

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Quotes

Anne Shirley: It's so much nicer to be Anne of Green Gables than to be Anne of nowhere in particular.

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Connections

Follows Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story (2000)

User Reviews

I could swallow Continuing story, but this is a disgrace to Anne books and shows total lack of invention!

As if Contonuing Story was not enough, here comes this. It's just awful what they made with the books. Bad script, bad directing, bad story in general. Bad story badly told just about sums it up. It doesn't even deserve a vote.

And I just can't forgive for making references to continuing story and Dominic and not to the books, which are far far better than this and at the same time killing Gilbert. And a nostalgic Anne? Where's her spirit? Much as I respect Shirley MacLaine, the actress wasn't convincing at all. None of the cast were. And it just goes off show- it doesn't matter if you bring in good actresses- if the plot is undigestible. This movie butchered the characters. Butchered. The first two movies were very much in tone with the books, very much like Anne should be.

But this final installment is just a disgrace to the entire series of my beloved books. No thank you. It annoyed me beyond all possible measure. And I do not consder myself a purist when it comes to movie-book adaptations. Except this one time.

But I suppose if you're not too big on the books, you may like it, especially if you like parent- child focused stories. But it's just as bad as Secret garden two, where another lookalike steps in and a story is supposed to give the viewer a sense of circular repetition and closure. Which is really bad with Anne. I was really discouraged to see this disaster.

Total nonsense. please, let someone make Anne movies based more on the books. Please, do the books justice!