Anna Karenina. Vivien Leigh vs Greta Garbo

[@IreneXandra]

Watch "Thank you, Deborah Kerr!" kzbin.info/www/bejne/kIHPpIiOZriFacU

[@NajLahsen]

Vivien Leigh has this presence, elegance, grace and beauty that no one has or can never capture on a screen. No matter what the role is, she is able to deliver excellence captivating her audience like no one else!!! She is an icon, my idol :)

[@katiescarlett5249]

I feel the same way about Vivien Leigh. She is one of the finest actresses of all time, and certainly the most beautiful. After seeing all the "Gone With The Wind" auditions, I could never picture anyone else in that role. 🌹

[@fairouzsamy2520]

I agree with you vivien leigh is the most beautiful and the most sensitive actress of all. She has more charm than all of them and i hope if she played all her movies with clark gable.

[@rogerpropes7129]

She had a tendency to reduce all her roles to the simpering coquette that she was perfect for, but in this one she does not and is the best Anna on film, though it's not the best movie.

[@sew_gal7340]

She is regal and delicate like porcelain...so graceful and enchanting...true facets of femininity, i feel like all the most beautiful poems and all the love songs in the world were written for her. She can only be compared to the beauty of elizabeth taylor and grace kelly. No one can look or act like that

[@a.m.d493]

Vivien has the eyes for this role..sadness and beauty are read in her eyes in every scene . truly magical

[@anthonyhebisen]

Vivien could make the sun rise with her smile, or have it set with just an icy stare. She had night and day in her beauty and enough charm to fill the hours between.

[@ClaudineBJimdar-RoweCV]

This is my favorite version with vivien Leigh, and nothing else could compare with it. ❤️

[@AfridiZindabad]

Both great. Vivien wins for me. She puts it all in her eyes, as if she is really in the midst of the story. She is one of the best actresses.

[@leannlundberg]

I am in awe of both women. Thank you for making this montage as a tribute to both.

[@IreneXandra]

Thank you, yes it is a tribute to both legendary actresses.

[@GertaHajdaraj]

Vivian has an haunted look in her face and she plays every role and breaks it to the bone . She becomes one with the character . It might have cost so much to get this good 😢

[@xfiler-gl7nc]

I love both actresses but Garbo’s introduction and her jumping in front of that train were both iconic scenes.

[@TM15HAKRN]

Love the kid Vivian i lov

[@aka_massi]

Vivien... Lovely, beautiful, incredibly talented Vivien. She has been the greatest actress of all time.

[@Veronica-yn2zu]

Vivien was just perfect for this role.

[@aurora.a6645]

Vivien was just very sad in life❣! Her sadness came from inside😢in addition to the sad role. Garbo was more assured, in control as a personality, a real star💫

[@williamoverly1617]

Vivien Leigh had an ability to convey vulnerability. Garbo conveyed strength. Both were tremendous actresses of great beauty. But after GONE WITH THE WIND and WATERLOO BRIDGE, Leigh established herself as one of motion pictures' most talented and beautiful actresses. (Liz Taylor thought her the most beautiful and once substituted for her.) Leigh had a troubled lifestyle. A tuberculin since youth, she was often sick. After marrying Laurence Oliviier, she became a paranoid psychotic which greatly affected their marriage. But one cannot dismiss Garbo. The most beautiful and talented actress of the silent era, she proved her dramatic ability in sound films, evidenced by her role as Marguerite Gautier in CAMILLE, perhaps her finest performance. She had learned to convey emotion through facial expressions, a carryover from the silent era, and no one did it better. Garbo was a mysterious and fascinating person. Her Swedish background instilled a dark personality and independence that fascinates to this day. But there is no question she was made for films and remains one of movies' greatest actresses.

