"Tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it... yet."
Split into two distinct parts, this Kevin Sullivan production was not just a television event; it was a cultural phenomenon. Over three decades later, it remains the gold standard for literary adaptations. In an age of CGI spectacle and rapid-fire editing, the gentle, pastoral beauty of the 1985 Anne of Green Gables —with its lush Prince Edward Island scenery, its aching emotional honesty, and its perfect casting—has only grown more precious. Anne of Green Gables - 1985 - 2 Parts
Picking up several years later, Megan Follows’ Anne has matured, but her spirit remains unbroken. This part covers the final third of the novel, moving from Anne’s teenage years at Queens Academy into early adulthood. "Tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it
If you have never seen the original 1985 two-part broadcast, find it. Watch Part One on a rainy Saturday afternoon. Wait a day. Then watch Part Two with a box of tissues. You will emerge not as the same person who entered. You will be, as Anne would say, a kindred spirit. In an age of CGI spectacle and rapid-fire
Sadly, for fans in recent years, the film has become entangled in complex rights disputes. Kevin Sullivan retains control, and for a decade, the 1985 version was notoriously difficult to find on streaming services or DVD (often replaced by the inferior 2016 "remastered" cut, which changed the soundtrack and color timing). However, the original 2-part broadcast version remains a holy grail for collectors. To watch Anne of Green Gables (1985 - 2 Parts) is to step into a snow globe. It is a perfect, preserved world of horse-drawn buggies, raspberry cordial, and Sunday school picnics. But beneath the nostalgic veneer is a radical story about an orphan who refuses to be unloved, a spinster who learns to be a mother, a bachelor who dies of a broken heart, and a red-haired girl who walks away from a scholarship for the sake of family.
The decision to split the story into (originally broadcast on the Disney Channel and CBC) was a masterstroke. A single two-hour film would have crushed the narrative into a montage of “kindred spirits” and broken slates. By dividing the story, Sullivan allowed the audience to live with Anne. Part 1: The Red-Headed Orphan The first part covers roughly the first 16 chapters of the novel. It opens in the fictional town of Avonlea, Prince Edward Island. We meet elderly siblings Marilla (Colleen Dewhurst) and Matthew Cuthbert (Richard Farnsworth), who live at their picturesque farm, Green Gables.