Napoleon's (Herbert Lom's) tumultuous relations with Russia including his disastrous 1812 invasion serve as the backdrop for the tangled personal lives of two aristocratic families.
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Title: War and Peace (1956)
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War and Peace
(1966)
Certificate: GP
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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 | |
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Plot Summary
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Storyline
By 1812, Napoleon's (Herbert Lom's) forces controlled much of Europe. Russia, one of the few countries still unconquered, prepares to face Napoleon's troops together with Austria. Amongst the Russian soldiers, are Count Nikolai Rostov (Jeremy Brett) and Prince Andrei Bolkonsky (Mel Ferrer). Count Pierre Bezukhov (Henry Fonda), 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 (Audrey Hepburn), Nikolai's sister, but she is too young, so he gives in to baser desires and marries the shallow, manipulative Princess Helene (Anita Ekberg). 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. A few months later, Pierre and Andrei meet again. Andrei sees Natasha and falls in love, but his father will only permit the marriage if ... Written by alfiehitchie
Plot Keywords:
french invasion of russia | year 1812 | napoleonic war | epic | year 1805 |Taglines:
The Greatest Novel Ever Written ... Now Magnificently Alive On The Screen! See more »Parents Guide:
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Details
Release Date:
21 August 1956 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Krieg und Frieden See more »Edit
Box Office
Budget:
$6,000,000 (estimated)Company Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Recording)| Perspecta Stereo (as Perspecta Stereophonic Sound ® by Suonitalia Studio - Rome -)Color:
Color (Technicolor) (as Technicolor®)Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1
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Pierre Bezukhov: They're the lice that live on the conquerors. They have to leave or die.
See more »
(uncredited)
by Frédéric Chopin (Waltz n°1 in E flat major)
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
Uncredited theatrical movie debut of Robert Stephens (Officer Talking with Natasha). See more »Goofs
During a battle scene an assistant director can be seen in a jeep waving the extras on. See more »Quotes
Platon Karatsev: [about the camp followers of Napoleon's retreating army] Russian women!Pierre Bezukhov: They're the lice that live on the conquerors. They have to leave or die.
See more »
Crazy Credits
Closing credits epilogue: The most difficult thing - but an essential one - is to love Life, to love it even while one suffers, because Life is all. Life is God, and to love Life means to love God. Tolstoy "WAR and PEACE" See more »Alternate Versions
Two different versions of the main titles exists. Both of them in English. In the one, the credits are set against a neutral background, in the other against details of a painting of Napoleon in front of his troops. See more »Soundtracks
Grande Valse Brillante(uncredited)
by Frédéric Chopin (Waltz n°1 in E flat major)
See more »
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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.