[@RhaegarTargaryen1st]

"In a quick turn of her head there is a manifestation of what Hollywood cannot destroy. In the presence of this mystery all that is second-rate can be forgotten,” said Cecil Beaton of Greta Garbo Kenneth Tynan famously said, ''What when drunk one sees in other women, one sees in Garbo sober.'' Bette Davis, no slouch herself said of Garbo that, "Her instinct, her mastery over the machine, was pure witchcraft. I cannot analyze this woman's acting. I only know that no one else so effectively worked in front of a camera." Dolores Del Rio said, "The most extraordinary woman in art that I have encountered in my life. It was as if she had diamonds in her bones and in her- interior light struggled to come out through the pores of her skin." Director George Cukor said: "She had a talent that few actresses or actors possess. In close-ups, she gave the impression, the illusion of great movement. She would move her head just a little bit, and the whole screen would come alive, like a strong breeze that made itself felt." Such an amazing woman whose mystery and legacy borders on the mythological. I LOVE Greta Garbo!

[@mdarcy886]

@@RhaegarTargaryen1st une actrice à mes yeux froide et peu féminine. Marléne et Vivien c'est autre chose, c'est le sublime.

[@RhaegarTargaryen1st]

@@mdarcy886 I don't speak French.

[@kirstymackenzie2437]

@@RhaegarTargaryen1stThere is usually a translation there.

[@mariavictoriapresas1044]

​@@mdarcy886mais oui, la Karenine que décrit Tolstoí, belle, fragile, tormentee, contradictoire, est bel et bien Vivien. Garbo a une certaine elegance mais lui manquent la fragilité et le charme de Vivien. Garbo joue comme forcée...Vivien, tout simplement est Anna Karenine.

[@laurahumberley633]

Vivien runs circles around everyone, past and present. She was an extraordinary actress.

[@blueheaven2135]

She was not better than Garbo no way

[@j.s.martin9362]

She's good but no Garbo

[@blackiesun]

@@j.s.martin9362 Garbo wasn't right for the role IMO. Certainly didn't look like a woman in the throes of passion. She looks too strong to kill herself and all that. She's not who I would picture in a role like this. I'm just talking about this role. Of course she remains a screen legend.

[@SL-vk3bi]

@@blueheaven2135 A least vivien won Oscar two time. And vivien play role iconic characters history in cinema. Gone with the wind. Garbo? Never

[@бессоветный]

@@SL-vk3bi it 's stupid to measure the talent of actors with Oscars ...

[@erandiag]

I love both. Actually there are one favourite actresses. But i really love the version of Vivien Leigh 😱

[@StellaDallas1970]

What a beautiful video! This edition made it a masterpiece. Thank you so very much for sharing such a magnificent piece of art with us. The combination of images so well put .... amazing!!

[@sanita7475]

Vivien is so very beautiful and a good dramatic actress.

[@TheVaughan5]

Both are perfectly photogenic but the acting honours have to go to Vivien Leigh IMO possibly the finest screen actress of all time

[@rojocomolagrana]

I agree, but I adore Greta also.

[@sweetbitter2]

I'm sorry but Katherine Hepburn was better

[@JudgeJulieLit]

@@rojocomolagrana Vivien was prettier.

[@nssquared9174]

@@JudgeJulieLit ah. no.

[@blueheaven2135]

Nope she is not better than Garbo no way but she was the best Scarlet O Hara but when its Anna Karenina Greta is the best.

[@johnreese7590]

its so Vivien. Read the description from the book. As if she were lifted from it

[@lucyglorioso2398]

Vivian Leigh. Greta Garbo was too strong for the part. In my opinion she was toying with Vronsky but she had Tolstoy to deal with. Come to think of it, it was Garbo's forte to toy with all men she got involved with. Vivian made Karenina come to life.

[@alessandrinaferrari8874]

mi piace molto ciao

[@alessandrinaferrari8874]

+Alessandrina Ferrari mi piace ciao,,,

[@zhaolinwu1232]

Alessandrina Ferrari g

[@JudgeJulieLit]

@beyah Yes. A year later Vivien would play the even frailer femme Blanche du Bois.

