Customer Reviews

Anna Karenina (2000)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a stunning, not-stuffy-at-all adaptation of Tolstoy's seminal work. The casting is excellent and the script is true to the story line. Anna is particularly well-cast. She's passionate, loved by men and women alike, smart and compelling to watch. The two men in Anna's life are well cast, as well. Anna's husband's character is portrayed with all of the depth that he has in the book, which is an impressive feat. The man who plays Vronsky was a perfect choice even if he is blond and in the book he is dark.

The Kitty/Konstantin parallel plot is very well done, and both characters are also very well cast. In the book, Kitty has more depth than is portrayed, but she is beautiful and charming here nonetheless.

They don't rush the plot. It is presented thoughtfully which does Tolstoy's masterpiece the due it deserves. Watch this over several nights if you want. You'll think about it all day, every day until you're done watching the whole thing.

I read the book many years ago, so I was very much looking forward to the PBS version. I was not at all disappointed. The cast was outstanding, especially, in my opinion that of Vronsky. Kevin McKidd played him with such touching depth and sensitivity, it left me breathless. Helen McCrory is also excellent as Anna, as was the character of Karenin. I am glad this version chose to give Karenin much more complexity and create him as a more sympathetic character than some of the other versions. This movie did an outstanding job of weaving the plot all together and coming to the final tragic conclusion. It left me spell-bound the whole way through. I can't imagine anyone coming away from viewing it and not be affected somehow for a long time. It is so relevant to today- just one of the greatest stories of all time. Simply wonderful.

This version of Anna Karenina is so good. It's true to the book without all of Karenin's business dealings (which were rather dull in the book). Love the story, so compelling, so tragic and so passionate...ah...Excellent movie, amazing story.

A fairly pedestrian tread through the novel, concentrating on the relationships of the three couples and sensibly skirting most of the languorous stuff concerning Levin's spiritual and political vacillations.

Structurally strong, it's disappointing in the detail. While the emphasis on interiors is understandable considering the massive cost of a four hour period drama, there's still a degree of sloppiness in the production that should have been avoidable.

For a start, several of the key parts are miscast (Levin, for example, is reduced to some kind of Glaswegian dolt) and matters are not helped by a persistent gracelessness in the direction. The one token line of French is delivered with a schoolboy irony. There's too much This Life-style photography and editing. The camera has an irritating habit of dollying back and forth around two people talking. And the predictable sexy goings-on include an eye-widening dramatic licence for Kitty's wedding night.

The whole thing feels like it was made according to a stringent schedule rather than any artistic vision; and, of course, it almost certainly was. But the real tragedy is that most of the major dramatic scenes never really fly, and in the end it all feels like one huge missed opportunity. A shame, because there are good things in here too, especially a nice turn from Stephen Dillane as Karenin.

As an aide-memoir for those who have read the novel, this is efficient and, for better or worse, pretty unadventurous. But as an alternative to tackling Tolstoy's second doorstop, it's an unrewarding experience.

Helen McCrory literally embodied the role of the ill-fated Anna Karenina in this production. Her journey from the pinnacle of High Russian society to the depths of despair as an outcast was captured by Ms. McCrory exceptionally well.

Stephen Dillane and Kevin McKidd also expertly deliver, playing Alexei Karenin and Alexei, the Count Vronsky, respectively. Dillane's portrayal of the icy, unfeeling Karenin was superb; even more so was McKidd's steamy, passionate reading of the enamoured Vronsky.

I was also well pleased with the performances of dear old, always-in-period-pieces Amanda Root, and familiar faces with Paul Rhys and Paloma Baeza, all delivering excellent performances.

However, the role of Levin (Kitty's eventual husband), played by Douglas Henshall, worked my last Tolstoy-loving nerve. Actually, I was relatively unimpressed with the fact that the entire cast, while portraying Russian nobility and speaking about journeying to St. Petersburg and Moscow, spoke with upper-crust British accents. I believe well-developed Russian, or at least SOME version of Eastern-European, accents for the cast would have heightened the atmosphere of the Russian background in which the story is set. Mr. Henshall's ridiculously thick Scottish brogue -- dripping moss-covered syllables as he mumbles on about rubles and vodka and the czar (?!?!) -- simply defied both logic and validity.

I think his role could have been much better cast.

Overwhelmingly, however, "Anna" remained very true to the novel, and I think, despite his undoubted confusion over the accents of the actors, Mr. Tolstoy himself would consider this adaptation a credit to the world were he able to view it for himself.

This is an excellent adaptation of Anna Karenina. Brilliantly casted, with Helen McCrory as Anna and Kevin McKidd as Vronsky. McKidd has a sort of Russian look about him, though I can't exactly describe it. McCrory's animated deep-set eyes look more and more tired and hopeless by the end of the movie. A near perfect Anna in all her moods and actions. And her laugh is the kind that sticks in your head afterwards, and sometimes you miss hearing it.

It must be hard to condense such a mammoth novel, but this adaptation succeeded in bringing together most of the central points of the book (much more so than the wretched version with Sean Bean and some french actress, which was far too short and left out critical scenes).

Every time I hear Chopin's "Waltz in C# Minor," I think of the ball scene in which Anna is ostracized and Vronsky accepted. Sadly, this double standard is still in place today.

