Three Sisters (1970 film)

Three Sisters
DVD cover
Directed byLaurence Olivier
John Sichel
Screenplay byMoura Budberg (trans.)
Based onThree Sisters (play)
by Anton Chekhov
Produced byJames C. Katz & John Goldstone
StarringJoan Plowright
Jeanne Watts
Louise Purnell
Derek Jacobi
Alan Bates
Laurence Olivier
CinematographyGeoffrey Unsworth
Edited byJack Harris
Music byWilliam Walton
Distributed byBritish Lion Films
Release dates
  • 2 November 1970 (1970-11-02) (UK)
  • 4 February 1974 (1974-02-04) (US)
Running time
165 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Three Sisters is a 1970 British drama film starring Alan Bates, Laurence Olivier and Joan Plowright, based on the 1901 play by Anton Chekhov. Olivier also directed, with co-director John Sichel; it was the final feature film directed by Olivier. The film was based on a 1967 theatre production that Olivier had directed at the Royal National Theatre. Both the theatrical production and the film used the translation from the original Russian by Moura Budberg. The film was released in the U.S. in 1974 as part of the American Film Theatre. This was a series of thirteen film adaptations of stage plays shown to subscribers at about 500 movie theaters across the country.