[@elladespan]

Vivien Leigh îs very beauty and very elegant she s the vest

[@stefanieg13]

True, I have an obsession with Vivien Leigh and I think Leigh's Vronsky was the most attractive....but I feel she expressed the best composition of vulnerability, desperation, hopelessness, and passion as well. Vivien Leigh is definitely one of the best actresses of all time; such a shame not many recognize her as such. I really wish I could see the whole of her version of Anna Karenina. I fell in love with the newest one released this year, starring Knightly and it was magnificent as well.

[@SVETLANA-pm2dy]

I am russian. I saw many versions of Anna Karenina with Garbo, Vivien Leigh, russian.actresses and my favorite is K.KNIGHTLY

[@magnusjonsson1316]

As a Swede I should say Garbo but I say Mrs Leigh, one of the best actors ever, magnificent! Garbo is great, but maybe not in this role.

[@Mrturytury1]

It is impossible to compare two beatiful precious stones.....!

[@zoraidadelacaridadgutierre2286]

magníficas actuaciones

[@SVETLANA-pm2dy]

I like bonheur of them

[@user-ss7rk6er3g]

Both movies were so beautiful. Movies are the best man-made works and these movies will go down in history for a long time.

[@henryw6167]

Vivien, to me, looks more like how I imagined Anna: something about her dark hair and petite frame. But I think both performances were great.

[@andrescruzadonieves580]

Henry Wilkinson

[@elitap22]

They are both great actresses, although different. I prefer Greta, I've always loved her; she was so immense, she pierced the screen already with her presence.

[@vicsaul5459]

pierced the screen , that says it all ,

[@elmerdemleon9418]

leigh's performance is subtle, almost hypnotic but most effective compared to garbo's whose performance is akin to her transition from silent movies to the talkies...both are great but leigh's intensity is electrifying and convincingly sad and tragic...

[@lianalobinha]

OMG! SUCH AN INCREDIBLE VIDEO! I'M SO GLAD I'VE FOUND IT!

[@audreyt6208]

Both great actresses and great beauties; but Garbo's artistry cannot be touched. It is something of another world. She breaks your heart in the scenes with her son and the last scenes of her eyes, well...WOW! As Clarence Brown says, it's all in her eyes. She evoked whatever she wanted from the audience just by the genius she had with the camera. It was pure magic.

[@blueheaven2135]

So true

[@elitap22]

I agree totally. Greta pierced the screen already with her presence. I have always loved her ❤.

[@linguatutors]

Greta Garbo is great but Vivien Leigh wins hands down in both beauty and the way she delivered this role. Vivien is said to be the most beautiful actress ever and the way she "makes love" to the camera is unparalleled. No one else has the connection with the screen and the audience that Vivien had!!!!

[@tonaricca8529]

Liz Taylor forse la superava!

[@aurora.a6645]

@@tonaricca8529 Vivien was too much troubled in her life, that reflected totally in her acting to be a very good actress, she was 'really' sad, victime of her inside. R.i.P.

[@rogerpropes7129]

Hedy Lamar was the most perfect beauty ever but not a great actress. Liz Taylor comes in second, then Vivien.

[@sew_gal7340]

Liz taylor in national velvet was ridiculously beautiful but there is something special in my heart for vivien leigh...she really knows sadness like a best friend and it shows in her eyes which makes one love her even more.

[@danielbacklif5267]

​@@rogerpropes7129jamás ni nunca, Vivian Leigh era más bonita que Liz, por qué aparte de ser bonita era exótica, tenía un encanto unico y Liz solo era bonita

[@RoomscapeLondon]

VIVIEN... for me...so expresive she penetrates the screen...so real and beautiful...

[@iluvcamaros1912]

I'd just like to say y'alls comments helped resolve 10 years of angst I've had about these two films. I caught Leigh's version on TCM while I was in college and actually ended up reading the book because of it. Afterwards I made two attempts to watch the Garbo version and fell asleep both times. Drove me mad reading that critics consider hers to be better.

