War and Peace

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War and Peace

PG,

1968,

6h 13m,

History/

Drama/

War/

Romance

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Watchlist

100%

19 Reviews

Tomatometer

94%

1,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

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).

Stephen Cole

Globe and Mail

Jan 18, 2008

Frequently gorgeous, occasionally dull, always fascinating.

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John Hartl

Seattle Times

Dec 7, 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.

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Nick Pinkerton

Village Voice

Oct 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.'

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Robert Kotlowitz

Harper's Magazine

Aug 4, 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.

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Nathanael Hood

The Retro Set

Jun 23, 2020

10/10

...an essential masterpiece.

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Paul Schrader

Los Angeles Free Press

Jan 24, 2020

Bondarchuk's greatest achievement in adapting War and Peace was surprisingly enough, the style.

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Abraham R

Jul 4, 2018

Not even the BBC 2016 cant beat it, the sound track is the best ever, the movie is so greate, that i forgive the old director playing 20 years old pierre bezucov

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Han W

Aug 29, 2017

Sergey Bondarchuk's 7 hour epic is the most expensive film ever made. As well as stumping up $100 million in 1960's money, the Soviet Union supplied many thousands of soldiers to re-enact the battle scenes which are the most incredible ever put on film. Over 40 museums were emptied to supply furniture for the palace and ballroom interiors and the whole thing took 5 years to shoot. The scale and ambition of it is spectacular. It won a lot of awards on release including the Oscar for best foreign film in 1969. There are a couple of different versions available, I watched the 431 minutes cut. 4.5/5

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Finn P

May 4, 2017

War and Peace is a pretty good film that is style over substance and naturally wildly uneven both in pacing and in storytelling, but it is epic in tone and scope, visually arresting and filled with great imagery, well scored and mostly such an admirable war and period piece that it managed to transcend its many obvious flaws.

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Hermione W

Jul 14, 2010

Considering its cost and the vast effort that went into its making, such a film can be made only once in our time. The wonder, indeed, is that it was made at all. Exhaustive, spectacular, often dazzling in its ambition and faithfulness to Tolstoy, the movie is to be regarded as one of the wonders of epic cinema.

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Sergei Bondarchuk

Director

Lyudmila Saveleva

Natasha Rostova

Sergei Bondarchuk

Pierre Bezukhov

Vyacheslav Tikhonov

Prince Andrei Bolkonsky

Oleg Tabakov

Actor

Boris Zakhava

Actor

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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

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