IMDb RATING
8.3/10
8.6K
YOUR RATING
The Russian aristocracy prepares for the French invasion on the eve of 1812.The Russian aristocracy prepares for the French invasion on the eve of 1812.The Russian aristocracy prepares for the French invasion on the eve of 1812.
- Won 1 Oscar
- 5 wins & 3 nominations total
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaSergey Bondarchuk created meticulous recreations of battles of the Napoleonic Wars. The Battle of Borodino against the Napoleon's invasion is the largest battle scene ever filmed.
- GoofsWhen some of the characters are attending the opera, "L'incoronazione di Poppea" by Claudio Monteverdi is being performed. It premiered in Venice in 1642, but by the time that the story takes place (ca. 1807), it had been lost and all but forgotten. A score wasn't rediscovered until 1888, and the first modern performance was given in 1905. The anachronism is probably intentional since Monteverdi's tale of the destructiveness of erotic desire foreshadows the events immediately after that scene.
- Quotes
Platon Karataev: Lord, lay me down like a stone and raise me up like new bread.
- Alternate versionsThere are three different versions: The American release, a 360 minute film in two parts (dubbed in English). The Russian release, a series of four films totaling 403 minutes (see also Vojna i mir I: Andrei Bolkonsky (1965), Vojna i mir II: Natasha Rostova (1966), Vojna i mir III: 1812 god (1967) and Vojna i mir IV: Pierre Bezukhov (1967)). Most reviews (including Leonard Maltin's) list this film's running time as 507 minutes; this is a mistake due to the longer lengths of 70mm prints.
- ConnectionsEdited from War and Peace, Part I: Andrei Bolkonsky (1965)
- SoundtracksPrologue
(uncredited)
from "L'Incoronazione di Poppea"
Composed by Claudio Monteverdi
Written by Giovanni Francesco Busenello
Featured review
If you can find it, watch it.
Admittedly, the 7 hour plus running time is pretty daunting, but consider the source material. This film deservedly won the best foreign picture Oscar when it was finally released in the U.S. The fact that a Soviet film was able to garner such an award during the height of the Cold War is a testament to its greatness.
There are 3 intermissions to this, the Pangaea of all epic films, and each section draws the viewer in more than the last. The spectacle will blow your mind in a way that digital effects never will be able to do. To actually see the Red Army (and what looks like all of it) marching in costume over the expanse of miles into the distance will change any prior notions of spectacle you held. Ben-Hur, The Ten Commandments, whatever awed you before is chicken feed compared to the brutal grandeur of Bondarchuk's recreation of The War of 1812.
There are beautiful interludes of excellent acting amidst extremely costly sets--it's a shame I don't know Russian because those subtitles chew up a lot of exquisite scenery. The characters are fully developed, the direction is inspired (no run-of-the-mill static camera work in any of this).
They showed this in 70mm at The Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood last year. Before that it was 10 years without a screening in the U.S. We can't afford to let this shimmering prize of film history lapse. In a theatre, or if it is ever issued on DVD, this movie will deeply reward all those who watch it. There was nothing as grand as War & Peace before; there will be nothing on its scale ever again. Treasure this masterpiece...if you can find it.
Admittedly, the 7 hour plus running time is pretty daunting, but consider the source material. This film deservedly won the best foreign picture Oscar when it was finally released in the U.S. The fact that a Soviet film was able to garner such an award during the height of the Cold War is a testament to its greatness.
There are 3 intermissions to this, the Pangaea of all epic films, and each section draws the viewer in more than the last. The spectacle will blow your mind in a way that digital effects never will be able to do. To actually see the Red Army (and what looks like all of it) marching in costume over the expanse of miles into the distance will change any prior notions of spectacle you held. Ben-Hur, The Ten Commandments, whatever awed you before is chicken feed compared to the brutal grandeur of Bondarchuk's recreation of The War of 1812.
There are beautiful interludes of excellent acting amidst extremely costly sets--it's a shame I don't know Russian because those subtitles chew up a lot of exquisite scenery. The characters are fully developed, the direction is inspired (no run-of-the-mill static camera work in any of this).
They showed this in 70mm at The Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood last year. Before that it was 10 years without a screening in the U.S. We can't afford to let this shimmering prize of film history lapse. In a theatre, or if it is ever issued on DVD, this movie will deeply reward all those who watch it. There was nothing as grand as War & Peace before; there will be nothing on its scale ever again. Treasure this masterpiece...if you can find it.
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Languages
- Also known as
- Die grosse Liebe der Natascha
- Filming locations
- Borodino, Russia(scenes before the main battle with Napoleon)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- RUR 8,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $148,503
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $22,976
- Feb 17, 2019
- Gross worldwide
- $149,485
- Runtime6 hours 33 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.20 : 1
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