Anna Karenina

This televised adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's classic novel Anna Karenina originally aired on the BBC 1961. It stars a young Sean Connery as Count Alexis Vronsky and in the title role, then 30-year-old Claire Bloom (Limelight). The familiar story finds Anna, the wife of Russian diplomat Alexis Karenin, embarking on a mission of mercy to help her brother reconcile with his wife following an extramarital affair. In the process, she meets Vronsky and falls helplessly in love with him; the two begin an affair of their own. Karenin learns of the infidelity and judiciously offers to forgive Anna, but she refuses to end the relationship with Vronsky - with heartbreaking consequences. Donald Bull wrote the adaptation. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

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.