In this 10-part BBC adaptation of Tolstoy’s novel, a married woman’s calamitous love affair scandalises Russian high society.
Anna Karenina (Nicola Pagett), the wife of senior statesman Alexei Karenin (Eric Porter), travels to Moscow to help repair the marriage of her philandering brother, Stiva Oblonsky (Davyd Harries). On the journey she meets the dashing cavalry officer Count Vronsky (Stuart Wilson), and an immediate attraction is sparked.
They embark on a passionate affair that quickly becomes public knowledge, forcing Anna to abandon her husband and son and leading to her ostracism from society. In contrast, the country landowner Konstantin Levin (Robert Swann) pursues the principled Princess Kitty Shcherbatsky (Caroline Langrishe), who had previously been infatuated with Vronsky. Levin’s quest for family and faith serves as a sober counterpoint to Anna and Vronsky’s destructive romance.
This lavish production was a flagship drama for BBC Two, representing the Corporation’s commitment to large-scale literary adaptations. Donald Wilson’s teleplay is a work of careful fidelity, giving equal weight to the parallel stories of Levin’s rural contentment and Anna’s metropolitan tragedy. While some adaptations focus solely on the central affair, this version gives Tolstoy’s philosophical and social arguments their proper space.
Director Basil Coleman makes full use of the ten-episode running time, building a detailed and authentic portrait of Imperial Russia. The serial is distinguished by a trio of powerful central performances: Nicola Pagett’s Anna, Eric Porter’s stoic and wounded Karenin, and Stuart Wilson’s self-assured Vronsky.
Broadcast: BBC Two, 10 Episodes, 25 September – 27 November 1977
Adapted by: Donald Wilson
Director: Basil Coleman
Producer: Donald Wilson
Executive Producer: Ken Riddington
Main Cast: Nicola Pagett (Anna Karenina), Stuart Wilson (Vronsky), Eric Porter (Alexei Karenin), Robert Swann (Konstantin Levin), Caroline Langrishe (Kitty Shcherbatsky), Davyd Harries (Stiva Oblonsky), Carole Nimmons (Dolly Oblonsky), Sheila Gish (Betsy Tverskoy), Geoffrey Toone (Prince Shcherbatsky), Patricia Lawrence (Princess Shcherbatsky), Marilyn Le Conte (Annushka), Paul Spurrier (Seriozha)
