What do you think of the cast of the new Anna Karenina film?

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Originally Posted by Playtime

Yep. Money and lack of ingenuity/originality. They want something that can make money and is relatively low risk, and the common way to do this is sequels/adaptations/prequels/remakes/reboots.

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... and I thought the professionals at Hollywood and those screenwriting manuals claim that they want something 'fresh and new'...

Or maybe too many people write about contemporary trends. At least that's what I'm seeing too much in one of my creative writing classes currently.

The mere mention of Keira Knightley makes me recoil in horror unfortunately :/

Apart from that, looks good though :L

I don't know why Intuition is blaming the director. I doubt it was he who decided to adapt Anna Karenina into a movie.

At least the cast is well known, though I don't like Keira Knightley.

I keep thinking Winona Ryder would be good at another literary movie. She was fantastic in "The Crucible" and "Autumn in New York;" then again, I am biased, as she's my celebrity crush and her soft features seduced me in the latter movie.

A bit ridiculous really. Jude Law as the physically unattractive Karenin?! Keira Knightley as Anna, who is beautiful, but is also quite curvaceous, and is beautiful in a "radiates inner beauty" more than a 'model type' beauty like Keira. And Aaron Johnson as Vronsky, who is older than Kitty and physically not attractive, or attractive in a very masculine (he was quite large and had a big, unkempt, I think, beard) way...I fear that this film will ruin what is one of the most beautiful works of all time.

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Originally Posted by kelby_lake

Joe Wright is apparantly going to direct a new version in 2012. What are your thoughts on the cast?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1781769/board/threads/

I don't have too much of a problem with Keira Knightly. She looks right although I'm not sure how well she could pull off neurotic passion. Aaron Johnson is still practically a boy so who knows why he's been cast as Vronsky. Jude Law might have made a better, if perhaps a little bland, Vronsky but for some bizarre reason he's been cast as Karenin! Yes, Karenin who is supposed to be in his late 50's and past the point of being sexually attractive. Law is famous for playing pretty boys. Would anyone really leave Law for Johnson? I think not.

On the plus side, I think Saiorse Ronan might make a good Kitty.

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They filmed part of this film on Salisbury Plains near to where I live in Wiltshire a few months ago.

Ronan and Johnson are terrible castings for their roles. I would much rather see someone like Sean Bean (if only he were 10 years younger) as Count Vronsky or Clive Owen could have worked.

I read Anna Karenina now and I find the cast interesting!Jude is a fantastic actor stage and film...so no questions I think he will be great...Keira...I will wait she is really good actress but Russian literature is different from what she had been in..Aaron Johnson perfect for the "empty" Vronsky I hate him and I dislike Aaron so perfect match...Kind of disappointed for Levin I don't know...Will there be Koznyshev? I love him in the book!!!

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Originally Posted by Ecurb

West Side Story is terrible. Of course many critics like it, because (in my opinion) they think it "highbrow". It's an adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, and the music is by a classical composer, Leonard Bernstein. Nonetheless, the score is sappy mush (can anyone listen to "I Feel Pretty" without being nauseated). The cast is terrible - neither of the leads can act or sing. And the script is ridiculous. When one's mind's ear hears, "Oh, I am fortune's fool", the movie's hero shouts, "Maria!" over and over.

A few of the songs and dance numbers are OK, but in general the movie is not even close to Singin' in the Rain. Complaining about a lack of narrative in a Musical is like complaining about a lack of singing in a tragic drama. It's all about the songs and dances. The light-hearted, jazz oriented numbers in Singin' blow away the balletic schmaltz in West Side. I never saw West Side Story on the stage, and, by reports, the dancing was innovative. In the movie, it doesn't work. It's meant to capture the teen angst of disaffected youth -- but the gang members look more like ballerinas than dissaffected youths. The best number is the one backstage number -- the dance in the gymn.

"Say it loud and there's music playing / Say it soft and it's almost like praying..." Barf!

I'll grant that mine is not a standard opinion (the movie won the Oscar), but it is the opinion of a huge movie-musical fan (me). Nothing in West Side Story comes even close to the "Singin' in the Rain" number or the long "Broadway Melody" ballet at the end (starring the incomparable Cyd Charisse, who also starred in the superb "Band Wagon").

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You compare it to one of the greats, if not the all-time great (Gene Kelly), and you wonder why it does not seem to measure up

As far as your criticism of Natalie Wood - tremendous acting skill does not always make a great role. Travolta and Olivia Newton-John were not terrific actors - but they were perfect and charming in the movie version of Grease. Same with the girl who played Mary Magdalene in the movie version of Jesus Christ Superstar. She was a pretty poor actress, but her version of Mary was unforgettable

It looks like a great cast to me. Keira Knightley is a good actress. People probably associate her too much with "Pirates of the C". I learned to know her in "Oliver Twist" and I immediately liked her.

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Originally Posted by Patrick_Bateman

I would much rather see someone like Sean Bean (if only he were 10 years younger) as Count Vronsky.

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Sean Bean played Vronsky in the 1997 adaptation of Anna Karenina, with Sophie Marceau as Anna :)

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Originally Posted by wordeater

Keira Knightley is a good actress.

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She's good in lighter films but I'm not convinced that she would make a good Anna. I still can't get over the bizarre casting of Jude Law as Karenin. If they wanted him in the film, they could have cast him as Vronsky. Aaron Johnson wasn't bad in Nowhere Boy but I think the casting is relying on his real-life romantic experiences.

Can't wait to see Knightly throw herself under a train... Worth the ticket price for that- I might cheer.

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Originally Posted by Night_Lamp

Can't wait to see Knightly throw herself under a train... Worth the ticket price for that- I might cheer.

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:rofl:

Natalie Portman would be good.

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Originally Posted by Ecurb

I love Caberet, too. Richard Beymer and Natalie Wood have to be the two worst stars in any musical. They can't sing,they can't dance and they can't act. I prefer Kiss me Kate for a Shakesperean musical. Look for Bob Fosse as one of Bianca's suitors. (I'll admit that Katherine Grayson is lousy, but even she is better than Natalie.

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Reading through these posts I don't know how they got onto musicals from Anna Karenina but as far as West Side Story is concerned, it's a clever adaptation of Romeo and Juliette and regardless of whether you think that it doesn't stand up to its film musical predecessors, you would have to have a heart of stone not to be moved by this.

http://youtu.be/ycTwZh4nBt0