Uncle Vanya (1963 film) explained

Uncle Vanya
Director:	Laurence Olivier Stuart Burge
Starring:	Michael Redgrave Laurence Olivier Joan Plowright Sybil Thorndike Rosemary Harris
Music:	Alexis Chesnakov
Studio:	BHE Films
Distributor:	Arthur Cantor Films
Runtime:	120 minutes
Language:	English
Country:	United Kingdom

Uncle Vanya is a 1963 British film adaptation of the 1899 play Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov. The film was directed by Laurence Olivier and Stuart Burge. It was a filmed version of the Chichester Festival Theatre production, starring Laurence Olivier as Astrov, Michael Redgrave as (Vanya), Rosemary Harris as (Elena), and Joan Plowright as (Sonya).

Cast

• Max Adrian as Professor Aleksandr Vladimirovich Serebryakov
• Sir Lewis Casson as Ilya Ilych Telegin
• Fay Compton as Mariya Vasilyevna Voynitsky
• Rosemary Harris as Helena (Yelena) Andreyevna Serebryakov
• Robert Lang as Yefim
• Laurence Olivier as Dr. Mikhail Lvovich Astrov
• Joan Plowright as Sofia "Sonya" Alexandrovna Serebryakov
• Sir Michael Redgrave as Ivan Petrovich ("Uncle Vanya") Voynitsky
• Dame Sybil Thorndike as Marina Timofeevna

Reception

Harold Hobson of the Sunday Times described the production as "the admitted master achievement in British twentieth-century theatre", while The New Yorker called it "probably the best 'Vanya' in English we shall ever see".^[1]

Notes and References

1. Quotes taken from the VHS recording issued by Arthur Cantor Films, New York.