The greatest movie ever made..!

Load of rubbish!!

Brilliant and touching

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

I first read this novel as a 13 year old at my dad's recommendation! I loved it and reread it many times as a teen-ager. I was young, impressionable, and brought up in an "Orthodox" home...I was spiritually moved and felt a kinship with Dostoyevski's religiosity. I saw the movie at age 19 and was prepared to hate what Hollywood might have done to commercialize my favorite novel! Instead I was transported to 19th century Russia and was totally mesmerized. I forgave the "deletions," I forgave the "alterations"...Dostoyevski was still there and talking!!! I fell in love with Maria Schell and nearly swooned during her Gypsy dance! Alexei was the young monk who personified what it means to be a generous and forgiving Christian; Ivan the spiritually conflicted and deeply honest man of science; Dimitri the tortured deeply human soul who takes on suffering...I even understood and cried when the saintly Starets knelt before Dimitri in the powerful scene at the monastery and asked for his blessing! If only some of our US citizens who explain their draconian political notions as manifestations of their religious beliefs could learn spirituality from Father Zosima! I am now 68 years of age and thrill with each reviewing of this classic. All actors were perfect in their role and for me Schatner will always be vulnerable young Alexei...not the omnipotent Kirk!

I'd heard of the novel and its heavy arguments pro/con on religion, son and father relationships, to really love a woman, etc. Having just seen this production I'm impressed w/ the casting which is well-chosen, but some things in the story-telling left me dumb-founded. For one, Basehart's character witness stand confessional made no sense. For two, Salmi's character's private confession on the eve of Brynner's trail verdict also makes little sense. For three, I enjoyed Schell's character up until she turns sweet and becomes devoted to Brynner's character. I didn't buy it and figure because this is an MGM production the transformation wasn't in the novel (which I haven't read). Finally, the ending w/ the little boy's recovery from whatever ailed him physically was also TOO MGM for my taste.That said ... this is a handsome production with excellent use of colors and lighting. Every actor is believable in his/her role. Especially Ms. Bloom, a pre-Capt. Kirk Shatner, and Mr. Cobb who chews scenery like none other!

Novels and movies are separate disciplines and each has its own requirements. People who want to read Dostoevsky and people who want to know what one of his books is about also have separate needs. I am a Dostoevsky lover, and have read THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV in several translations (no, I don't know Russian). This film hits all the necessary high notes to cover the book's plot, and so the screenplay serves the film well. The brothers themselves (Yul Brynner, Richard Basehart, Albert Salmi and William Shatner) turn in variable performances. Basehart comes in first place, with Brynner smoldering not far behind. A young William Shatner shows promise, while Salmi's inexplicable whine is almost unbearable, which is a shame because Salmi was a good, though underused, actor. Stealing the show from the brothers in every scene he's in is the wonderful Lee J. Cobb. Fans of the book will be disappointed at the excisions, but they were necessary to pare the story down to a workable movie. And, though I love the book and think it may be the world's great novel, I prefer the ending of the movie! Dostoevsky's book is open-ended as he intended it to be an introduction to characters he intended to use in further book -- but he died before it was written. So the movie wraps everything up nicely. Ivan's end scene is much preferable (no spoilers, though! See the movie and read the book!). Although Alexei is the main character in the book, he's basically an observer. Dmitri (perfectly captured by Brynner) is the powerhouse of the book and should be the focus in a dramatic adaptation, as he is here. A worthy effort in making an unfilmable novel filmable. If you want to know what the book is about but a thick novel is daunting, this film tells you everything you need to know.

If you have not seen this-Please do. It has action,deceit,depravity,murder and all the things you might expect. The cast does a great job and after not having seen it for 44 years, it is STILL a great film.My wife asked me to order the film 10 days ago. I did. We both watched it today.Simply a great movie. Period. Enjoy.