The Brothers Karamazov (DVD)

Dostoyevsky's novel the Brothers Karamazov is given the Hollywood screen treatment in this sumptuous and colorful film. Lee J. Cobb, in an Academy Award-nominated role plays Fyodor Karamazov, the wealthy father of four grown sons: Dmitri (Yul Brynner), a callous Russian officer; Ivan (Richard Basehart), the intellectual; pious Alexey (William Shatner in his screen debut); and half-brother Smerdyakov. Tensions erupt to a murderous end when libertine father and romantic son find themselves vying for the affections of the same woman, the wild Grushenka. Finding themselves adrift without the dark anchor that held them together, the four brothers must now find peace, each in their own way.

Starring: Yul Brynner, Maria Schell, Claire Bloom, Lee J. Cobb, Albert Salmi, William Shatner, Richard Basehart, Judith Evelyn, Edgar Stehli, Harry Townes, Miko Oscard, David Opatoshu, Simon Oakland, Frank de Kova, Jay Adler, Gage Clarke, Ann Morrison, Mel Welles, Charles Horvath, Sam Buffington, Frederick Ledebur, Giselle D'Arc, Than Wyenn, Hal Norman, Shepard Menken, Jerry Riggio, Leonard Graves, Stafford Repp, George Barrows, Ziva Rodann, Guy Prescott, John W. Zweers, John Warren Leland, Dorothy Neumann, William Vedder, Stephen Roberts, Molly Glessing, Len Lesser, Peter Leeds, Harry Hines, Gregg Martell, Michael Mark, Craddock Munro, Gus Lax, Mary Ann Bernard, Gloria Pall, Nicolai Bolin

Director: Pandro S. Berman