Anna Karenina's Adaptations through Film Posters

• In Event: The Liberation of Anna Karenina: From Criticism to Canonization

Abstract

Numerous film adaptations of Lev Tolstoy's Anna Karenina have attracted keen attention from scholars. Instead of discussing films based on the novel, this talk focuses on film posters that advertise them. These promotional materials often give clues to the viewers' expectations and the cultural context that framed films when they were released. Posters for Julien Duvivier's Anna Karenina (1948) with Vivien Leigh and Ralph Richardson kissing clearly present the film as a Hollywood love story. On the other hand, different posters to the Soviet version directed by Alexander Zarkhi (1967) do not take this approach. One of the posters features Karenin instead of Vronsky, and the other shows Anna opposing St. Petersburg high society. Aside from posters, this paper will discuss other film promotional materials such as Anna Karenina photographs distributed in the Russian Empire in the 1910s.

Author

• Anna Kovalova, U of Pittsburgh