[@ViviSojorhn]

There is something so fragile about Vivien Leigh...like she might break, even smiling. Greta Garbo is more subtle in her portrayal of Anna as a willful woman. I think they mainly made very different choices. I love them both.

[@arnavraizada3190]

I've just recently read the book and am looking up all the versions. I have to say just by watching this video, I believe Vivian Leigh took the upper hand. Leigh's expressions, and particularly her eyes portray the helplessness and irrevocable desires of Anna perfectly! Garbo seems to overact just a smidge (no offense to any Garbo fans, just my opinion).

[@fliplinefungus]

Not overact, quite- she doesn't have the emotional range to play Anna as I imagined her.

[@aaa_1727]

"I've just recently read the book and am looking up all the versions." Haha, that is exactly what I am doing!

[@КристинаЛюкшина]

Вивьен Ли моооооожет быть Анной Карениной.А Гарбо ,вообще ,в этом фильме делать нечего Лицо простое-простое.И старое .

[@fernandairina8907]

Perfect! Thank you for só beautiful scenes.

[@lindasturm699]

Vivian Leigh wins my dear! I love the music!

[@oliverbrady7]

What is that music, it’s beautiful 🙏

[@liljefe8]

Vivien is Anna Karenina!!! LOL and Scarlet tooo.

[@baltoman24]

I cannot understand why Vivien Leigh's performance as Anna Karenina has never been hailed as one of her finest, comparable to Blanche du Bois and Scarlet O'Hara- it is astounding. Garbo is great too, but the subtleties and details of Leigh's performance are timeless.

[@aka_massi]

All of Vivien Leigh's performances on the screen were astonishing... people simply got accustomed to her priceless talent.

[@baltoman24]

@@aka_massi very well expressed, Leigh's "priceless talent"; thank you.

[@abigailpenaloza2059]

Vivean leigh .una actriz completa bella y ralentiza,única siempre la recordaré,lo malo que murió muy joven,lo bueno dura poco

[@AustrianAdrian]

Vivien Leigh is far more believable in the role of Anna as she shows the requested passion which Garbo lacks. A pity her husband talked her out of the movie career she might have achieved after her success as Scarlett. She might have given some of the greatest performances of the silver screen. Her Scarlett and Blanche are movie history anyhow. Garbo on the other hand is a legend by herself ... she simply is Garbo ... not Anna, not Marguerite, not Christina ... just GARBO.

[@danielbacklif5267]

Muy bien dicho

[@britannia5370]

There is just a touch of melancholy in the way Great acts, it is more believable, she IS Anna! In my opinion she wins this contest by far!

[@dchatterley]

I agree. Something about her acting seems a lot more like the character in the book. Leigh is full of nervous smiles, the glance upwards with the chin down, sort of like a debutante a bit. A bit childish. Garbo was all strength with a bit of feminine guile and fragility. Also, Garbo came from the silent era. One smallest move of a brow said a ton.

[@irinasalauyeva8614]

Vivian is the best,as Anna.Better,than Russian, and all of them,who came later .. She is just a nerve..nacked nerve and her beauty is so perfect.. ❤️⚘️⚘️⚘️⚘️⚘️⚘️⚘️

[@JudgeJulieLit]

In this 1948 film Sir Ralph Richardson plays Vivien Leigh's husband. A year later in the film The Heiress, he would play Olivia de Havilland's fther.

[@draganap9223]

My choice is Vivien Leigh

[@sigalitmenashe5022]

The were both amazing and each one brought a unique style of their own

[@snizhannapetrova1844]

Vivien Leigh of course

[@georgrichter9800]

Just looking at this (excellent) montage I might have voted for Leigh but having watched both movies (plus Garbo's silent version) I have to say that Garbo nailed it. After I read the book I did not feel much sympathy towards Anna. Leigh is quite similar to how I imagined the literary character but Garbo, for me, filled her with humanity and compassion and I found her profoundly likeable and relatable. I think this is one of the greatest compliments you can make to an actress. And the Garbo version has truly iconic moments which the Leigh version (in my opinion) lacks.

