In this classic Russian adaptation, audiences finally get to see Yul Brynner portraying his own nationality. No more faux Siamese, Native American, or Mexican characters for him; at last he can submit his audition for Doctor Zhivago. I know he didn't exactly have the acting chops to pull off the Omar Sharif epic, but I still think it would have showed class for the studio to at least consider him.
Alright, I'm off my soap box. As the story goes, Yul Brynner, Richard Basehart, and William Shatner are the titular brothers who start to turn on each other to inherit all their father, Lee J. Cobb, has to give. Lee has a very fun role, a larger-than-life patriarch who is loud, crass, and indulgent in all his yens. Among them are his mistress, Maria Schell, who basically serves as one giant piece of eye candy for the male audience. If you have a crush on her, gents, you won't want to miss this movie.
As is the case with classic Russian literature, each character has his own archetype, even though they have complexities within themselves. Yul is the oldest son who constantly locks horns with his father and believes masculinity can be defined by more than wine and women. He's married to Claire Bloom, but although Claire feels loyalty towards her husband, she's attracted to one of his brothers. Richard is the middle son, left to be the philosophizing radical in order to get attention. Bill, the baby of the family, has learned from his brothers' dynamics: he's a man of the cloth who likes to keep the peace.
If you like big Russian epics, you'll like this one. Russian literature is a distinctive culture that sometimes comes across as too wordy or philosophical. But fans of War and Peace and Doctor Zhivago will find a lot to appreciate in The Brothers Karamazov.
Alright, I'm off my soap box. As the story goes, Yul Brynner, Richard Basehart, and William Shatner are the titular brothers who start to turn on each other to inherit all their father, Lee J. Cobb, has to give. Lee has a very fun role, a larger-than-life patriarch who is loud, crass, and indulgent in all his yens. Among them are his mistress, Maria Schell, who basically serves as one giant piece of eye candy for the male audience. If you have a crush on her, gents, you won't want to miss this movie.
As is the case with classic Russian literature, each character has his own archetype, even though they have complexities within themselves. Yul is the oldest son who constantly locks horns with his father and believes masculinity can be defined by more than wine and women. He's married to Claire Bloom, but although Claire feels loyalty towards her husband, she's attracted to one of his brothers. Richard is the middle son, left to be the philosophizing radical in order to get attention. Bill, the baby of the family, has learned from his brothers' dynamics: he's a man of the cloth who likes to keep the peace.
If you like big Russian epics, you'll like this one. Russian literature is a distinctive culture that sometimes comes across as too wordy or philosophical. But fans of War and Peace and Doctor Zhivago will find a lot to appreciate in The Brothers Karamazov.