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War and Peace

Play trailer Poster for War and Peace PG 1968 6h 13m History Drama War Romance Play Trailer Watchlist
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100% Tomatometer 19 Reviews 94% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
Soviet director Sergei Bondarchuk's retelling of Leo Tolstoy's epic novel of Napoleon's invasion of Russia is widely considered one of the longest and most expensive films of all time. Like the novel, the film is broken into four sections telling two intertwining stories, that of the war itself (featuring some of the most elaborate battles ever filmed) and that of the romance of Russian aristocrats Count Pierre Bezukhov (Sergei Bondarchuk) and Countess Natasha Rostova (Lyudmila Saveleva).

Critics Reviews

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Stephen Cole Globe and Mail 01/18/2008
Frequently gorgeous, occasionally dull, always fascinating. Go to Full Review
John Hartl Seattle Times 12/07/2007
3.5/4
Exhaustive, spectacular, often dazzling in its ambition and faithfulness to Tolstoy, the movie is still regarded as one of the wonders of epic cinema. Go to Full Review
Nick Pinkerton Village Voice 10/16/2007
This is the barbaric yawp of the Soviet film industry circa 1968, an entertainment A-bomb test announcing to the world: 'Here is what we are capable of.' Go to Full Review
Robert Kotlowitz Harper's Magazine 08/04/2020
The Tolstoyan directness comes through the film, the attempt stated and restated -- to resolve the dilemma of how to live. And while the movie sometimes hammers its moral points home with something less than grace, its epic quality never fails. Go to Full Review
Nathanael Hood The Retro Set 06/23/2020
10/10
...an essential masterpiece. Go to Full Review
Paul Schrader Los Angeles Free Press 01/24/2020
Bondarchuk's greatest achievement in adapting War and Peace was surprisingly enough, the style. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Alain E @AlainE Sep 21 This is truly a spectacular achievement that proves that the Soviet Union, with the well known poor quality of consumer goods, could produce a movie better than the best Hollywood mega production, if they wanted to. The color image from 1966-67 was very well restored in 2017. In four parts with a total duration over 7 hours it has to be viewed in installments. I have read the book about 50 years ago, so I don’t remember how faithful the script is. The only part I found boring was the first hour of the second installment that examines the life of an adolescent girl in the Russian aristocracy. Still the acting and the cinematography remained first class. Thousands of extras were involved reproducing the battle fields which were filmed from multiple angles. There is a love triangle, but no nudity at all since production was in the socialist paradise of yore. The director also plays one of the two leading male roles, with success. There are all kind of treats. Very good images of nature. Tree leaves, if you can imagine, that reminded me of the undulating grass in one of Tarkovsky’s movies. A very nice sequence of hallucinations that happen when one of the two men who claim Natasha’s heart lays dying. On MAX. See more Sabrina S Feb 22 The scale of emotion is immense See more Alec B 02/21/2024 A truly breathtaking epic and not just for the immense scale (seeing literally thousands of extras on screen is something to behold) but also because of how well the movie captures the characters and their shifting perspectives. See more Jan K 08/15/2023 A Bondarchuk Soviet masterpiece. Faithful to the book, it is splendid in its representation of both the interactions and movements of the Tzarist aristocracy - as well as the epic, unrepeatable battle scenes with over 10.000 Red Army extra's. Only the soft-spoken Russian can convey the drama's romanticism, that contraposes Tolstoys contemporary realism and history-critical position. See more David B @Dobishop 04/17/2023 Astounding in scope. Powerful narrators' thoughts - especially on death. Trivializes 99% of industry's output. See more s r @ScottR 08/19/2022 Epic. I saw this because it was recommended by a Stanford professor who said it was his favorite movie since it was the most accurate depiction of war. HR McMaster also recommended it, so I gave it a shot and was not disappointed. Amazing cinematography and faithful to the novel. Really a first class production that is most likely the finest quality film made in Russia. It was on HBO and youtube. See more Read all reviews
War and Peace

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Movie Info

Synopsis Soviet director Sergei Bondarchuk's retelling of Leo Tolstoy's epic novel of Napoleon's invasion of Russia is widely considered one of the longest and most expensive films of all time. Like the novel, the film is broken into four sections telling two intertwining stories, that of the war itself (featuring some of the most elaborate battles ever filmed) and that of the romance of Russian aristocrats Count Pierre Bezukhov (Sergei Bondarchuk) and Countess Natasha Rostova (Lyudmila Saveleva).
Director
Sergei Bondarchuk
Screenwriter
Vasily Solovev, Sergei Bondarchuk
Production Co
Mosfilm
Rating
PG
Genre
History, Drama, War, Romance
Original Language
Russian
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 28, 1968, Original
Rerelease Date (Theaters)
Feb 15, 2019
Release Date (DVD)
Apr 7, 2006
Box Office (Gross USA)
$134.7K
Runtime
6h 13m
Sound Mix
Perspecta Stereo, Mono, Magnetic Stereo 6 Track
Aspect Ratio
70mm