A sumptuous Hollywood version of Tolstoy’s classic novel. With lavish production design and magnificent cinematography “Anna Karenina” is a stunning example of Hollywood romantic cinema. The film eschews Tolstoy’s detailed examination of Anna and Karenin’s failed marriage, and it dilutes the author’s condemnation of Russian society’s sexual hypocrisy. But at its centre the film has the ravishing Greta Garbo. From her first appearance in close-up to her final tragic scene, Garbo enriches the film with the grandeur and power of her screen persona. The film also stars Frederic March, Basil Rathbone and Maureen O’Sullivan but it is Garbo’s film: her mythic presence is wonderfully right for this version of Tolstoy’s tragedy.
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Collection
In ACMI's collection
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
303976
Language
English
Audience classification
PG
Subject categories
Feature films → Feature films - United States
Literature → Russian literature - Film and video adaptations
Sound/audio
Sound
Colour
Black and White
Holdings
VHS; Access Print (Section 1)