"Anna Karenina" (1977) TV mini-series

User Rating:

8.4/10   

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

5 February 1978 (USA)

Plot Keywords:

TV Mini-Series | Based On Novel | Character Name In Title

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 3 nominations

Cast

Nicola Pagett	...	Anna Karenina (10 episodes, 1977)
Eric Porter	...	Karenin / ... (10 episodes, 1977)
Stuart Wilson	...	Vronsky (10 episodes, 1977)
Davyd Harries	...	Stiva (9 episodes, 1977)
Caroline Langrishe	...	Kitty (9 episodes, 1977)
Robert Swann	...	Levin (9 episodes, 1977)
Marilyn Le Conte	...	Annushka (8 episodes, 1977)
Carole Nimmons	...	Dolly (8 episodes, 1977)
Sheila Gish	...	Princess Betsy (7 episodes, 1977)
Paul Spurrier	...	Seriozha (7 episodes, 1977)
David Gwillim	...	Petritsky (6 episodes, 1977)
Patricia Lawrence	...	Princess Shcherbatsky (6 episodes, 1977)
Geoffrey Toone	...	Prince Shcherbatsky (6 episodes, 1977)
Margot Van der Burgh	...	Lydia (5 episodes, 1977)
April Walker	...	Paula (5 episodes, 1977)

Runtime:

50 min (10 episodes)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

UK:PG

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Movie Connections:

Version of Anna Karenina (1910)

Excellent mini-series

I just saw the mini-series and enjoyed it so much. Yes, it was filmed in the 70s so perhaps it might be dated in its production values, but in its performances and dialogue and sheer emotional highs and lows, it is far superior to any of the other Anna Kareninas I have seen. Nicola Paget was simply smashing - you might remember her as the actress who brought Elizabeth Bellamy so vividly to life in Upstairs, Downstairs. She will simply break your heart with her portrayal of Anna. And Count Vronsky is played by the dashing Stuart Wilson, who looks every bit the part of a man a woman would give up so much for. I fell in love with this actor when he played Fernando Lopez in The Pallisers, another marvelous 70s miniseries. The trio of superb performances includes Eric Porter as Anna's rigid and emotionally devastated husband, who is hiss-worthy in many scenes, yet manages to convey the emotions boiling inside of him, giving one pause to totally hate him. Eric Porter was the marvelous Soames Forsyte in the 1967 series The Forsyte Saga, simply one of the best mini-series ever presented on television. I gave this ten stars, because when I am watching a novel by Tolstoy adapted for television, I want to see the emotions of the novel brought to life, more than I care about the settings. The entire cast is excellent, with nary a badly cast role. I had rented the series, but now have ordered it so that I can watch it again, in its entirety, whenever I please.