War and Peace

Given that trimming Tolstoy's WAR AND PEACE down to the length of one feature film (even at three-and-a-half hours) is probably a fool's errand to begin with, this 1956 version deserves more respect than it's generally gotten -- though the... Full review

Beautiful movie to look at (Cinematography Oscar nom was well earned). Fine epic movie score. Good direction and editing. Some of the best costume work ever put on film. No one even today could do a finer job of costuming.Mel... Full review

The best thing for me about this version of War and Peace is the magnificent score by Nino Rota. I had the vinyl recording of the soundtrack in the 50's when it came out and practically memorized it at the... Full review

Quite a disappointing story about some people that get involved with each other. This makes the movie some swooning story about love (one might say it becomes some sort of Jane Austen story, which is not altogether bad, but has... Full review

Although often naive, even crude, the films of King Vidor were frequently distinguished by their sheer energy and forceful visual style... As his career progressed, his films became increasingly grand in terms of narrative scope and visual bravura... Tolstoy and... Full review

As another IMDb'er has mentioned, this film is one spectacular visual moment after another, but unfortunately with really terrible sound. The reason for the bad sound is that the film was produced at Cinecitta studios in Rome and at that... Full review

This film came out on DVD yesterday and I rushed to buy it. This version is the first to render all the detail and perfection of Jack Cardiff's amazing compositions and brilliant, varied photography. As a collection of memorable images, this... Full review

This film version of Tolstoy's novel nicely captures the essence of his story. The VistaVision, Technicolor photography by Jack Cardiff give the the set pieces the look of a classic painting. Nino Rota's lavish score perfectly compliments the visuals. The... Full review

King Vidor's version of Leo Tolstoy's WAR AND PEACE has finally been released in the U.S. by Paramount and is a welcome addition to my DVD collection. I have been tempted many times to purchase a Hong Kong pressing of... Full review

I've read the book and seen this version several times. The main drawback is of course time. Thus, it must inevitably slight: a) many of the characters who bring joy to reading the novel - the princely father of the... Full review

Seen before on television, in flat prints with lousy color, War and Peace didn't have much of a visual dimension, and in fact looked sort of cheesy. Audrey Hepburn is charming and adorable as the young Natasha, even if her dalliance with Anatole seems dictated by the script instead of an unavoidable accident. ... Full Review

War and Peace is a commendable attempt to boil down Tolstoy's long, difficult novel into 208 minutes' screen time. Proving too long and unwieldy for most audiences, War and Peace died at the box office; far more successful was the epic, scrupulously faithful 1968 version, filmed in the Soviet Union. ... Full Review

WAR AND PEACE: DVD SYNOPSIS:  As Napoleon (Herbert Lom) prepares to invade Russia, Pierre Bezukhov (Henry Fonda), a gentle but clumsy pacifist, falls in love with Natasha (Audrey Hepburn), a beautiful young aristocrat, but presumes himself unworthy of her. Instead ... Full Article

Russian director Sergei Bondarchuk's epic version of Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace (Voyna i Mir) was the most expensive European film ever made for many years. ... Full Article