[@irinavysotskaia2498]

Absolutely agree

[@danielbacklif5267]

Si Vivían para ti se parece o es igual al de la novela quiere decir que encarnó bien en el personaje, eso era lo que hacía grande a Vivian Leigh, se hacía uno con el personaje, ella era Anna, era Scarleth, era lady Hamilton,etc

[@philipkuttner7945]

I am a huge Garbo fan, but I have never really like her Anna Karenina. It may sound silly, but I think her hairstyle in this film was unflattering (and not authentically in period.) I don't think it's one of her better films (and remember, I do love, nay, idolize her.) Leigh has the advantage of looking more like Toltoy's description of Anna. I'll have to watch her version.

[@papitapaloro]

Las dos son absolutamente maravillosas. Por supuesto, muy distintas. Si estuviera obligado a elegir entre una interpretación y la otra, elegiría la de Greta Garbo. Lo haría porque encuentro en la construcción de su personaje un peso y una profundidad trágica que parecen forjarse en las profundidades de la fragua de Vulcano. La actuación de Vivien Leight también es descollante y bellísima, pero, la creo ver perfilada desde recursos dramaticos que, aunque formidables, construyen un personaje menos sólido que el representado por la Garbo.

[@fabiokaneziro8848]

Greta Garbo is perfect in scene!!! Pure talent... state of art

[@spockboy]

Vivian for the win.

[@deborahpeeples1439]

Irene Xandra, you are quite gifted at creating montage and selecting music to enhance it. You should be working in this field. Thanks for an always enjoyable episode!

[@IreneXandra]

Thank you very much for the compliment. I'll try putting into my CV "I make videos on KZbin" and see if anybody will hire me :)

[@philpryor7524]

I cannot agree with some more extreme partisan views. These are two great actresses, great beauties, and there are two fine performances. I'm so glad of both, as one might be of birds and fruits. Comparison is a vile thing if it reduces some magnificence to a lower role in a fantasy of contest. There is none. These are two independent monumental efforts, entirely separate. Nothing is lessened or reduced in equal skills.

[@audreyt6208]

After reading the comments, I had to comment once again. I was shocked that someone considered Garbo 'very average, and though she's pretty enough, she's plain and forgettable!" THAT, was something I have never read about La Divina. Quite amusing actually. I do agree, to each his own, but that description really floored me. lol

[@JudgeJulieLit]

I share that opinion of Garbo's appearance in this film, as plain and pedestrian as the older Irene Dunne as a Swedish American matron in the title role of I Remember Mama.

[@gendroswito]

@@OpiumBride nah, Vivien Leigh only placed at no 16 while Garbo placed at no 5 for AFI's Greatest Screen Legend of All Time. Here are AFI's List (Actresses) 1. Katharine Hepburn 2. Bette Davis 3. Audrey Hepburn 4. Ingrid Bergman 5. Greta Garbo 6. Marylin Monroe 7. Elizabeth Taylor 8. Judy Garland 9. Marlene Dietrich 10. Joan Crawford 11. Barbara Stanwyck 12. Claudette Colbert 13. Grace Kelly 14. Ginger Rogers 15. Mae West 16. Vivien Leigh 17. Lilian Gish 18. Shirley Temple 19. Rita Hayworth 20. Lauren Bacall 21. Carole Lombard 22. Sophia Loren 23. Jean Harlow 24. Mary Pickford 25. Ava Gardner

[@brianwolle2509]

nobody touches garbo. vivien looks very plain next to her.

[@SVETLANA-pm2dy]

I prefer Greta Garbo and K. KNiGHTLY

[@blackiesun]

@@gendroswito that list is like everything subjective. It's not anything definitive. Colbert for example is basically forgotten now. Leigh will be remembered forever just for the two legendary performances in her Oscar winning roles of Scarlet and Blanche. Gone With The Wind alone is something almost everyone has heard about. I'm not saying watched but you've heard it being mentioned for sure if you watch movies and like cinema. Name me one Colbert movie that is comparable in fame nowadays still.

