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Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina

Play trailer Poster for Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina PG-13 Released Apr 4, 1997 1h 48m Romance Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
26% Tomatometer 19 Reviews 66% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
Tolstoy's tragic Anna (Sophie Marceau) leaves her old, cold husband for dashing Count Vronsky (Sean Bean) in 19th-century Russia.

Critics Reviews

View All (19) Critics Reviews
Globe and Mail Rated: 2/4 Apr 12, 2002 Full Review Kevin Thomas Los Angeles Times Only die-hard romantics are likely not to come away disappointed. Feb 21, 2001 Full Review Ruthe Stein San Francisco Chronicle When [Anna and Vronsky] first lay eyes on each other at the train station in St. Petersburg, the only steam between them comes from the engine. Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 2/5 Jul 12, 2005 Full Review Philip Martin Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Rated: 3/5 Oct 30, 2002 Full Review Jeffrey Westhoff Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL) You're better off reading the Cliff's Notes. Rated: 1/5 Jul 26, 2002 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (101) audience reviews
Maxens C Interesting fast-paced version which feels truer to the text than Joe Wright's adaption. However, it lacks overall aesthetic and commentary visions that the 2012 version has, this creates a sometimes confused narrative that lacks emotional weight. Sophie Marceaux is also rather a strange choice, and her acting choices sometimes distract or diminish the importance of certain scenes. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 09/15/23 Full Review Audience Member The fact that it was filmed on location in Russia, the gorgeous and intricate costumes, and the intelligent casting (Sean Bean is fantastic as Vronsky) make this the most enjoyable film adaption of Tolstoy's masterpiece. While I believe the script itself could have been more thoughtful, the film captures the essence of the novel and is truly visually brilliant and very true to the novel. I absolutely recommend this version over the 2012 one. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/26/23 Full Review Audience Member The best adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's novel by far. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/12/23 Full Review Audience Member Exeptional film adaption, with an outstanding Sophie Marceau. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/27/23 Full Review Audience Member not the best version of this. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Audience Member I can't tell you how faithful this opulent version of the classic tragedy is, but it was very highly regarded compared to other film versions according to reviews I read. What I can tell you should come as no surprise - squeezing 600 pages into two hours and change results in much collateral damage to the material. One peerless aspect of the production is the sense of time and place, filmed entirely in Moscow and Saint Petersburg which is where Tolstoy's story unfolds to the stirring swells of Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky on the soundtrack. A very interesting choice involves the language. The actors in all the major roles speak English with their native accent, which is the way to go if you can't get the dialog in the original tongue. Nothing sounds phonier than actors speaking English with a Russian accent to try and convey that they are actually speaking Russian. But to add to the sense of immersion, director Bernard Rose hired many Russians for the minor roles and subtitled their speech. The lead actors even say a couple lines in Russian to add to the authenticity. Overall, I found these tactics unusual but very effective. Nevertheless, while I love Sophie Marceau and feel she has the capacity to successfully play Anna speaking her native tongue, something goes missing in her English interpretation. Obviously the producers felt confident in hiring her to star in this extravagantly expensive venture, which is a testament to the international appeal she showed in her role in Braveheart. There are certainly other problems in evidence - I didn't feel much sympathy towards Anna and the Duke Vronsky, never been a sucker for undying love at first sight, and I felt they rather deserved what they got, Anna's extreme fateful decision notwithstanding. Also the story of Alfred Molina's character Levin must have been important to the social commentary of the book, but his scenes seem completely independent to the events in the rest of this movie, and thus his usual quality performance is rendered inconsequential. On the whole this is a version worth watching for the unprecedented authenticity of the production which helps cover the gaps of emotional resonance. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/23/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis Tolstoy's tragic Anna (Sophie Marceau) leaves her old, cold husband for dashing Count Vronsky (Sean Bean) in 19th-century Russia.
Director
Bernard Rose
Producer
Bruce Davey
Screenwriter
Leo Tolstoy, Bernard Rose
Distributor
Warner Bros.
Production Co
Warner Brothers, Icon Entertainment International
Rating
PG-13
Genre
Romance, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 4, 1997, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
May 21, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA)
$791.8K
Runtime
1h 48m
Sound Mix
DTS, Surround, Dolby Digital