Anna Karenina (I) (2012)

Set in late-19th-century Russia high-society, the aristocrat Anna Karenina enters into a life-changing affair with the affluent Count Vronsky.

Director:

Joe Wright

Writers:

Tom Stoppard (screenplay), Leo Tolstoy (novel)

Stars:

Matthew Macfadyen, Keira Knightley, Jude Law

Won 1 Oscar. Another 14 wins & 30 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Matthew Macfadyen	...	Oblonsky
Eric MacLennan	...	Matvey
Kelly Macdonald	...	Dolly
Theo Morrissey	...	Grisha Oblonsky
Cecily Morrissey	...	Lili Oblonsky
Freya Galpin	...	Masha Oblonsky
Octavia Morrissey	...	Tanya Oblonsky
Beatrice Morrissey	...	Vasya Oblonsky
Marine Battier	...	Mlle. Roland
Keira Knightley	...	Anna Karenina
Guro Nagelhus Schia	...	Annushka
Aruhan Galieva	...	Aruhan
Jude Law	...	Karenin
Carl Grose	...	Korney
Bryan Hands	...	Mikhail Slyudin

Storyline

In 1874, in the Imperial Russia, the aristocratic Anna Karenina travels from Saint Petersburg to Moscow to save the marriage of her brother Prince Oblonsky, who had had a love affair with his housemaid. Anna Karenina has a cold marriage with her husband, Count Alexei Karenin, and they have a son. Anna meets the cavalry officer Count Vronsky at the train station and they feel attracted by each other. Soon she learns that Vronsky will propose Kitty, who is the younger sister of her sister-in-law Dolly. Anna satisfactorily resolves the infidelity case of her brother and Kitty invites her to stay for the ball. However, Anna Karenina and Vronsky dance in the ball, calling the attention of the conservative society. Soon they have a love affair that will lead Anna Karenina to a tragic fate.

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Plot Keywords:

marriage | russia | love | saint petersburg | train station | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some sexuality and violence

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 September 2012 (UK)

Also Known As:

Ana Karenjina

Filming Locations:

Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$320,690 (USA) (16 November 2012)

Gross:

$12,802,907 (USA) (22 February 2013)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Focus Features, Working Title Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

129 min

Sound Mix:

Datasat Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The soundtrack for several of the country scenes makes use of a Russian folk song that was also adapted (but without the words) by Tchaikovsky in his Fourth Symphony, written in the same period as was Tolstoy's novel.

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Goofs

The label of the bottle of morphine Anna drinks from changes from "la Morphine" to "Morphine" between shots. The only correct French form would be without an article (prescriptions would have been written in Latin in 19th-century Russia anyway).

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Quotes

Alexei Karenin: Is this about my wife? My wife is beyond approach. She is, after all, my wife.

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Crazy Credits

Count Vronsky is misspelled as "Vronksy" in the end credits.

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Connections

Version of Anna Karenina (1974)

User Reviews

Style over substance, superficial melodrama

Finally the 2 hours were over and I could leave! This is one of the worst movies of the year - save yourself the money and buy the book, if you insist.

What a pretentious, over-the-top melodrama... I felt seriously embarrassed to sit through it. Overall bad performances, possibly created by the director's insistence to try some new style.

Newsflash: It didn't work.

The theater-style setup, constant moving of set pieces, semi-choreography of background characters, constant musical accompaniment and mixing it all with some realistic sets does all but incapacitate whatever seriousness was left in the source material.

If feels like a puppet theater with airs. Razzie please.