Anna Karenina

Rating:
Summary: Needs more work
Review: If the flickering of the film doesn't give you a headache, then maybe the fact that the English Audio track has roughly 15 - 20 minutes of russian with subtitles that just come and go. The color is all washed out, though the picture is sharp??? Why did they only go halfway with this? Then there's the two disk thing, this film is only 2hrs 20mins long, it would easily have fit on one disk.

The film itself is okay, a bit short for such a long novel (why can't they just give this a 3hr treatment?) There is still alot missing from this adaptation though it is the most exhaustive I've ever seen.

Rating:
Summary: Watch carefully
Review: The picture of this DVD may not be the perfect one but it wouldn't hurt your eyes (unless you are a super perfectionist). I wouldn't recommend to watch any other Anna Karenina filmed before or after as they appear to be "not quite" lacking the very essence. This film is the best adaptation of the great Russian novel and is definitely worth watching.

Rating:
Summary: Good movie, but film quality somewhat poor
Review: This movie by far keeps the essence of the classic Russian masterpiece. The English versions were awful, and I was very delighted to have the pleasure of viewing this Russian production. The quality of the film is lacking, but nothing terrible. This movie sticks closely to the story except for the absence of "Levin's story". His relationship with Kitty is there, but briefly. No detailed perspective on the importance of his charcter, and no mention of his brother. Also, there was no revelation for Kitty's transformed outlook on life after her sickness and before marrying Levin.

The main storyline with Anna, husband Karenin, and Vronsky was well done. I enjoyed it.

Overall, it was good. I'm glad to have it on my shelf in my colection of Russian movies.

Rating:
Summary: Sad DVD of interesting film!
Review: What a pity! I've been waiting for almost 35 years to see this film. And when I finally do, it feels like taking a cold shower without warning! Produced by the Russian Cinema Counsil, and distributed by Ruscico/Image, this DVD is a visual mess. Originally filmed in 70mm, this ought to look absolutely splendid; instead, the print (or negative?) used for transfer displays dreadfully washed out colors, lousy contrasts, and looks so soft that it almost made my eyes hurt. Was this really the best source material that could be found in the vaults? I do not think so! Old Soviet archives were famous for taking good care of their cultural heritage (provided, of course, that the artists involved did not do something politically or morally "incorrect"), and this film appealed to the powers in the Kremlin as splendid export material. So what went wrong? Better leave this kind of job to the people at Criterion in the future!