Joseph Fountain

Joseph Fountain asked:

Anyone have a film rendition recommendation for Anna Karenina? I was disappointed with the 1948 version starring Vivien Leigh. It hardly told Levin's story at all. I'm looking for something faithful to the book. Is the 2012 version with Keira Knightly or the 97 version with Sophie Morceau faithful? I may try the 67 Russian version (highest rating on IMDB) if I can find it with subtitles.

18 likes · like
10 years ago
18 answers

To answer questions about Anna Karenina, please sign up.

Joanna Lloyd The best rendition I've ever seen is the 2000 series by (I think) channel 4 with Helen McCrory as Anna, Douglas Henshall as Levin and Mark Strong as Oblonsky. Really good casting especially McCrory. I first read the book in my mid teens and every 3 or 4 years since and this series respects all the relationships in the book. Not a cheap dvd although every couple of years, Yesterday channel repeats the series. Hope you enjoy it.

Andrea I can't really recommend the Keira Knightly movie to people looking for a faithful adaptation. It's a gorgeous movie, filmed as a continuous theatre production with beautiful sets and costumes, and is amazing if you want a stylized production. Watch it after you watched something more grounded. I will always go for the 1967 Russian version, subbed if possible.

Greg Joseph, the score from the Keira Knightly version is one of the best scores Ive ever heard. I could barely watch the movie, but went out and bought the cd.

Maryam I haven't finished the film yet, but the soviet 1967 movie is pretty good. Find an English subtitled version if you need (I never suggest dubbed).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ng38Y...

Lyra H there is a new one in 2013 (Vittoria Puccini). It is quite good.

Michelle Llewellyn There's a BBC (1961) black & white version starring Sean Connery and Claire Bloom except it completely leaves out the Levin/Kitty storyline. Kitty only appears at the ball where Anna attempts to get Vronsky to notice her and, of course, it doesn't work. The rest of movie focuses on the doomed affair between the two lovers and Anna's downward spiral.

Shopgirl I believe it is impossible to capture the novel. I really think Tolstoy would not have liked it on film!

Tim Ellis Check out the mini series The Beautiful Lie.

http://theconversation.com/the-beauti...

Negar 2012 is nice, but the Levin's part is not good enough and the emotions between characters is not so real. 2000 is a faithful adaptation because it's a series and Douglas henshall is so good as levin (but I think mccrory is a bit old for this role). 1997 is beautiful and fine too. it's the finest version I think.

Chris Gager I've never seen any of them but there are plenty to chose from. If the Nicola Pagett one was on M'piece theatre I might have seen some of it. The problem is... how can anything but a prolonged mini-series do justice to the book. A 2-hour-movie will necessarily have to leave most of the stuff out. It's all that stuff that makes the book what it is! Joanna's recommendation seems like the best bet, much as I love Ms. Knightley.

Mar Vieites I judge the adaptations acording to how they handle Levin's plot and character, and my favourite so far was the BBC mini series from 1977.
That russian version you mentioned had the best casting in my opinion (everyone was just as I imagined), but I could only find it without subtitles so it was a hard experience.
The 2012 version has a really nice visuals and awesome performances, but maybe was too centered on Anna and Vronsky.
I couldn't stand the 97 version, though. I hated the accents.

Sarah Kauthen The 1935 Anna Karenina starring Greta Garbo is amusing - despite the inconceivability of any woman choosing Fredric March over Basil Rathbone...

Andrew I'm a Viven Leigh fan and was also disapointed with the 1948 film. I did LOVE the recent one with Kiera Knightly but I can't say how faithful it is to the book.

Jolijn I have only watched the keira knightley version, and i loved the movie so much! I think it's an amazing movie in just every little bit of it. But i haven't seen the other version.

Gabriele Gregory I've always really liked the 97 version.

münire keira knightly version was a mess. even though i love her the movie was not it. in the book anna karenina was a woman who made mistakes for love. but the movie made her seem like a strong independent woman. even if we love to see it tolstoys intention was not that.

Sharon Roebuck Have seen most of the versions, but the best by far is 'Anna Karenina Full Drama Mini Series'. It's 3 and half hours, well paced with a magnificent cast. I've watched it at least four times. It can be found on You Tube. I haven't had any luck ordering it from Amazon.

Yvonne Jocks Back *away* from the Sophie Marceau / Sean Bean version :-) It is beautiful, but despite all the leads being magnificent actors, I could not believe that this Anna would give up so much for this Vronsky. Worse, this version changes some major, major plot elements (I actually said "WHAT?" out loud at the news that Anna "was miscarrying.") In part because the novel is so long, you need a minimum of 3 hours to do a good job with "Anna Karenina." I recommend the version with Helen McCrory and Kevin McKidd, because it has the best Levin-and-Kitty plot. Second best, if you want to focus on Anna and Vronsky, is the Santiago Cabrera version.

More questions about Anna Karenina…

Image for Anna Karenina

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

About Goodreads Q&A

Ask and answer questions about books!

You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.

See Featured Authors Answering Questions