Tuesday, February 14, 2012

The Brothers Karamazov (1958)


Academy Awards, USA
YearResultAwardCategory/Recipient(s)
1959 Nominated Oscar Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Lee J. Cobb

MGM
Directed by Richard Brooks
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Warner Archive Collection)

Disappointing adaptation of the Dostoevsky literary classic that emphasizes the melodramatic aspects of the novel. Yul Brynner plays Dmitri, the brother with a gambling habit who leaches money from everyone in his life, including his father, brothers and girlfriends. Maria Schell is the woman he seems to love, but her appetite for men extends even to his father. It's hard to care about this selfish couple, whose relationship is central to the plot. In fact, it's hard to care about anyone in this film full of selfish, drunk, hypocritical characters. A relatively minor incident, a slap in the face, plays a huge role in the ending, which was unsatisfying.

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