With the release of 'Anna Karenina,' we take a look at cinema's most opulent costume dramas

By Frank Paiva
Special to MSN Movies

Costume dramas are awesome. They're about royal intrigue and stagecoach travel. They're about fighting on horses and feasting on boar. But mostly they're about clothes: gussied-up women and finely tailored men. People just don't dress up like that anymore.

The hectic nature of modern life prevents most women from wearing corsets. Not only are they uncomfortable, they take too long to get on. You never see men in a flashy waistcoat. You're lucky to find a man in a suit outside of an office at all. And don't even hope for flashy accessories. Unless it's Halloween, you won't see frilly lace gloves or porkpie hats anywhere outside of a steampunk convention. Audiences need costume dramas to escape the humdrum basics of Old Navy.

Bing: More about 'Anna Karenina' | More on Keira Knightley

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"Anna Karenina" is out in theaters Nov. 16.

(Focus Features)