Does the 1985 “Anne of Green Gables” Refute the Idea That the Book Is Always Better?
The Kevin Sullivan film gently brings an ethereal novel to life in a way that remains faithful to the source material while enhancing the story.
When my three younger sisters and I learned about the concept of staying up until midnight on December 31 to welcome in the New Year, nothing would dissuade us; we had to try it for ourselves. Our parents were reluctant. Early retirees themselves, they had no fondness for keeping late hours and even less fondness for the idea of their many rowdy children staying awake to chatter and shriek until midnight. We didn’t even have TV access to watch the ball drop! What was the POINT of it all?
Nevertheless, sometime around the year I was ten (and my sisters were eight, six, and four) the tradition began. Popcorn, lemonade, a VCR hooked up to the somewhat temperamental old box television, and a two-cassette videotape of Anne of Green Gables — and an unshakeable family practice was born.
Anne is the perfect NYE film. Clocking in at three hours and nineteen minutes, it can stretch from eight to midnight if you time the bathroom breaks and popcorn making correctly. It’s family-friendly: gentle, wholesome, funny, engaging for…
