War and Peace (1956) ( War & Peace )

War and Peace (1956) (Blu-Ray) (*)

$26.99

Alternate Title: War & Peace
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English ( Subtitles )
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Product Origin/Format:
Germany ( Blu-Ray/Region A/B/C )

Running Time:
208 min

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen (1.78:1)

Special Features:
Interactive Menu
Scene Access

Movie filmed in 1956 and produced in:
Italy ( Italy, Greece )
United States ( USA, Canada )

Directed By:
King Vidor

Written By:
Leo Tolstoy
Bridget Boland

Actors:
Audrey Hepburn ..... Natasha Rostova
Henry Fonda ..... Pierre Bezukhov
Mel Ferrer ..... Prince Andrei Bolkonsky
Vittorio Gassman ..... Anatol Kuragin
Herbert Lom ..... Napoleon
Oskar Homolka ..... Field Marshal Kutuzov
Anita Ekberg ..... Helene Kuragina
Helmut Dantine ..... Dolokhov
Tullio Carminati ..... Prince Vasili Kuragin
Barry Jones ..... Prince Mikhail Andreevich Rostov
Milly Vitale ..... Lisa Bolkonskaya
Lea Seidl ..... Countess Rostov
Anna Maria Ferrero ..... Maria Bolkonskaya
Wilfrid Lawson ..... Prince Bolkonsky
May Britt ..... Sonia Rostova

Synopsis:

By 1812, Napoleon's forces controlled much of Europe. Russia, one of the few countries still unconquered, prepares to face Napoleon's troops together with Austria. Among the Russian soldiers are Count Nicholas Rostov and Prince Andrei Bolkonsky. Count Pierre Bezukhov, a friend of Andrei's and self-styled intellectual who is not interested in fighting. Pierre's life changes when his father dies, leaving him a vast inheritance. He is attracted to Natasha Rostov, Nicholas's sister, but she is too young, so he gives in to baser desires and marries the shallow, manipulative Princess Helene. The marriage ends when Pierre discovers his wife's true nature. Andrei is captured and later released by the French, and returns home only to watch his wife die in childbirth. Months later, Pierre and Andrei meet again. Andrei sees Natasha and falls in love, but his father will only permit the marriage if they postpone it for one year until Natasha turns 17. While Andrei is away on a military mission, Natasha is drawn to Anatole Kuragin, a womanizer. Pierre saves Natasha by telling her of Anatole's past before she can elope with him. Napoleon invades Russia. Pierre visits Andrei on the eve of the battle, and observes the battle that follows. Traumatized by the carnage, he vows to kill Napoleon himself.

War and Peace is a commendable attempt to boil down Tolstoy's long, difficult novel into 208 minutes' screen time. In recreating the the social and personal upheavals attending Napoleon's 1812 invasion of Russia, $6 million was shelled out by coproducers Carlo Ponti, Dino de Laurentiis and Paramount Pictures. Some of the panoramic battle sequences are so expertly handled by second-unit director Mario Soldati that they appear to be Technicolor-and-Vistavision newsreel footage of the actual events. Still, the film falters dramatically, principally because of a lumpy script and King Vidor's surprisingly lustreless direction. In addition, the casting is wildly consistent: for example, while Audrey Hepburn is flawless as Natasha, Henry Fonda is far too 'Yankeefied' as the introspective Pierre. Proving too long and unwieldy for most audiences, War and Peace died at the box office; far more successful was the epic, scrupulously faithful 1968 version, filmed in the Soviet Union.

Napoleon's tumultuous relations with Russia including his disastrous 1812 invasion serve as the backdrop for the tangled personal lives of two aristocratic families.

This product was added to our catalog on Tuesday 30 March, 2021.