of the film is a joke, with Joe White turning Tolstoy's epic into a female adventure.
--The Hollywood Reporter's
unparalleled imagery can't keep the audience's attention on the characters on the screen; and Joe White's personal style and character can't turn the tide.
—film.com
Put on period costumes and Keira Knightley becomes a screen goddess. ——This version of "Anna Karenina" by the
Daily Mail is certainly not the best, but it is the most energetic. ——The Irish Times behind the scenes British director Joe White is quite good at adapting famous novels. His famous work is "Pride and Prejudice" in 2005. After a lapse of seven years, Joe White once again made another masterpiece on the screen, this time he adapted Leo Tolstoy's masterpiece "Anna Karenina". This time, shooting the film under Working Title Films is White's fourth time working for the studio. Talking about directing this costume drama, Joe White said: "Everything was decided suddenly, I was hired to direct this film by this crew. Although I am familiar with the story in this novel, I want to make it I still did a lot of homework to put it on the screen. For example, I read a lot of articles about the society, customs and aristocratic habits of St. Petersburg in the 18th century. I learned what kind of society it was and established a relationship with it through fiction. That era Russia, imported the French-style life and concept of life. They divided their habits into Russian-style and French-style. The living habits of the Russian side are always alert to the behavior of the French side. So, this is It's very interesting. This social background inspired me to direct the actors' performances. I understand that in a film like this, it would be better for the actors to use a more artistic, more stereotyped performance."
To cram the novel Anna Karenina into a two-hour film, the writers and directors had to cut their feet and cut most of the content. This is what many novel lovers criticize, and it is also what film workers have to do. Joe White said: "It's a no-brainer, because a movie has a limited capacity and a movie and a novel are two completely different vehicles. When I got Tom Stoppard's script, it all It's basically decided. It should be said that Tom Stoppard wrote a very good script, he is very faithful to the original, at the same time the story is not cluttered, and it is easy to shoot. In the script, he kept The main line is the story of Anna Karenina and her change of human nature. I was overjoyed. Also, he is very obsessed with Russian culture, which also makes his script very rich.”
Filming Tolstoy actually It's a very difficult thing, because the story of Tolstoy is not just a family story, but the story of the entire Russian society. Joe White said: "It was a huge challenge for me to make this film, although the original novel has a very meaningful and profound social significance, but in the film, I had to shoot it as a family story, otherwise , this film will be very embarrassing. And Tolstoy also wrote at the beginning of the novel: 'Happy families are all alike, and every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way' which also gave me an adaptation from a family perspective The entry point and reason for this novel. Moreover, there are many emotional nodes in the story of the script, so I am quite sure about making this film a family drama."
Knightley interviewed
Keira Knightley recently accepted an exclusive interview with the British "Guardian". The "British Rose" revealed that she had read Tolstoy's original works dozens of times, and did a lot of research to try her best to capture the most authentic Anna Ka Lenina.
Reporter: When you were shooting "Anna Karenina", did you ever think about the style of the film?
Knightley: No, I didn't. I think what each of us actors have in mind is just a piece of the film, just a part, only director Joe White has a complete picture of the whole film. Frankly, he's been on set explaining his creative ideas to us, sometimes with everyone, sometimes with individual actors, but none of the actors really know what the film is about. Since I've worked with Joe White on the blockbuster "Atonement" and "Pride and Prejudice" before, I'm still quite familiar with his directing style. If I hadn't worked with him before, I probably would have felt uneasy because I don't know exactly how I'd end up acting like this, but anyway, I still trust Joe White as always, he can make actors really into the role played.
Reporter: Your role can be said to be the most important part of the whole film. What are your expectations?
Knightley: It's hard to say what to expect, but the whole shoot was pretty memorable. When the film first started shooting, our crew went to Russia to shoot. I was very comfortable at first, and the crew were confident about the shoot. But as the expenditure became larger and the budget became tighter, the filming was stranded for a time, and the filming stopped. Still, Joe White pushes his creativity to the limit with limited resources.
Reporter: Have you changed your acting style for this film?
Knightley: Of course. Because we're not doing a naturalistic show, I feel like it's a bit of a conjuration. The set and the way we walk with our bodies are very stylized, like going back to 19th-century Russia. Of course, I also had to bring out the charming, arrogant, sensitive and deeply ingrained emotionality of my characters. "Anna Karenina" is one of the most famous novels that have been adapted into a film. Before ours, there have been 12 movies based on the novel, including early Hollywood actresses Greta Garbo, Vivien Leigh, and former Soviet actress Samoylova, who all played Anna Kareni The role of Na.
In the 1996 edition of "Anna Karenina", "French Rose" Sophie Marceau's spiritual interpretation of Anna is even more popular. Frankly, it also added a lot of pressure to me. It's hard to explain this state of being in the play, and although I'm not very sure about the final character, I know that all I can do is try to capture the most authentic Anna Karenina. To this end, I repeatedly read Tolstoy's original work, no less than dozens of times, and did a lot of research and took notes. I took my notebook with me on the shooting site. This performance experience was a big test for me, and I also paid a lot. The whole process is very unforgettable.
Reporter: In addition to researching the original novel and the history of Russia at that time, have you researched the inner world of the character Anna Karenina?
Knightley: Of course, to play this role well, you must not only dress exactly like Anna, but also be able to figure out the inner activities of the character. After I took on the play, I started to study the characters, but it wasn't until I went into the set to shoot the first scene that I had an epiphany about the real Anna, because I put myself in the shoes of the costume. Ana's point of view. Of course, I get nervous while shooting, and the only thing I can do is make sure I memorize my lines and get over my nervousness by memorizing my character's habitual movements.
Trivia
· This film is Keira Knightley's third collaboration with director Joe White, the first two being "Pride and Prejudice" and "Atonement".
· In order to understand the original, Keira Knightley read the original Tolstoy dozens of times.
The film's original cinematographer, Philip Russlot, had to undergo back surgery due to excruciating sciatica, so he left during the filming of the film. Later, cinematographer Seamus McGarvey took over as the film's cinematographer. Seamus McGarvey has worked with Joe White many times, including "Atonement" which earned him an Oscar nomination.
Robert Pattinson was once a candidate to play Count Vronsky. James McAvoy was originally cast to play Levin.
· Saoirse Ronan was originally the candidate to play Katie, but she gave up the role, instead starred in "Byzantine" and "Hannah" two films. The reason she gave for rejecting the film was that Joe White's production cycle was so long that if she took the film, she would have to reject all other films from the fall of 2011 to the spring of 2012. invite. Moreover, she is still a minor supporting role in "Anna Karenina". Turn down "Anna Karenina" and she has the opportunity to star in two films. Later, the role of Katie was handed over to Alicia Vikander. It is worth mentioning that the director of "Hannah" starring Saoirse Rhone is also Joe White.
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