Vaguely Familiar: Cinematic Intertextuality in Kevin Sullivan's <em>Anne of Avonlea</em>

Abstract

Résumé: Cet article examine ce que l'adaptation télévisuelle d'Anne of Avonlea doit à des films comme La Mélodic du bonheur,Les Quatre Filles du Docteur March et My Brilliant Career; il dégage le réseau intertextuel complexe et contradictoire dans lequel s'insère cette version audiovisuelle. Summary: This article explores interconnections between the films The Sound of Music, Little Women, My Brilliant Career, and the Kevin Sullivan adaptation of L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Avonlea. Corresponding scenes, with dramatic similarities in characterization, theme, staging, and dialogue, suggest the profound influence of the earlier films upon the later Anne of Avonlea. This essay analyses the effects of this intertextuality on the portrayal of Montgomery's text in the visual medium. Both positive and negative implications are addressed, and discussed within the contexts of genre study, authorial influence, and the politics of adaptation.