[@fairies47]

Vivian Leigh is closer to the novel... Anna has a warm personnality... Garbo is cold as ice, with no expressions at all... Vivien wins the game!

[@nssquared9174]

Yeah. Garbo was so unlike the part that she played it twice.

[@aliciagrana6276]

Same here. Vivien gives Anna a frailty and desperation that you can imagine her committing suicide. While Garbo approaches it with anger, betrayal and determination. Anna was not as strong a Garbo comes across. I could mention other scenes when Anna encounters conflict and Vivien looks like she's barely keeping together, and Garbo looks like she about slug the guy.

[@ahyan6681]

Bette Davis said of Garbo that, “Her instinct, her mastery over the machine, was pure witchcraft…I only know that no one else so effectively worked in front of a camera.” I'm not saying Vivien Leigh or Garbo have a better perfomance, I haven't watched Leigh's. But it's extremely disgusting to say she has no expressions, she does, it made her one of the greatest actresses in history

[@fairies47]

@@nssquared9174 I speak as a reader of the novel, of how Tolstoy described Anna. Anna Karenina is no cold vamp of the silver screen.

[@nssquared9174]

@@fairies47 I also have read the novel; and while I agree with your assessment; I simply prefer Garbo as an actress. And referring to her as a "cold vamp of the silver screen" does her a HUGE disservice..

[@clara5924]

Vivien Leigh is the true Anna. So melancholic and stubborn yet endearingly charming.

[@RobS1972]

Nothing beats the ending by Vivien Leigh.

[@graymatterhudgens4704]

Greta Garbo's version was DEFINITELY at the heights of Artistry screen of the cinema

[@sylviatina4228]

They setting off back in the day. They knew how love! So real affection. Great job!

[@topcat1000]

For me, I think the role of Anna Karenina was more believable with Vivien Leigh, regardless of her Gone with the Wind victory. She had this uncanny ability to make you feel as if you were invited into her world, no matter which role she played, very sexy, very natural and sensual....... Garbo to me, seemed wooden in her roles, as though she was living up to her image as a recluse. She is certainly not petite as I would imagine Anna to be, Garbo seems to tower over her fellow players, even the men. If I had to choose someone to play the role of Anna, dont think I would have chosen Garbo, however, both are beautiful women in their own right, and will always be icons in our psyche.....

[@richardmcleod5967]

both Greta Garbo and Vivien Leigh were great Actresses. Garbo did a silent version of Anna Karenina about 1928 called "Love" and then after talkies came about did a talking version. Vivien Leigh's film version came out in the mid 1940's. All I can say here is that Garbo performed the movie first and both were excellent. Comparisons are odious.

[@here_we_go_again2571]

Both Vivian (age 35 in 1948) and Greta (Age 30 in 1935) played their role as Ana to perfection. Imo: Vivian's interpretation has more of a sense of vulnerability and girlishness than Greta's interpretation; which I find more melancholic and jaded. This may have something to do with the direction and the era as well as with the two women's style of acting in the films.

[@Katerinakatsouda7]

Vivien Leigh wins every time!!!

[@EternalAlana2001]

VIVIEN LEIGH ALL THE WAY!

[@8proncess]

VIVIEN LEIGH

[@suek5093]

I’m a huge Garbo’s fan, but have to admit Leigh is the best Anna Karenina. She is the Anna herself both in and outside especially her appearance and voice. I mean, pls watch the famous horse race sequence! When I think abt Anna’s image, it is always Vivien Leigh’s…

[@under88Me]

Vivien wins by fatality. She had beauty and talent. Both of them were doomed women though.

