User Reviews

Unlike the many outraged fans on this page already, I did not read all the books before watching this film. Admittedly, this was not as good as the previous two installments. However I felt the characterization did not stray too far from their original counterparts, and I enjoy a good war-centered movie from time to time. I will admit, the relationship between Anne and Jack Garrison seemed forced and simply thrown in to create a love triangle. I thought it was unnecessary and the movie would have still been good without it. Also, there were a few questionable parts as Anne traversed Europe, but it kept me interested and there never seemed to be a dull moment. I did wish to see more of Anne and Gilbert together, especially after not seeing him very much in "Anne of Avonlea."

So if you are a die-hard Anne of Green Gables reader/fan, don't watch the movie because you'll find it's not very close to the source material.

But if you are like me and just like enjoying a good movie, then I would recommend it.

I feel I must start this review with the caveat that I am not a fan of the Anne books and I find that Sullivan's films do a fine job of expressing the sentiment of the books and capturing their lively characters while escaping their outdated, flowery prose. The Continuting Story has a startling impact on viewers who loved Anne, Gilbert, and the many other familiar faces of Avonlea in the first two films by placing these characters in harm's way. Sullivan shakes the gentle world of Avonlea with the spectre of WWI in a manner that expertly mirrors the real experiences of Islanders during that terrible conflict. He deepens his exploration of Anne and Gilbert's relationship and demonstrates how their love and commitment can transcend the devastation and despair of the battlefields of France. This is a mature, impactful film that radiates respect for the experience of WWI troops and their loved ones at home. I respect fans' of the books sadness at the disconnect between this film and the literature. But as a film, considered independently from the books, The Continuing Story is truly wonderful to watch.

From a writers point of view I must say I can understand a few of the things depicted in Anne of Green Gables - the continuing story. First of all - it is called Anne, and not Rilla. The perspective and focus would have been way off and not as interesting. I think, this is just my own philosophies here - that Mr Sullivan has chosen to focus more on historic correctness, Romance and this with a touch of biographical material of L.M Montgomery.

It is said that L.M Montgomery actually was active within the Red Cross. Witch Anne is too, as we've all seen. Following the history books on that. When it comes to Gilbert there's a soldier, who bares a liking with him - history wise. I don't remember his name now. But it was the one who wrote the poem "In Flanderns fields". This soldier won the gold medal at collage, studied medicine and enlisted as medical personal. He was injured though, and was placed at a field hospital. Vimy Ridge spoken about in the series, was in fact one of the biggest battles won for the "good guys", and for Canada.

When it comes to the actual story - I must say I don't think it's that far of a leap in the sense that it would be something that Anne could do. Dianas "You do what the rest of us only dream of doing, Anne" is a perfect head on the nail. Now, I have only read three out of eight books, granted, but I'm familiar with the rest. It kind of would have been fun seeing Anne and Gilbert with their house and their kids - but I think all and all it was a good story and it managed too keep a bit of Annes edge and Gilberts charm. And at the same time, it managed to make the circle round... Anne experience the exact same scene from the very beginning. Of course only then, she was in Dominics position and Matthew was in hers.

The film begins with Anne Shirley and her fiance Gilbert Blythe(Megan Follows and Jonathan Crombie, who were also in the first two films) both in the U.S.A. facing moral dilemmae. These dilemmae are quickly resolved as Anne refuses to sell out to her publishing superior(cameo by Barry Morse) and Gilbert refuses to sell out to his hospital superior(cameo by Douglas Campbell). They soon return to Canada but not before Anne gets involved with a "kindred spirit", writer Jack Garrison(played by Australian actor Cameron Daddo). Back in Nova Scotia, where no one seems to have Maritime accents, Gilbert faces another moral conflict: stay at home with his newly wed wife Anne and be the resident doctor or go to Europe and be a WWI army doctor. He choses the latter, which creates the much needed suspense to sustain a mini-series. When Gilbert's letters return unopened, Anne Blythe, now a successful author, leaves Green Gables to find her man. Overseas, she becomes re-acquainted with writer Jack Garrison who may or may not be a spy. She spends much of her time looking for Gil and trying to keep track of Jack and Jack's baby boy, Dominic, involving her in many interesting escapades, one of which has her going in cognito as a nun(a "Blessing in Disguise", you might say). The bulk of part two has us guessing if Anne will be able to find and/or save any of the three men in her life. The movie stands well on its own merit. As part of the trilogy, Sullivan's third "Anne" is like Coppola's third "Godfather": an excellent work but not quite in the same league as the previous two.

OK so it;s not a masterpiece but if you watch it on its own, you might like it. All the harsh comments on the sites are starting to annoy me. I am a fan of the books myself and I realise that this was far from the books but there is no need to be so blatantly hard on the film makers. I guess perhaps the introduction if Jack Garrison was a bit unnecessary but you know..the books are so perfect that perhaps it is better that the film was made this way. I think all the comments I have read try t force too much the faithfulness to the books. This really isn't necessary. As for changes..war changes people and people age. Jonathan Crombie was actually surprising, I kinda liked him that way as a fully grown handsome man no longer the kid he played in previous movies. I have a soft spot for Megan so I will not comment on her, except that he looked wonderful. Let me say again: it;s only natural that the characters have grown and as grownups, no longer the kids, they are just fine.

But. In Road to Avonlea the TV series there is one episode in which Gul returns to Avonlea after Marilla;s death. He is already married to Anne at that point and I do not understand why the film was not faithful to that..a blunder on the part of the creators, no doubt, and a big one for anyone that followed the series.

