A look at two adaptations of Anna Karenina

Due to Croatian class I've received an opportunity to watch two film adaptations of what's considered a seminal classic. And I enjoyed neither of them.

Why am I not judging this adaptation wise?

Let's get one thing out of the way first, I haven't read Tolstoi's novel. I'm aware of it's status and influence on the literary world, but I never had an interest in reading it. Why? I am just not a fan of Tolstoi's writing style. I read a volume of War and Peace and the novella Russian Character and wasn't a fan of either at all. If we ignore the fact that, as he was an imperialist his thoughts on Ukraine and Ukrainian people are, let's just say problematic, I found them both to be quite dry, lifeless and devoid of character.

The unnecessary amount of details is what, probably, bugs me the most. As a writer myself, I firmly think that unless the described object, being or individual have any significant meaning in the context of the plot, are symbolic of what's happening right now or are clever foreshadowing, they shouldn't be given much attention. However in W&P we encouter a scene where he wastes six pages on describing leaves falling from a tree, something which you can easily describe in two sentences and is never brought up again. It's a sign of a lack of inspiration or much care for the main plot.

So I'll judge both of these films as standalone works, not adaptations. However, according to people who have read the book the 1935 flick is much closer to the original novel.

I'll go in the order I saw them in, so first let's discuss...

The 2012 Adaptation

Let's get the positives out of the way first, I adore the look and aestehtic of this film of this film. Joe Wright and the rest of the crew put incredible effort in lighting and set design to make everything look like a stage play and seemlessly transition scenes together without making it feel completley unnatural. It truly gives off a sense of true scale. It's a shame I haven't seen this on the big screen because it's no doub't a spectacle in that aspect, it borders between being a standard period piece and an arthouse flick.

As per negatives, I wasn't a fan of anything else about this movie. I didn't feel like the actors were very charismatic, the script was pretty dull, even when things are happening it really feels like nothing is happening and big moments seem to pop out of nowhere.

Not to mention that it's just a very standard forbidden love story, even if you haven't read the book, you'd be sure to know where the story is going. What it has in style, it sincerly lacks in supstance.

Do I reccomend it?

Mostly for the eye candy of the visuals, because I just geniuenly wasn't interested in anything else happening on screen.

If you're a fan of the book or Wright's other period romance adaptations (like the 2009 Pride and prejudice) you'd probably find some enjoyment out of it.

Now onto the classics with...

The 1935 Adaptation

Whilst I'm aware most of my peers find anything black and white boring, I find myself an exception as I quite enjoyed a plethora of these (my favorites include Metropolis, Cabinet of Doctor Caligari, Nosferatu, It's a wonderful life, Some like it hot, Psycho, Earth, Universal Monsters franchise, Cat People, Student of Prague, The Seventh Seal, Golem and Citizen Kane, as well as the unforgettable television masterpiece The Twilight Zone). The earliest memory I have of a film was the original 1933 King Kong, an absolute classic amongst monster movies, and cinema in genral. I'm sure I wouldn't be as much of a film buff if it wasn't for it's existence. I'm glad to see some more modern films take on that aesthetic as well (obvious examples include Werewolf by night and The Lighthouse). All and all, it's fair to say that I see a charm in those old classics which, whilst dated, did wonders for the cinematic landscape and we probably wouldn't have many films we have today if it wasn't for them.

So positives out of the way first, I love the stuntwork in the horsetrack scene. It feels very authentic and was the only time during this movie where I was on the edge of my seat because of real and perfectly coreographed it was.

Sorry, I could only find the scene in Italian.

Now to the negatives, this probably best falls into what most folks my age think of when they hear a movie is black and white.

It's very dry and the acting didn't really do it for me. I almost fell asleep even because it really felt like I wasn't watching a movie, moreso a bunch of people in fancy costumes reading from the original book. Added points for adaptation, but taken away for lack of entertainment value. Overall I don't have too much to say about it, it's just not that interesting of a film.

Do I reccomend this one?

Only if you're a big fan of the book, I sincerly doub't even fans of classic cinema will get a lot of enjoyment out of this one.

Overall I guess this just isn't a story I would enjoy in any way, shape and form, but for anyone who in fact does like the book and hasn't seen the films I do feel like you should definetley be checking them out to see how you, as a fan feel about them, they're not for me personally, but I'm fairly certain someone out there would enjoy them.

Trailers: