AllMovie

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.