I kinda liked Jack Garrison. I mean he wasn;t necessary but as far as I remember the books Anne at the university did have other men interested in her..so in this aspect I think there was some faithfulness.

As for the war, well time progressed, it was the setting that might have seemed natural for the film makers.

Yes, it wan;t perfect but forget about the books when you watch the film, you might find it pleasant on its own. Its a very loose adaptation.

I know many people have disliked this movie because it is so jarringly different from the previous two, but this one is my favorite and I think it's the best of the three.

What I love about the first two Anne of Green Gables movies are their beautiful simplicity. They really do take you back to a simpler time. All the pastoral beauty and innocence.

But the third movie portrays how it really was for people of this generation. In their youths things were lovely and simple but the world changed around them very fast.

Also consider all the adventure that takes place in this movie. Anne has little need for all her imagination here because everything going on around her is so dramatic. (Anne even gets to dress like a Nun, something she's always imagined) It's like she's living out everything she'd imagined though perhaps not in the ways she would like.

But the very, very best thing about this movie is the love that has matured between Anne and Gilbert and their constant devotion to each other. This movie is most definitely the most romantic of the three and I love it!

While entertaining, this film was disappointing for a trilogy.

The innocence of youth has long been forgotten with the advent of World War 1. Anne is thrust into a clock and dagger like atmosphere as the story takes on an espionage subject matter. The problem is that we really don't know for sure where the espionage is coming from. Is that newspaper editor the traitor that he has been made out to be by that woman society gossip writer?

It's also hard to believe that the baby would recognize Anne. After all, he was just a baby when they were separated.

To just say that the Colleen Dewhurst character died was not giving the part much justice at all.

Parts 1 and 2 were so much better. Blame Part 3 on World War 1.

Although normally I get upset when movie-makers deviate from a well-known story I have read, I understand that for legal reasons and timing -- if the actors had gotten much older there would have been no point -- he needed a script. This one gave them an opportunity to pursue themes of the era and explore how Anne and Gilbert could have responded to them: a woman writer, the glass ceiling and other gender role situations, WWI with its patriotism, espionage and tragedy, medical ethics in a teaching hospital and in war, sucking up to donors because public money isn't there... come to think of it, those are themes of today too, which is why I liked the movie. (The LM Montgomery books of Anne as an adult were disappointing to me in the lack of serious themes.) The war scenes in the movie were realistic and tension-filled but I endured them better than I do many war movies. I loved seeing how Anne could grow up and deal with more serious challenges, and I loved Megan Follows' performance. She was able to portray more depth of character and variety of emotion than the earlier movies required. The only thing I didn't like is, the "chaos of war" scenes went on longer than necessary.

I'm not going to say that this was the best movie of all time or that it went on perfectly with the story.

Much like Harry Potter as some defined I don't imagine this went with the books all that well. But personally, and perhaps I'm alone in this, I found it to be a great step for the character.

Anne was always a powerful capable individual and she had so much unrestrained personality that needed to be explored further. Some of the things that occurred in the third installment (the nun thing) were a bit out of whack, I'll admit. But the concept of what she was doing really defined what her character was in my opinion.

She set out to find the love that she pushed aside for the great majority of both the prior movies. And she ran farther and worked harder than anything in order to get that back. It really defines how she started and where she came from and persevered through it all. And became this powerful woman and kept herself so capably.

No, it may not go along with the original story. And that is always sad.

But in that case define it as "Horrible in relation to the book".

Calling it the worst movie ever, or the most horrible film, is both a lie and a disrespectful statement. Those who cannot make that distinction need to seriously reconsider their standing on the final installment. It's a wonderful movie. Just not in the original series of events. Minus the third one the Harry Potter series has been fantastic! Unless you were looking from the standpoint of the book.

So, yes, the continuing story of Anne of Green Gables is a great film with beautiful acting and a compelling story. Megan Follows once more delivers an outstanding performance as Anne Shirley Blythe. And the whole series is in total, a classic and worth owning.

As a huge fan of the 'Anne' books I was awed that Sullivan was going to make another TV movie to go along with the earlier two. I have to say that my opinion changed after viewing this. My beloved Anne Shirley was tossed into WWI at a time when she was (in the books) a devoted mother and wife. A character who is happy and loving, reading to her children, going on trips with Gilbert...and then I see this. Granted the first two productions didn't stay true to the novels but were entertaining, fair enough, but this, come on I draw the line at dressing up like a nun and blowing up a wall...

As if that weren't bad enough, Jack Garrison...this character only existed in Sullivan's mind and I couldn't understand his being in this movie...his sole purpose it seemed was to try and make Anne his, make her question her loyalty to Gilbert, that really bugged me cuz in the books Anne is completely in love with Gilbert, and she would never dream of looking at another man that way, or going crazy trying to find the other man's child.

The time frame is off, the characters are in name only, and I must admit that when watching this I felt that the Anne Shirley I had known and loved was not there. This Anne was Indiana Jones meets Rose Dawson.

Megan Follows, I believe is a wonderful actress, and I heard that she was not too happy script-wise, though that is a rumour and I can not confirm it. But then again how could this be an acceptable adaptation (though officially it was not) of our dear Anne. Had it not been titled Anne of Green Gables it could have been an interesting story about people entangled in WWI, but stick Anne into the mix and its a disgrace.

After viewing both parts I, being very upset by it, wrote two letters, one to the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Company) and another to Mr. Kevin Sullivan...I received one reply...and am lead to believe I was not the only person expressing my upset...

If you want to watch it and see for yourself then go for it, this is only my opinion, however I do recommend viewing it with the understanding that this is not our Anne...this character does not have the life we devoted fans have read about for so long.

Cheers!