War & Peace 

As the Russian conflict with Napoleon reaches its peak, five aristocratic families face the possibility of their lives being changed forever.

Stars:

Paul Dano, James Norton, Lily James

Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy. Another 2 wins & 15 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Paul Dano	...	Pierre Bezukhov 6 episodes, 2016
James Norton	...	Andrei Bolkonsky 6 episodes, 2016
Lily James	...	Natasha Rostova 6 episodes, 2016
Adrian Edmondson	...	Count Ilya Rostov 6 episodes, 2016
Aisling Loftus	...	Sonya Rostova 6 episodes, 2016
Greta Scacchi	...	Countess Natalya Rostova 6 episodes, 2016
Jack Lowden	...	Nikolai Rostov 6 episodes, 2016
Tuppence Middleton	...	Helene Bezukhova / ... 6 episodes, 2016
Aneurin Barnard	...	Boris Drubetskoy 6 episodes, 2016
Jessie Buckley	...	Marya Bolkonskaya 6 episodes, 2016
Olivia Ross	...	Mademoiselle Bourienne 6 episodes, 2016
Tom Burke	...	Fedya Dolokhov 6 episodes, 2016
Jim Broadbent	...	Prince Nikolai Bolkonsky 6 episodes, 2016
Callum Turner	...	Anatole Kuragin 6 episodes, 2016
Rebecca Front	...	Anna Mikhailovna Drubetskaya 5 episodes, 2016
Stephen Rea	...	Prince Vassily Kuragin 5 episodes, 2016
Chloe Pirrie	...	Julie Karagina / ... 5 episodes, 2016
Mathieu Kassovitz	...	Napoleon Bonaparte 4 episodes, 2016
Matthew Stagg	...	Nikolushka 4 episodes, 2016
Emily Taaffe	...	Katya 4 episodes, 2016
Thomas Arnold	...	Vassily Denisov 4 episodes, 2016
Gillian Anderson	...	Anna Pavlovna Scherer 4 episodes, 2016
Rory Keenan	...	Bilibin 4 episodes, 2016
Brian Cox	...	General Mikhail Kutuzov 4 episodes, 2016
Jolyon Coy	...	Kaisorov 4 episodes, 2016
David Quilter	...	Tikhon 4 episodes, 2016
Ben Lloyd-Hughes	...	Tsar Alexander 4 episodes, 2016
Otto Farrant	...	Petya Rostov 3 episodes, 2016
Guillaume Faure	...	Napoleon's Adjutant 3 episodes, 2016
Kit Connor	...	Petya Rostov 3 episodes, 2016
Oscar Pearce	...	Lieutenant Colonel 3 episodes, 2016
Kate Phillips	...	Lise Bolkonskaya 3 episodes, 2016
Vesta Gabstaite	...	Rostov Maid 3 episodes, 2016
Fenella Woolgar	...	Catiche Kuragina 3 episodes, 2016

Storyline

As the Russian conflict with Napoleon reaches its peak, five aristocratic families face the possibility of their lives being changed forever.

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Plot Keywords:

aristocracy | execution | duel | heiress | heir | 

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Genres:

Drama | History | Romance | War

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Official Sites:

Lifetime [United States] Official site

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 January 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

War & Peace

Filming Locations:

Lithuania

Company Credits

Production Co:

BBC Cymru Wales,BBC Worldwide,Lookout Point Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

379 min (total run time)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the book, Natasha's hair is black. For the series, Lily James dyed her natural brunette hair blonde.

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Goofs

Uniforms in the Russian army changed three times during the period covered in the movie, but there is only one shown in the series.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Anna Pavlovna Scherer: But mon cher ami, how can you be so calm? This... this monster, Bonaparte - he's crossed into Austria now and... who's to say that Russia won't be next.

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Connections

Version of War and Peace (1915)

User Reviews

A Russian's impressions: Did the cast and director even read the book?

Submitted on behalf of my Russian immigrant mother-in-law and student of Russian literature, who was very disappointed in this film version of War and Peace.

War and Peace is about three aristocratic families: St. Petersburg's Kuragins are close to the Tsar (Tolstoy uses irony to show his dislike of them); the provincial Rostovs, who are in the process of losing everything; and the Bolkonskys of the old aristocracy, who are favored by the author. The novel is huge and extremely detailed in its descriptions of characters and details of Russian life in the beginning of 19th century.

Leo Tolstoy intended his historical novel to be a majestic and profound one. In this film adaptation, "War" remains faithful to the novel. This is evident in the majestic panorama of the battle at Borodino, or the tragic escape of the broken and hungry French Army as they advance through the snow, and the impossible roads of a vast and empty Russia. However, "Peace" leaves much to be desired.

At the party of the house of the Grand Dame Anna Pavlovna Sherrer, one of the guests, Princess Drubetskaya, asks Prince Kuragin to find her son a safe (comfortable) position in the Tsar's army. In her gratitude she kisses Kuragin's hand. Why? Only servants kissed the hands of their owners, or children kissed the hands of their parents. So why does the princess kiss Kuragin's hand?

The house of Count Rostov in Moscow, shown in the movie several times from its backyard with livestock, such as pigs, chicken, etc., is not an accurate depiction of an aristocrat's home. No aristocrat's home, especially in a city such as Moscow, would have such a backyard. Furthermore, Pierre would never enter Rostov's home, or any home for that matter, through the backyard. That is a servant's entrance.

There is a certain responsibility when working with historical material. One must show respect to the epoch being shown and understand the significance of decorum, protocols of behavior, etc. It is equally important to have actors who correspond to the characters of the novel and the times in which they lived. Tuppence Middleton's portrayal of Helene Kuragina (later Bezukhova) was taken too far from the character of this classic. Tolstoy wrote of Helene's beauty as if she were a perfect Greek statue. Napoleon, seeing her in the theater, praised her beauty. Pierre, standing next to her, wanted to own this beauty. So, the scene of her having sex on the dinner table is so modern and vulgar that I am afraid poor Count Leo Tolstoy turned around many times in his grave, as the Russian proverb says.

Similarly, the character of Anatol Kuragin is also miscast. Callum Turner's portrayal of this character on screen is so far from how Anatol is developed in the novel that it leads to a fundamental misunderstanding of Natasha's behavior in the movie. In the novel, the young, beautiful, and smart Natasha (with her inner understanding of people) sees extreme beauty, bravery, confidence, and arrogance in Kuragin, and she is smitten. It is impossible to accept while watching this movie why Natasha has any passionate desire to run away with Anatol, who is played by a stiff, uncertain, and unhandsome actor.

I could go on in detail about several other characters and, to a point, I will: The stiffness and monotonousness of James Norton does not show all the transformations through the life of Tolstoy's favorite character, Andrei Bolkonsky. There is some luck despite the wrong appearance of the actor who plays Pierre Bezuhov. In the novel, Pierre is a huge bear of a man, sometimes even comical looking. Though he may not look his part, fortunately, the talented Paul Dano tries to play him accordingly to L. Tolstoy's idea of Pierre. And it seems Dano is the only actor here who read the novel and understood his character.

This film did not do justice to Tolsoy's telling of Russian aristocracy in the 19th century; it looks more like the petty bourgeoisie of some unknown country. But, thanks to the movie, I reread the novel with great pleasure. I am afraid, though, I and Paul Dano were the only ones who did.