Both Anna Karenina and Madame Bovary were adapted for film. Anna Karenina was an American movie that came out in 1935, starring Greta Garbo as Anna and Fredric March as Vronsky. Anna Karenina was later remade in 2012, starring Keira Knightley as Anna and Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Vronsky. Madame Bovary was released in 1949, directed by Vincente Minnelli. It starred Jennifer Jones as Emma and Van Heflin as Charles. Anna Karenina was directed by Joe Wright, with Keira Knightley playing Anna and Aaron Taylor-Johnson playing Vronsky again.
Anna Karenina came out in 2012, while Madame Bovary was released in 1949. Both Anna Karenina and Madame Bovary were adapted for film twice. Anna Karenina is about an adulterer named Anna who commits suicide after bearing her lover’s child, while Madame Bovary tells the story of a woman trapped in unsatisfying marriage who has several affairs before dying of consumption at age-three. Anna eventually commits suicide by throwing herself in a river with her baby, while Emma Bovary dies from an overdose of arsenic.
Anna’s life is horrible and must end extremely sad, whereas Emma’s life was okay at the start but quickly she may be a bit more depressed than Anna. Anna does not have a good ending, while Madame Bovary seems to have gotten away with everything before she dies. Madame Bovary wasn’t as much of a hit when it came out because Anna Karenina got greater reviews, though both films were well-received critically after release. Anna Karenina was better received because the performance of Charles Laughton as Monsieur Rouault was hailed by critics upon release.
Anna Karenina has a better screenplay, Anna Karenina has a good performance from Anna and Aaron, Anna Karenina has a great length, Anna Karenina has a great music score. Anna’s dress is nicer, Anna’s impact on people is greater, Anna’s death was sadder. Anna Karenina was overall better because it had more interesting cinematography; Madame Bovary doesn’t have many impressive shots that are very memorable after watching the film for example when Emma is in her garden when she meets Leon which isn’t as good as Anna in bed with Count Vronsky when he walks in to help light her cigarette in Anna Karenina.
Madame Bovary didn’t make me really care about the characters whereas Anna Karenina made me feel like Anna and Anna only, Anna Karenina had a good climax in Anna’s death at the river when Anna is throwing herself in with her baby, Madame Bovary didn’t really have anything too memorable. Anna Karenina has an interesting love triangle between Anna, Vronsky and Kitty whereas Madame Bovary doesn’t have much of that going for it.
Madame Bovary was better at showing how Emma was feeling throughout the time leading up to her suicide because Anna Karenina didn’t seem to show much emotion from Anna before she died which makes me feel like Anna wasn’t as committed to Vronsky as he was to her. Madame Bovary had more suspenseful scenes which make the film more enjoyable such as when Anna and Emma’s husbands catch Anna and Vronsky together, Madame Bovary also had more interesting scenes like Anna looking at the train station before she dies which makes Anna look super depressed in Anna Karenina Anna doesn’t have that kind of scene.
Anna Karenina is just overall much better than Madame Bovary. Both Anna Karenina and Madame Bovary are about adultery but they are extremely different because Madame Bovary shows many different aspects to adultery while Anna Karenina only has one thing in common with Madame Bovary which is an adulterer in Anna Karenina, Anna isn’t in love in Anna though unlike Emma so it’s not as complicated for her whereas it is for Emma who really loves Leon throughout the film.
Anna Karenina is about Anna and Anna only while Madame Bovary has many different characters such as Emma, Charles, Rodolphe and Leon which make the film more interesting to watch not like Anna Karenina where it’s just Anna and Anna alone most of the time after she returns home from Moscow with Vronsky. Anna Karenina was better than Madame Bovary because Anna had a lot more going for her throughout the whole movie whereas Emma doesn’t seem too happy about anything until everything goes bad for her at the end of the film.
Anna spends all of her time with Count Vronsky who loves Anna very much unlike Rodolphe who really loved Emma but he got bored her as soon as he got Anna which makes Anna better than Emma in Anna Karenina. Anna doesn’t even think about having an affair unlike Emma so Anna is much more devoted to Vronsky than Emma ever was to her husbands which makes Anna’s love story much more interesting than Emma’s because Anna has so many different things going for her.
Madame Bovary seemed like it had a lot of passion throughout the whole film where Anna Karenina didn’t seem that passionate, Madame Bovary also seemed like there were many romantic scenes between Charles and Emma whereas Anna turned down Vronsky’s offer to run away with him, stay married or divorce him something Anna really loves him whereas Emma would do anything for Leon but wouldn’t marry him on first sight at a dinner party which makes Anna a better person.
Anna Karenina is a much more interesting movie to watch where it’s not as formal as Madame Bovary, Anna has other people to interact with instead of just her husband and Emma all the time like Anna has to interact with Vronsky, Kitty and Anna’s brother which made Anna much more entertaining than Madame Bovary.
Madame Bovary was not as good at showing how Anna feels throughout the film compared to Anna Karenina because Anna doesn’t really express herself much in Anna Karenina whereas Emma tells Leon about what she feels and thinks so he can understand her which makes Madame Bovary seem like Anna barely expresses herself compared to Anna who would tell Vronsky anything he wanted to know.
Anna Karenina is about Anna’s love affair with Vronsky where Anna falls in love with Anna and Madame Bovary is about Emma who never truly loved anyone like she did Leon which makes Anna much better at loving someone than Emma who only loves Leon. Anna doesn’t show her emotions well throughout Anna Karenina whereas Emma shows her emotions to other people like she does when she tells Leon that Charles isn’t the greatest husband, but it still seems like Anna cares more about Vronsky than Emma ever cared for what happened between her and Rodolphe which makes Anna seem much stronger when it comes to relationships.
Madame Bovary was much easier for me to understand compared to Anna Karenina because I could relate Anna to Madame Bovary where Anna is an adulterer as well as Emma which makes Anna easier for me to understand compared to Anna Karenina where Anna is in a relationship with Vronsky and she loves him whereas I haven’t been in a relationship before so Anna Karenina was harder for me to relate too.
