Anna Karenina

Sean Connery and Claire Bloom star in this historic BBC production

BBC Video digs deep into the archives to unearth this remarkable production of Tolstoy's masterpiece starring Claire Bloom (Brideshead Revisited) and Sean Connery (The Hunt for Red October).

Anna Karenina (Bloom), the young wife of Russian diplomat Karenin (Goring), is on a mission of mercy to help her brother Oblonsky patch things up with his wife after an injudicious affair, when she meets the dashing soldier, Vronsky (Connery). Anna is soon swept off her feet by Vronsky and begins an affair of her own. When Karenin finds out, he offers to forgive Anna if she will leave Vronsky, but she refuses, a decision which will have tragic consequences.

Tolstoy's novel of infidelity and its haunting aftereffects has been adapted for film many times but none so moving as this deeply poignant, neglected gem.