Voyna i mir I: Andrey Bolkonskiy (1965)

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

Director:

Sergey Bondarchuk

Writers:

Leo Tolstoy (novel), Sergey Bondarchuk (screenplay)

Stars:

Lyudmila Saveleva, Sergey Bondarchuk, Vyacheslav Tikhonov

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lyudmila Saveleva	...	Natasha Rostova
Sergey Bondarchuk	...	Pierre Besukhov
Vyacheslav Tikhonov	...	Andrei Bolkonsky
Viktor Stanitsyn	...	Ilya Andreyevitch Rostov
Kira Golovko	...	Countess Rostova
Oleg Tabakov	...	Nikolai Rostov
Irina Gubanova	...	Soniya
Anatoli Ktorov	...	Nikolai Andreyevich Bolkonsky
Antonina Shuranova	...	Princess Mariya
Anastasiya Vertinskaya	...	Lisa Bolkonskaya
Boris Smirnov	...	Prince Vasili Kuragin
Irina Skobtseva	...	Hélène Bezukhova
Vasiliy Lanovoy	...	Anatol Kuragin
Oleg Efremov	...	Dolokhov
Elena Tyapkina	...	Akhrosimova

Storyline

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

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Plot Keywords:

roman numeral in title | first part | russian soldier | napoleonic wars | french soldier | 

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

Soviet Union

Language:

Russian

Release Date:

23 July 1966 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Austerlitz

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mosfilm

Technical Specs

Runtime:

147 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Version of ITV Play of the Week: War and Peace (1963)

User Reviews

A great movie who could be more condensed

Although one of the commentators above says that few people have read Tolstoi's book, I think his statement may not be exact. If you're someone who loves to read you must have read War and Peace just as people with a minimum of culture and interest in literature have read Proust, Dumas, Victor Hugo or great American novels by Heminghway or other English writers. As far as I'm concerned I read the book after attending 4 times the superb Paris opera house production of Prokofiev masterpiece staged by Francesca Zambello probably one of the most prestigious production ever made in Paris since Strehler's Nozze di Figaro in 1973 and just as a testimony here is the finale worth watching: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aGQmluM_bo. It is rare to see the french public giving a standing ovation as that was the case during all the performances I attended. The emotion was at its highest level. I was so enthralled by the performance that I decided to read the book and did it in just one week of course in French not understanding Russian. I had seen when I was a youngster the American film with Mel Ferrer and Audrey Hepburn. And I decided to watch the Sergueï Bondartchouk one recently and bought the whole set of dvds. The main critic I'll make on this Russian version is its length. At many moments the director could have shortened his shots without in the least damaging the atmosphere of the episode concerned. The acting is of course absolutely astounding from the smallest part to the main characters, the photography is amazing especially the battle scenes which at many moments remind you of the epic paintings which have been realized at that time in the late nineteenth century. One can also regret that the french company which has distributed the film did not have it remastered before putting it on the market. Considering the price of those four dvds one could demand for a perfect picture. Nevertheless the movie is a must see and one should also watch the opera taking into account that Prokofiev used for its libretto a very small part of the novel focusing the action on Andrei, Natacha and Peter and the great battle scenes (Moscow and Napoleon debacle in particular). The Paris cast was mainly Russian with a superb Natacha, Peter and Andrei.