[@austriaco4132]

I have seen both movies several times and like them both. The difference is: Vivien Leigh is Anna Karenina and Garbo is ... just Garbo like in each of her films. Garbo was no actress - she was a goddess and an icon (like Dietrich) but Leigh was an actress and matched only by few others, but more beautiful than any of them. Garbo´s Anna Karenina is impression - Leigh´s is performance.

[@ЛюдмилаЗагорий-б8н]

Очень саветую вам посмотреть версию фильма,где Анну играет Татьяна Самойлова,а Вронского играет Василий Лановой.Вы не пожалеете!!!

[@danielbacklif5267]

Así es, tienes toda la razon

[@katiekoolmiss]

I love you Irene Xandra! Thankyou ::)

[@gio_ser5120]

They r both great actresses & interpretations of Anna, I don’t understand why the need to compare to choose who is the best

[@krystofdrechsler559]

I somewhat couldnˇt believe Garbo giving everything for love. She is too strong, cold, independent. Vivien for me!

[@TrangPakbaby]

Vivien played the hell out of this role. Greta was good too but Vivien WAS Anna

[@iamismay]

Greta Garbo was Anna twice, and Was by far the finest actress that has or ever will live. A definition of Icon, legend, and simply perfection. Viv had her moments but there just nothing to compare Garbo to or with. God Bless you always Greta.

[@andrewpalframan4666]

Had her moments??? She won two Oscar's and spent most of her career acting classical parts of stage.

[@garybagrov]

With all my love for Greta Garbo, I give preference to the incomparable Vivien Leigh, the BEST Anna Karenina ever (much more convincing than all the Russian actresses, including the very talented Tatiana Samoilova) As it has been mentioned, Greta Garbo plays a much more stronger character than Leo Tolstoy depicted

[@criss5405]

Have you seen the British version with Nicola Pagett? She is the best impersonation.

[@fannylablanche9952]

Fredric MARCH forever ! ...

[@jamiecao4341]

VIVIEN LEIGH of couse!!

[@MonaRenee]

My problem with the Vivien Leigh version is that it presented Alexej Karenin as extremely unlikeable and made viewers sympathise with Anna all the way through. The novel itself was far more complex and also showed Karenin's good traits of character, e.g. his loyalty and sense of honour. He definitely was a better husband than many women will ever get in real life. So the story isn't about how a wonderful woman escapes from her terrible husband and is undeservingly punished. The story is about two people who are very different in character and cannot find what they are looking for. Social pressure and the conventions of an aristocratic lifestyle are, of course, important factors which influence their decisions, but Alexej Karenin is as much a 'victim' as Anna is. This is why I was very unhappy with Vivien Leigh's sentimentalism and the one-sidedly negative portrayal of Prince Karenin in the 1948 adaptation. I haven't seen the Greta Garbo version yet but would hope that Garbo and Basil Rathbone staged 'Anna Karenina' as a more mature and balanced narrative. Reading the novel, I had a lot of sympathy for Alexej Karenin, and I find Basil Rathbone an excellent choice - well able to portray a principled bureaucrat who is unable to express his feelings but certainly not a heartless sadist. One of the best modern versions I have seen was the 2013 adaptation by Christian Duguay, starring Vittoria Puccini, Santiago Cabrera, Benjamin Sadler and Max von Thun.

[@sedekiman]

When you see Basil Rathbone's Karenin you are in for a shock! At least Richardson had some nuances to his performance.

[@costernocht]

Excellent points.

[@jupiter9978]

No comparison. Garbo conveyed everything through her eyes. She was a genius with the camera. Her movements were perfect.

[@iloirtimusiikista]

The women are both fabulous, but the leading men are not in their league!

[@rogerpropes7129]

True, but a slight adjustment in Kieron Moore's ugly mustache would have made the film so much better.

[@CherArsen]

nice video and choise of song,,,

[@indieg.4579]

They are both wonderful

[@stefanieg13]

Yes! I know! I check all the old movie channels for any Vivien Leigh films every weekend. So far, I've caught A Streetcar Named Desire and the Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone. But that's about it.

