War and Peace (1956)

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

Director:

King Vidor

Writers:

Leo Tolstoy (novel), Bridget Boland (screenplay),

Stars:

Audrey Hepburn, Henry Fonda, Mel Ferrer

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 6 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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 (as Oscar Homolka)
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 (as Wilfred Lawson)
May Britt	...	Sonia Rostova

Storyline

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, ...

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Plot Keywords:

russia | battle | inheritance | russian soldier | duel | 

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Taglines:

Conflicts, Loves, Passions, Drama, You Live Through a Supreme Experience as "War and Peace" Comes Alive On The Screen!

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for violence

Details

Country:

USA Italy

Language:

English Italian Russian

Release Date:

21 August 1956 (USA)

Also Known As:

Guerra e Paz

Filming Locations:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Box Office

Budget:

$6,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Ponti-De Laurentiis Cinematografica

Technical Specs

Runtime:

208 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording) Perspecta Stereo

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Marlon Brando was considered for the role of Pierre, but he did not want to work with Audrey Hepburn.

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Goofs

The marching band in the opening parade are all playing modern musical instruments.

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Quotes

Pierre Bezukhov: [Before the Battle of Borodino] Such an enormous event! All our lives will be different from now on because of what is going to happen here tomorrow.

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Connections

Edited into Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)

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Soundtracks

"Grande Valse Brillante"
by Frédéric Chopin (Waltz n°1 in E flat major)

User Reviews

Gorgeous to look at / Dreadful to hear

As another IMDb'er has mentioned, this film is one spectacular visual moment after another, but unfortunately with really terrible sound. The reason for the bad sound is that the film was produced at Cinecitta studios in Rome and at that time, all films there were shot without live sound. Everything was dubbed later: dialogue, music and all ambient sounds. In addition, recording facilities in Italy were primitive (this was only 11 years after the catastrophe of WWII), resulting in the canned quality of most of the dialogue. (One of the reasons Antonioni's films were such a breakthrough in the following decade was his use of live sound recording and location shooting).

Anyway, War and Peace is a most worthwhile film experience for Vidor and Cardiff's Technicolor Vistavision visuals, for the screenplay which is often quite beautifully written, and for many fine performances from some exceedingly charismatic film actors, especially the astonishing Audrey Hepburn. There are close-ups of her that will make your heart stop.