War & Peace (1972–1974)

Stars:

Anthony Hopkins, Morag Hood, Alan Dobie

Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy. Another 2 wins.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Anthony Hopkins	...	Pierre Bezukhov (17 episodes, 1972-1973)
Morag Hood	...	Natasha Rostova (14 episodes, 1972-1973)
Alan Dobie	...	Prince Andrei Bolkonsky (14 episodes, 1972-1973)
Rupert Davies	...	Count Rostov (14 episodes, 1972-1973)
Joanna David	...	Sonya (13 episodes, 1972-1973)
Faith Brook	...	Countess Rostova (12 episodes, 1972-1973)
Angela Down	...	Princess Maria Bolkonskya (10 episodes, 1972-1973)
Sylvester Morand	...	Nikolai Rostov (10 episodes, 1972-1973)
David Swift	...	Napoleon (9 episodes, 1972-1973)
Fiona Gaunt	...	Hélène Kuragina (9 episodes, 1972)
Frank Middlemass	...	Mikhail Kutuzov (8 episodes, 1972-1973)
Anthony Jacobs	...	Prince Bolkonsky (7 episodes, 1972)
Neil Stacy	...	Boris Drubetskoy (7 episodes, 1972-1973)

Storyline

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Plot Keywords:

napoleon bonaparte | napoleonic conquest | tv mini series | russian empire | napoleonic wars | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 November 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

Guerra e pace

Filming Locations:

Bela Crkva, Serbia

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), C.F.S. Kosutnjak

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Version of Voyna i mir (1915)

User Reviews

Better than the Book!

That may sound like faint praise for what many cite as the most boring novel ever written. I suffered through the novel and had a difficult time keeping up with the characters, multiple plots, and backstories. Not so with the movie. I found I was able to keep up with the story and to take an interest in the characters, something I was unable to do when reading the novel.

Keep in mind this is a 20 part mini-series, 750 minutes in length. Don't plan on watching this over a weekend, unless you have some dexedrine. I was considering borrowing the 1956 version with Henry Fonda as Count Bezukhov and Audrey Hepburn as Natash Rostova but when I saw that it only had a tepid 6.7 IMDb score, I decided against it. I figured it was due to the short length of the film that voters didn't like it. How can you film "War and Peace" in 208 minutes? When I saw the 1972 version starring Anthony Hopkins as Bezukhov scored an impressive 9.4 on IMDb, I immediately placed a rental order on Blockbuster Online, & preceded to watch all 5 discs. It was an excellent experience.

Now for another crack at the novel. Maybe I'll begin to understand what all the critics were raving about.