War and Peace

The English subtitles are printed on the film itself, and therefore not removable. In the scenes where French is spoken, there is a voice superimposed on the soundtrack translating what is being said into Russian, which is of no interest to the English-speaking viewers who will be watching this DVD. In these cases, you have an actor speaking French, an additional voice speaking Russian, and an English subtitle simultaneously, which is distracting to say the least. It's hard to imagine why a print with this feature was chosen, unless it was the absolute best-looking print available.

That brings up the subject of the alternate issue of this film due at the end of December from the Russian Cinema Council (Ruscico). Judging from past Ruscico DVD releases, it may well be a restored, archive-quality print (hopefully letterboxed). Ruscico releases appear at a very slow rate, but when the do they are worth waiting for, which is what you may want to do.

The film still makes a stunning impact, even in this less than perfect presentation. If you prefer full-frame presentation, you may even prefer this one. It seems to me, however, that most cinemaphiles whose interests are arcane enough to extend to this film would want it presented in its original aspect ratio, in an edition as close to the source material as possible. Those people may well prefer to see what Ruscico offers.


Same as the widescreen (letterbox) but different!   July 23, 2007
Patrick W. Crabtree (Lucasville, OH USA)
76 out of 77 found this review helpful

When I purchased this film, I wasn't paying proper attention, thinking that I was buying yet another version of Tolstoy's famous work; however, it is, in fact, the 1968 Bondarchuk epic which I already owned in widescreen (letterbox) and which has now been packaged and edited by another distributor. Yet, in the end, it's quite a different film!

First of all, this version has been "panned and scanned" to better facilitate a regular screen television -- so, this product is what we generally refer to as "full-screen". Second, there are a few editing differences including some scenes that were not in the widescreen (letterbox) version and misssing a few scenes that were. This does not radically change the film but it was certainly interesting to observe.

Finally, the voiceovers and subtitles are COMPLETELY different, being superior to the original widescreen (letterbox) version. Many more conversation parts are picked up in this version and the translation is far superior. In some cases, the two translations are quite different, this one aligning more with the highly recommended Maude translation of the original book.

In the end, I'm glad to own both versions, as each has its advantages and disadvantages. In picture quality, this one cannot compare to the widescreen (letterbox) version as the clarity was somewhat compromised by the blow-up of the negatives during the "pan and scan" process. Still, it's quite watchable.

As far as the story goes, this is one of the finest war films ever produced. The Hollywood version of War and Peace starring Henry Fonda is a pathetic joke compared to this Russian masterpiece. You can reference my further descriptions of both the book and the widescreen (letterbox) film version on this site for more details concerning the actual story.

I have two final comments: 1. Read the book prior to watching either version of Bondarchuk's epic and you'll be much more gratified in your understanding of the story of Napoleon's invasion of Austria and later of Moscow. 2. If you own a regular TV then this is the version that you want. If you have a widescreen TV and already own the widescreen (letterbox) version, I highly recommend that you grab this one too!


"In a class by itself"   August 20, 2001
Alejandra Vernon (Long Beach, California)
64 out of 67 found this review helpful

This has to be the best book to film adaptation ever made, and certainly one of the most faithful to the source...but buyer beware ! The dubbed version is one to avoid. I find the musical sound of the Russian language adds to the enjoyment of this magnificent film, and the subtitles are a beautiful translation of Tolstoy's massive tale of complex charaters, caught up in the tragic events of their time.

6 hours and 43 minutes long, it took over 5 years to make and at a huge cost (over 100 million in 1968 dollars). Writer/Director/Actor Sergei Bondarchuk tried, and I think succeeded, in bringing a taste of this era to the screen...the details in the sets, costumes, and monumental battle scenes, are simply astounding.

The acting is superb, down to the smallest bit part. Bondarchuk is a magnificent Pierre, Ludmila Savelyeva luminous as Natasha, and Vyacheslav Tikhonov, with his perfect profile and lean looks is exactly as I pictured Prince Andrei when I read the book many years ago.

This is the grandest of epics, and can't be compared to any other film in existence. Bondarchuk's poetic vision of Tolstoy's masterpiece is thought provoking, and very moving. It's well worth the many hours spent with it, and it gets better with repeated viewing !


definately worth every penny. Tolstoi would be proud !   June 11, 2003
Ted Merriman (Pennsylvania, USA)
63 out of 71 found this review helpful

This is the best DVD edition of Voina i Mir (War and Peace) available. It contains the 'long lost' widescreen footage. It is directed by Sergi Bondarchuk who is the father of Natalya Bondarchuk best known for her role in the original and better version of Solaris.

This film was originally released as a serial. Each part made seperately.(kind of like the star wars film but these were made in order) It took a total of 3 years to make. Said to be closer to the book than almost all movies based on books.

The pacing may be slow to some due to the length of the film. I consider this to be one of the chronicles of Russian Cinema. I have been interested in Russian culture for a very long time and this is the kind of film that makes me wish I was Russian.

On a rainy weekend I could invite my Russian friends over, bring out a samovar filled with Russian Caravan tea, also blini and kvas will go well with it too.

It also has subtitles in almost a dozen languages!

more like this available from the Russian Cinema Council (Ruscico)

If you don't like this kind of film you can still buy it to cure your insomnia.


Good new...bad news!   December 3, 2002
George W. Endress (Plano, TX)
56 out of 60 found this review helpful

The good news is that Kultur put this superb masterpiece out on DVD. The BAD news is that this epic film was NOT digitally restored. This is a pan-and-scan of a poor print. The original aspect ratio (2.40:1) of the 70mm Super Sovscope is gone, and so is much of the spectacle of the original film. They did manage to keep the 4 part original release sequence, although somewhat shorter. I'm waiting for a restored version that will do justice to the best film version of a timeless classic.
P.S. A second release on DVD is now available. On 5 discs, digitally mastered into anamorphic widescreen from the 70mm original elements and it's absolutely gorgeous (5 stars). Look for it!!