[@JudgeJulieLit]

See Ship of Fools (1965), her last film.

[@alondraperez-ramirez8363]

See her in Waterloo Bridge, absolutely beautiful film.

[@familypondman]

For ever Garbo with her acting, never thinking about if she is beautiful, against Leigh, no argument is beautiful and she knows it, only in Gone with the wind she was the best and here Garbo for sure!!!!!!!!!

[@jamesford1544]

Vivian Leigh number 1!

[@tamthom100]

Vivian Leigh wins by a land slide!!! I could hardly stand to watch the Greta Garbo version...she just doesn't look like Anna to me...I was also very impressed at how much Vivian DIDNT bring any of Scarlett O'Hara into this film! I was also very surprised at how strongly the passion is seen in both Anna's and Vronsky's eyes in the Vivian version...I didn't think it was 'legal' for them to portray that level of passion back in those days!;). My second favorite version is with Jacquelyn Bissette and Christopher Reeves...they do an excellent job of it as well!;)

[@JudgeJulieLit]

Vivien brought a bit of Scarlett's early hopeless passion for Ashley Wilkes ... .

[@gabbymiller1001]

Garbo shows resignation with a blink like no other!

[@rena2168]

GRETA GARBO splendida attrice ed interprete anche nel ruolo di Anna Karenina. Il suo sguardo...

[@annamariafacchiano1688]

Two fabulous actresses!

[@nomiddlenamenmn427]

There was something otherworldly about Vivien Leigh’s face.

[@theprisonerofzenda2862]

🌟Greta Garbo is the best by far.

[@argirissk5017]

VIVIEN LEIGH!

[@strawberrysmoothie5171]

Having read the book, I definitely think Greta Garbo captures Anna's character in a more convincing way. It is especially evident in the scene when Anna hugs Seryozha, just look at the high level of emotion that Garbo delivers there! She perfectly captures the sense of a mother's love. No wonder that Garbo was selected to play Anna twice. :) Vivien Leigh did a pretty good job as Anna too though, and both ladies are stunningly beautiful!

[@vidimur1977]

Vivien wins. That's all.

[@nickyes2292]

@dontzenyourselfout Vivien had a lot more than just looks. She was a much better actress than Garbo.

[@PallasAndDove]

Vivien Leigh vs. anyone... Vivien Leigh. What song is that? It's beautiful!

[@Nineta444]

Obie genialne ale Vivian the best :-)))

[@philipkuttner7945]

By the way, Nicola Pagett in the BBC 1970's mini series was excellent in my opinion.

[@beckylink]

Vivien.. she had the perfect pathos. Garbo is a bit cold at times. But Vivien didn't have a good Vronsky to work with or a great director. David Lean could've done wonders with that and Montgomery Clift would have made a great Vronsky.

[@JudgeJulieLit]

Kieran Moore was a good Vronsky. Fredric March was not. Montgomery Clift had the expressive romantic face, but not burliness for cavalry officer Vronsky.

[@бессоветный]

Greta Garbo has an earlier version of Anna Karenina - the film "Love" in 1927, this is a silent movie and Greta played there with Gilbert, and this Anna Karenina is preferable to those presented in this video. Russian Russian films are the problem of Vivien Leigh and other Hollywood actors (except Greta Garbo ) - they don't look like Russians, and only because a film with Greta Garbo needs to be rated higher than a film with Vivien Leigh...

[@blueheaven2135]

Vivien Leigh was the best Scarlet Ohara and Greta Garbo couldnt play Scarlet O Hara ever as Vivien did but when it comes to Anna Karenina that will be one and only Greta Garbo , no one can be better Anna than Greta.

[@EmmaRose473]

Definitely Vivien Leigh!

[@julesmae64]

there is no comparison vivien leigh was stunning.garbo im sure was a good actress .never really watched much of her in films but i think she is quite manly in apperance

[@ahyan6681]

you should watch her, I suggest Ninotchka, she doesn't look manly to me