Recently, I was scrolling through content from my provider and I was surprised to see credits for an actor, William Shatner, in The Brothers Karamazov.

Is this worth watching/reading?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Brothers_Karamazov_(1958_film)

I watched this movie Saturday on TCM and was shocked to see Shatner as Alexey. Didn't recognize him at first in his monk haircut. An understated performance -- not a lot of Kirk-isms. A solid debut.

I was aware of the novel but successfully avoided Russian fiction as an undergrad. When I saw it playing I tried it to get an introduction to the story.

Overall, I enjoyed it. The plot centers on the manipulations of the Karamazov patriarch, Fyodor (Lee J Cobb), who has control of an inheritance. This leads to infighting between the stepbrothers, troubled romances, and murder. It touched on the religious and moral themes which are more deeply explored in Dostoevsky's novel (I hear). Apparently the ending differed from the book to make it a bit more uplifting.

Brynner and Basehart were both very good. Apparently Marilyn Monroe was desperate to play Grushenka. That would've been... interesting.

One of the most influential works of the 20th century (yes I know it was published in the late 19th but I'm referring to it's influence on those who would become giants of the 20th century) if not all time.
Definitely read it. It's a long read and can be a slog to get through at times but damn it's a good book.