Hollywood Popular Artists

Jul 24th 2012, 18:00

By Ashleigh Schmitz

Rarely, outside of conventions like Comic-Con, do we see directors releasing lengthy clips from their upcoming films. In a generous sneak peak, "Anna Karenina" director Joe Wright previews a beautiful 6-minute glimpse into the film, which is set to show at the Toronto International Film Festival in September.

Check out the full clip after the jump!

In the clip we see a stunningly decked-out Keira Knightley as Anna Karenina joined by both male leads Aaron Johnson, as her lover Count Vronsky, Jude Law, as her bland husband Alexei Karenin, and for a brief moment Michelle Dockery as Princess Myagkaya (consider our "Downton Abbey" withdrawals cured, for now). The scene unfolds through a ballroom with an impressive fireworks display, then to a staircase and ending in Anna's bedchambers.

What's remarkable, as Wright reveals before the clip, is that "just as the Russian aristocracy of the 19th century could be described as living on a stage our story unfolds in a dilapidated theater." The film was shot almost entirely in this location with more than 100 sets, creating a "fluid linearity: you can walk from one house under the stage, straight onto the horse-training ground, or go through a door and there's a Russian landscape," he says. "Just as the Russian aristocracy of the 19th century could be said to be described as living on a stage."

"Anna Karenina" will be released in the U.K. on September 7 and in the U.S. on November 9.

What did you think of the "Anna Karenina" clip"? Let us know in the comments below and on Twitter!

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