Three Sisters Movie Review

The best of 1974's American Film Theatre productions had actually been waiting for U.S. release since 1970. Joan Plowright and Laurence Olivier starred as Masha Prosorov and Dr. Chebutikin, Derek Jacobi and Alan Bates were Andrei Prosorov and Col. Vershinin, and Ronald Pickup and Daphne Heard were Baron Tusenbach and Anfissa. Most of the rest of the cast were unknown to American audiences. Three Sisters had received several notable Broadway stagings over the years: Eva Le Gallienne, Josephine Hutchinson, and Beatrice Terry starred in a 1927 production; 15 years later, Katherine Cornell, Gertrude Musgrove, and Judith Anderson were the Three Sisters; and Geraldine Page, Kim Stanley, and Shirley Knight revived the play for 1964 audiences. As much as I wish that fragments of moving pictures of these revivals still existed, it's hard to imagine how anyone could have made a better film version of Anton Chekhov's play then Olivier. He sees straight into the heart of each character and brings every story to life in a fresh and startling way. The look of the film may have been accomplished more by accident than design, but the delicate color cinematography makes it appear that we are watching the lives of the Prosorov sisters through a mist. Plowright gives a wonderfully real performance as Masha. This one may be hard to find, but it's well worth the search.

1970 (PG) 165m/C GB Jeanne Watts, Joan Plowright, Louise Purnell, Derek Jacobi, Alan Bates, Laurence Olivier, Kenneth Mackintosh, Sheila Reid, Ronald Pickup, Frank Wylie, Daphne Heard; D: Laurence Olivier; W: Moura Budberg; C: Geoffrey Unsworth. VHS