#983: BONDARCHUK, Sergei: War And Peace (1966-67)

BONDARCHUK, Sergei (Soviet Union)
War and Peace [1966-67]
Spine #983
Blu-ray


At the height of the Cold War, the Soviet film industry set out to prove it could outdo Hollywood with a production that would dazzle the world: a titanic, awe-inspiring adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's classic tome in which the fates of three souls — the blundering, good-hearted Pierre; the heroically tragic Prince Andrei; and the radiant, tempestuous Natasha — collide amid the tumult of the Napoleonic Wars. Employing a cast of thousands and an array of innovative camera techniques, director Sergei Bondarchuk conjures a sweeping vision of grand balls that glitter with rococo beauty and breathtaking battles that overwhelm with their expressionistic power. As a statement of Soviet cinema's might, War and Peace succeeded wildly, garnering the Academy Award for best foreign-language film and setting a new standard for epic moviemaking.

422 minutes
Color
5.1 Surround
in Russian
2:35:1 aspect ratio
Criterion Release 2019
Director/Writers


Based on the novel by Leo Tolstoy.
Screenplay by Sergei Bondarchuk and Vasily Solovyov.
Bondarchuk was 46-47 when he directed War and Peace.

The Film

A

Film Rating (0-60):

60

The Extras

The Booklet

Eight-panel poster featuring an essay by critic Ella Taylor.

Commentary

None.

Interviews

With DP Anatoly Petritsky and filmmaker Fedor Bondarchuk, son of director Sergei.

Two documentaries

From 1966 and 1969, about the making of the film.

Television program

From 1967 on actor Savelyeva, featuring Bondarchuk.

Program 

With historian Denise J. Youngblood (Bondarchuk’s “War and Peace”: Literary Classic in Soviet Cinematic Epic) detailing the cultural and historical contexts for the film.

Janus Films rerelease trailer

Extras Rating (0-40):

39

60 + 39 =

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