The best-known of the 12 filmed adaptations of Tolstoy's Anna Karenina include the 1936 Garbo vehicle and the 1947
Vivien Leigh vehicle. This made-for-TV version is every bit as elaborate and tasteful as those earlier efforts.
Jacqueline Bisset makes her TV-movie debut as Anna, the wife of 19th century Russian nobleman Karenin (
Paul Scofield). When she falls in love with the dashing Count Vronsky (
Christopher Reeve), Anna runs afoul of the rigid social structure of the era-and of a husband whose anguish translates into revenge. The teleplay was by James Goldman, author of
The Lion in Winter and screenwriter of another Russian-based period piece, Nicholas and Alexandria. Anna Karenina premiered March 26, 1985. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide