Rating: NR
Genre:
Romance
Release Date: 11/09/2004
Dubbed: English
Sound: DD2
Run Time: 240 Minutes
Distributor/Studio: WGBH Boston
In 1978, America's
PBS made the wise decision of running the ten-part 1977 British adaptation of
Leo Tolstoy's tragic novel
Anna Karenina. Twenty-two years later, the Boston-based public TV station
WGBH entered into another felicitous partnership with the
BBC, and the result was a shorter (four-part), but no less vivid adaptation of the oft-filmed
Tolstoy work. Naturally, the main emphasis was on the triangular relationship between the titular
Anna (
Helen McCrory), her influential older husband,
Karenin (
Stephen Dillane), and the handsome, but faithless
Count Vronsky (
Kevin McKidd), culminating in disgrace, ostracization, and finally death for the hapless heroine. This time, however, scriptwriter (
Allan Cubitt) also gave plenty of air space to the fascinating subplots involving the characters of
Levin (
Douglas Henshall),
Kitty (
Paloma Baeza),
Oblonsky (
Mark Strong), and
Dolly (
Amanda Root). Filmed largely on-location in Poland (with several prominent Polish actors in the supporting cast),
Anna Karenina made its British television bow on May 9, 2000.
~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide