Product Description

Anna Karenina, dutiful wife and doting mother, knows contentment but not passion. That changes when she meets ardent Count Vronsky. For him, she throws away marriage, family, social position and finally her life. Leo Tolstoy's novel receives sumptuous treatment in David O. Selznick's production. The cast - including Fredric March (as Vronsky), Basil Rathbone, Maureen O'Sullivan and Freddie Bartholomew - is stellar under the direction of Clarence Brown. But the soul of the film is Greta Garbo in a nuanced performance that won the New York Film Critics Best Actress Award. At the height of her art, Garbo is unforgettable as a woman helpless in love's thrall and heartbroken at the loss of her son. Her final scene will haunt you.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11462 in DVD
• Brand: Warner Brothers
• Released on: 2005-09-06
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Black & White, Closed-captioned, DVD, Subtitled, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, French
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 95 minutes

Amazon.com essential video
Garbo won two consecutive New York Film Critics Awards for best actress in this and Camille--an altogether more satisfying selection. At 95 minutes, this handsome David O. Selznick production for MGM hasn't a prayer of doing justice to the rich supporting cast of characters in Tolstoy's thick novel (notably Kitty, through no fault of the perky Maureen O'Sullivan). That was equally true of Clarence Brown's 1927 silent version Love (1927), also starring Garbo, but it was both more passionate and more fluid; Brown's direction here gathers no momentum within scenes or in the film overall. Garbo's quiet "Too late, too late," as she realizes early on what a tragedy her obsessive love affair must lead to, is exquisitely doomed; but Fredric March makes a tiresome, even petulant, Vronsky. It's a measure of the film's misdirection that Basil Rathbone, icy-cold as the careerist husband Karenin, inspires more sympathy. At least he's entertaining. --Richard T. Jameson

Customer Reviews

Triumphant
It is appropriate that one of literature's greatest and most tragic figures, Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, is given compelling life on screen by one of fildom's most gifted and spellbinding artists, Greta Garbo, in MGM's luxurious production of Tolstoy's masterpiece, "Anna Karenina".

Anna is the neglected wife of Russian aristocrat/bureaucrat, Karenin, haughtily portrayed by Basil Rathbone. Karenin is consumed by his career and social standing. It seems that the only reason he married Anna and had a son with her is to enhance his "respectibility" in society.

When a handsome officer, Count Vronsky, played with conviction by Frederic March, understandably is infatuated by the astonishingly beautiful and charming Anna, he makes this known to her. He is persistent in his pursuit of her.

At first Anna is reticent to his charms, but eventually succumbs. This story takes place during the 1800's under the reign of Czar Nicholas I of Russia. In this era, there was a strict and judgmental social code. Adultery was treated like a crime or a contagious disease, and Anna finds herself the object of scorn and ridicule among society.

Anna's husband Karenin refuses to grant Anna a divorce and tells their son that Anna is dead when she flees to Venice with Vronsky. Eventually Anna becomes a social outcast because of her affair, and Vronsky begins to suffocate from their relationship. He decides to go off to war rather than be with Anna constantly.

Devasted by Vronsky's abandonment and shunned by society, Anna's fate is tragic.

I can imagine few other actresses than Greta Garbo who could so realistically embody the character of Anna. Anna is essentially a good person, a loving mother, and dutiful wife. But she is starved for tenderness and affection so she turns to Vronsky. Garbo subtly conveys Anna's despair and loneliness in her loveless marriage to Karenin. Garbo makes you empathize with her predicament, and you truly feel the joy, passion, and guilt that Anna experiences as she falls in love with Vronsky.

As an actress, Garbo is a minimalist in the best sense. She understands that less is more. She can gladden or break your heart with a glance, a smile, or the slightest tilt of her posture. Her eyes are wondrously expressive. This is a masterful, mature, and dignified performance by a consummate actress.

As for the rest of the movie, the direction, sets, and photography are all impressive. And Garbo's unearthly beauty is complemented by the ravishing costumes designed by Adrian. This version of "Anna Karenina" is a triumph.

A SCENE IS MISSING FROM THE MOVIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am a huge fan of Greta Garbo, and I have seen all her movies more than once. I recently bought her Signature DVD collection and I was very happy to own it finally. I was watching "Anna Karenina" on the other day on DVD and I found out that a scene is missing from the movie. In that scene Greta Garbo's character Anna is with Frederic March's character Vronsky in Venice riding a gondola. Then, all of a sudden, a little boy comes to them and shows some tricks and Anna becomes very pleased to see him because he reminded her of her own son. She throws some coins to him. The missing scene is actually a part of this scene. That same boy brings all his friends from his neighborhood and they are all starting to do the same tricks as he was doing to get more coins. The whole scene takes approximately 5 minutes.
First, I thought that my DVD might have been defected, but I was so determined to find out that I actually bought another DVD just to prove myself that it is not defected. The production did skip that scene from the DVD. In May I went to see this movie on a big screen at UCLA and the scene was there. So if you are a picky person like me I would not recommend you to buy this DVD till the Warner Brothers will correct that mistake.

Second Time Around
Anna Karenina (Greta Garbo) is a married woman who finds herself falling in love with the man (Fredric March) her sister (Maureen O' Sullivan) is in love with. It is absolutely taboo for her to even consider taking her new love on as a lover, especially since she has a young son (Freddie Bartholomew) who she adores. However, it is difficult for her to live under the frightening gaze of her rigid husband (Basil Rathbone) so she submits to her feelings.

The novel Anna Karenina is incredibly long so it is obvious that a lot was cut to bring it to a 95 minute film. However, the formation of the relationship between Garbo and March is difficult to believe since there is so little time for it to develop. Their early scenes seem stiff and without feeling. The overall story is also muddled with various events probably important in the novel but seemingly insignificant in the film.

This is the second version of this classic story that Garbo brought to the screen, the first being the silent film Love. As a result, she is natural in the role. However, her performance does not change the dull script.