Fidelity and Infidelity (to Tolstoy’s Novel) in Duvivier’s and Zarkhi’s Anna Kareninas
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published 30/05/2008
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SummaryA viewer watching the 1948 and then the 1967 film versions of Anna Karenina (directed by Julien Duvivier and Aleksandr Zharkhi, respectively) for the first time might think that there is much in common between the two films. They look very similar, and this is due in large part to attempts, by the film-makers, to be meticulously literal both to history and to their source, Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina. However, despite this seeming faithfulness to the original, the films also diverge wildly from each other at certain important turning points in the plot, and it is in these key moments that a different viewpoint, the directors’ own, asserts itself and distinguishes the film adaptations as, in some sense, original works of art (whether successful in this regard or not is a different matter). These adaptations are unique not because they are “spins” or “take-offs” on the original, rather, they are valuable as cultural commentary, as attempts to define and relate the society that produced the films with the society that Tolstoy lived in and wrote about. Some might question whether the films actually present unique viewpoints or if, due to censorship issues and the cruel drive of market forces, they simply represent the prevailing societal views of their times. But it must be kept in mind that Tolstoy also wrote during a time of censorship and strict morals and yet was able to produce a meaningful work of art.
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Behind the Scenes: Adaptation, Censorship and Production
- Much of this stereotype is rooted in the belief that all art being produced in the Soviet Union conformed to the proletariat-glorifying aesthetic of Soviet Socialist Realism.
- Literalism and Interpretation
- Horse-Racing and Ballroom Scenes
- Conclusion.
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