This miniseries is FANTASTIC! And I am SO happy it is finally getting it's DVD release here in the U.S.! The story centers around Anna and her shameful affair with Count Vronsky. This miniseries actually tells the full novel in depth, other than the 1997 theatricle release starring Sean Bean. Also, the Anna in this version is much more beautiful than in the theatricle release. So, buy it, and you will not be dissappointed!

I first fell in love with Tolstoy's masterpiece at age 16 and have reread it many times since; it is my favorite book. After watching both this film and the 1977 Nicola Pagett version, and comparing the various shortcomings of each, I am convinced that the work cannot be adequately translated into film. No mere actress can bring to life the exquisite, fascinating perfection of Tolstoy's Anna; no actor can be as noble, authentic, and lovable as Levin. These are two of the truest characters in the history of literature, and you must read the book to meet them (as well as Vronsky and Kitty) in all of their marvelous complexity. You can only know them fully through the mind of Tolstoy.

Of the two, the 1977 film is much more faithful to the book; it is ten hours long and includes all the most important scenes. The characters, though lacking in depth, are at least consistent with Tolstoy's original. The screenwriters of this four-hour version, however, took inexcusable liberties with both Levin and Vronsky, conjuring up scenes that could never have happened, scenes that undermined the noble, dignified character of these two men. The shorter film is superior only in its cinematography.

Though both films were enjoyable to watch, they do not have what makes this story great:Tolstoy's genius. Read the masterpiece, even if it takes you weeks or months!

Helen McCrory did an exceptional job in capturing the majesty and the desperation of Anna Karenina. The "vaults" of Tolstoy joined two characters Levin and Anna in their unbridled passion for life with much different end results and paths. I cannot imagine anyone else capturing more the essence of Tolstoy's major female protagonist than Helen McCrory did.

Stephen Dillane did a fabulous job in the role of Alexei Karenin and Kevin McKidd perfected the character of Count Vronsky . I think that Stephen Dillane's interpretation of Alexei was so superb that it surprised me; and I gained such a depth of understanding for this character because of his portrayal; much more than in reading the novel which I loved.

At first, I wavered because I did not feel that Oblonsky was cast properly; but despite the difference in appearance; this role was executed perfectly. I cannot understand how Douglas Henshall was cast as Levin with his thick Scottish brogue but even that was overlooked as you got more and more into the story.

The acting was that good. I would recommend this highly. This gripped me from beginning to end. And after seeing how Anna was treated during the ballroom scene at Betsy's, you understand the double standard that existed then and in some ways is still with us today.

For such a long novel, this rendition was perfectly paced and executed brilliantly. Very enjoyable. You will not regret taking the time to watch this series. Masterpiece Theater did a magnificent job.

Bentley/2007

This is the best film adaptation yet of Leo Tolstoy's classic novel, Anna Karenina. I enjoyed it so much I was convinced it was time to read the book.

The strongest aspect of the film is the casting. Helen McCrory's Anna is a rose in full bloom. She is a passionate, red-blooded woman whose steps toward liberation inadvertantly lead onto the tracks. I believed every moment of her performance, and loved the lusciousness she brought to the role. She is no china doll, easily broken, but a woman whose power lies in her resoluteness. "She was magnificent," Constantine says of her to the unconsalable Vronsky at the end of the film. Her tragedy is all the greater because we can see her magnificence. Nothing smaller than a steam engine would be able to destroy the magnificent Anna.

Kevin McKidd as Vronsky is compelling and the most memorable aspect of the film. He is not a weak, vain, or insensitive Vronsky. Unlike other Vronsky's who only seem like plot devices to Anna's tragedy, his Vronsky is almost more tragic than Anna herself. I believe his love for her, his desire to marry her, and his growing frustration that she will not believe or accept his love. He even looks Russian, fair and slightly goggle-eyed, breathtakingly at home in regimental uniforms. Any woman who has ever loved a man in uniform will recognize him immediately, and wish they knew someone with even half his loyalty, heart, and dignity.

I was originally drawn to the production by the actor who is cast as Konstantin, the gruff and merry Douglas Henshall. His Konstantin is not morose and affected, but a sensualist, awkward in polite company, and pure in heart. His adoration for Kitty (played by the lovely Paoloma Baeza, who has appeared in other Masterpiece Theatre productions) is moving and sweet. He adds a much-needed sense of humor to the film.

The moral and inflexible Karenin is played by Stephen Dillane in a brilliant piece of casting. He is portrayed as a decent man, not a monster. Most films of Anna Karenina portray Karenin as a wife beater. Stephen Dillane makes Karenin a sympathetic character. He is not a passionate man, Anna did not marry for love, yet he loves her in his own loyal way, and there is a sense of his waiting in the wings for her eventual return.

This Masterpiece Theatre presentation of Anna Karenina is a brilliant production of a much-adapted novel. A little lengthy in pieces, (and a little bit Anglo in presentation ... this is definitely Anna Karenina a la Victoria) but luscious in its attention to detail and in its portrayal of the complexity of the situations and the characters. One of the better recent Masterpiece Theatre productions, along with Oliver Twist, The Buccanneers, and The Way We Live Now.