The Brothers Karamazov (1958)

33% of critics liked it
(9 reviews)
65% of users liked it
(488 ratings)

Dostoyevsky's novel The Brothers Karamazov is given a Hollywood screen treatment by producer Pandro S. Berman and director Richard Brooks. Yul Brynner plays Dmitri Karamazov, a callous Russian officer who cuckolds his domineering father (Lee J. Cobb) with the old man's mistress Grushenka (Maria… More Dostoyevsky's novel The Brothers Karamazov is given a Hollywood screen treatment by producer Pandro S. Berman and director Richard Brooks. Yul Brynner plays Dmitri Karamazov, a callous Russian officer who cuckolds his domineering father (Lee J. Cobb) with the old man's mistress Grushenka (Maria Schell). Richard Basehart is Dmitri's intellectual brother Ivan, while William Shatner is the pious Alexey Karamazov; both men eventually enjoy the attentions of the willing Grushenka. The Karamazovs' half-brother is Smedyakov (Albert Salmi), an epileptic whose purpose in the story is clarified after the family patriarch's murder. It is now part of Hollywood folklore that Marilyn Monroe fought long and hard to be cast as the enigmatic Grushenka. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 2 hr. 27 min.
Directed By: Richard Brooks I
Written By: Richard Brooks
Genres: Drama, Classics

In Theaters: Jun 1, 1957 Wide
Studio: MGM Home Entertainment

Critic Reviews

Variety Staff, Variety
Bold handling of crude unbridled passion, of violently conflicting ideas, and of earthy humor makes up The Brothers Karamazov.
Bosley Crowther, New York Times
Conspicuous assets are the striking color photography and the musical score, both of which help a great deal in enhancing the drama's savage and soulful moods.
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
While not as terrible as his subsequent adaptation of Lord Jim, this 1958 Hollywoodization of the Dostoyevsky novel by writer-director Richard Brooks is pretty grotesque all the same.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
I would avoid this film as readily as one avoids Siberia.
, TV Guide's Movie Guide
The film feels like 'Classics Comics' instead of a classic.
Tom Milne, Time Out
Very uncertain in period and atmosphere, and saddled with some terrible performances.
, Film4
When the acting's good, it's very good, but when it's bad, it's laughable and director Brooks' attempts at injecting Slavic intensity misfire badly sometimes.