I was reading The Brothers Karamazov when this movie came on TCM. I recorded it and then watched it after I finished the book. There is no way that any movie could have duplicated this long, rambling book full of digressions, religious and psychological discussions, Russian nationalism, and satirical descriptions of inept doctors and lawyers. As a movie, it follows the basic plot well enough, ironing out the complexities and complications to make it a movie. A basic movie plot.
Well, it's not all that much of a story by itself. The romance is unconvincing; there is little suspense or mystery. The production values are okay. It looks like we are in backwoods 19th century Russia, but, at the same time, it is hardly impressive.
Lee Cobb makes a caricature in the book into a real person. Maria Schell plays a character who is supposed to have an infectious smile, but she smiles so much in the movie that it seems like a psychiatric condition. The rest of the cast is okay. Without the book's long back stories the characters have no depth in this movie and their motivations can be bewildering.
Well, it's not all that much of a story by itself. The romance is unconvincing; there is little suspense or mystery. The production values are okay. It looks like we are in backwoods 19th century Russia, but, at the same time, it is hardly impressive.
Lee Cobb makes a caricature in the book into a real person. Maria Schell plays a character who is supposed to have an infectious smile, but she smiles so much in the movie that it seems like a psychiatric condition. The rest of the cast is okay. Without the book's long back stories the characters have no depth in this movie and their motivations can be bewildering.