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Anna Karenina

FILM · 2012 · UK

Anna Karenina

12 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026

  • Anna Karenina — production image

12 Interesting Facts About Anna Karenina

Interesting Facts (9)

  1. #001

    One of Alicia Vikander's favorite memories of the shoot was filming in the countryside outside St. Petersburg, Russia, in temperatures below -40 °C. For five days she lived in a cabin with no hot water and benches instead of beds, while Russian security guards protected her and co-star Domhnall Gleeson from the wolves and bears roaming the remote area.

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  2. #002

    Inspired by Orlando Figes's 2002 book Natasha's Dance, Joe Wright took an experimental approach to the story. Much of the film was shot inside a run-down theater built from scratch at Shepperton, with sets such as an ice rink, a railway station and stables fitted onto it. To keep things flowing, doors open onto Russian landscapes and some actors walk from one set to another under the stage, while toy trains and dollhouses stand in for wide exterior shots. The only lead allowed outside the theater was Domhnall Gleeson (Levin), because Wright wanted to stress that Levin is the only authentic character among them.

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  3. #003

    The object Karenin (Jude Law) takes from a small rectangular box in his and Anna's bedroom has puzzled some modern viewers: it's a condom. For most of history, condoms were made from animal or plant materials (chemically treated linen, sheep intestine or bladder) and weren't disposable; they were expensive and often washed and reused. The first vulcanized rubber condoms appeared in the mid-1800s but were thick and clumsy, so in the period of the story it's quite plausible that a man of Karenin's wealth and standing would still use a reusable one.

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  4. #004

    Some of the music in the country scenes uses a Russian folk song (without lyrics) adapted from Tchaikovsky's Fourth Symphony, written around the same time as Tolstoy's novel.

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  5. #005

    The diamond necklace Anna (Keira Knightley) wears at the ball is a special high jewelry piece by Chanel.

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  6. #006

    The song Masha (Tannishtha Chatterjee) hums and sings while nursing Nikolai with Kitty is a Bengali lullaby (Bengali is spoken in Bangladesh and India's West Bengal); Chatterjee is Bengali herself.

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  7. #007

    James McAvoy (Levin), Saoirse Ronan (Kitty), Cate Blanchett (Countess Lydia), Benedict Cumberbatch (Oblonsky) and Andrea Riseborough (Princess Betsy), all past Joe Wright collaborators, turned down roles; they were replaced by Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander, Emily Watson, Matthew Macfadyen and Ruth Wilson respectively.

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  8. #008

    Robert Pattinson was in the running for Count Vronsky.

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  9. #009

    James McAvoy was in the running for Levin.

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Production Story (1)

  1. #010

    Joe Wright briefly thought about having the cast use Russian accents but dropped the idea, worried it would make it hard to judge their performances.

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Behind the Scenes (1)

  1. #011

    Cinematographer Philippe Rousselot had to leave during pre-production for back surgery, as sciatica made it impossible to carry on; Joe Wright's regular collaborator Seamus McGarvey took over.

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Characters & Cast (1)

  1. #012

    Saoirse Ronan was offered Kitty but chose Byzantium (2012) and The Host (2013) instead: the long shoot would have meant turning down other films from fall 2011 to late spring 2012 for what was a supporting part, whereas saying no let her take the lead in two films. Alicia Vikander replaced her.

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Sources & editorial notes

Reference databases

  • IMDb IMDb title page (trivia)

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