Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina Movie Review 1996

Well, the third film version of Tolstoy's tempestuous, tragic romance certainly looks good, even if the performances don't engender the passion the story demands. Beautiful married Anna (Marceau) leaves stuffy husband Karenin (Fox) and their son to travel to 1880 Moscow and mend the marriage of her philandering brother Stiva (Huston). But she meets dashing soldier, Count Alexei Vronsky (Bean), who immediately decides to pursue the beauty and the two begin an all-encompassing affair that leads to tragedy. This version also includes the secondary, contrasting romance between young Kitty (Kirshner) and Tolstoy's alter ego, questioning aristo Levin (Molina). Filmed on location in St. Petersburg, Russia. The classical score includes selections from Tschaikovsky, Rachmaninoff and Prokofiev, under the direction of Georg Solti.

Distribution

Warner Home Video, Inc., 5775 Linder Canyon Rd., Westlake Village, CA 91362, URL: http://whv.warnerbros.com, Remarks: Does not handle retail queries from consumers; contact your local video distributor.

Available on VHS
Running time 120 minutes.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Romantic Drama, St. Peterburg (Russia), Tragedy, Books to Film: Leo Tolstoy, Period Piece: 19th Century, Marriage, Obsessive Love

Screenplay

Bernard Rose

Cast

Sophie Marceau, Sean Bean, Alfred Molina, Mia Kirshner, James Fox, Danny Huston, Fiona Shaw, Phyllida Law, David Schofield, Saskia Wickham

Cinematography

Daryn Okada

Director

Bernard Rose

Producer

Bruce Davey, Stephen McEveety, Icon Productions, Warner Bros.