War and Peace

On the other hand, Kultur's currently available DVD of Bondarchuk's WAR AND PEACE is a big disappointment. While it also contains the full-length, 403-minute version, it's the same old pan & scan transfer that they used for the VHS over a decade ago. Not only are the sides of the film's original widescreen image lopped off, the top and bottom of the image are slightly cropped too--as a result, the DVD displays only about 50% of the image that we are intended to see, effectively ruining the film's striking visual compositions. The 5-disc set produced by Ruscico and to be released by Image Entertainment is substantially more expensive, but it's the only way to go if you want to see this film properly.


Bondarchuk's "War and Peace" released by RUSCICO   May 21, 2004
29 out of 30 found this review helpful

A gargantuan version of Tolstoy's national epic, approached as a priority as important as the Soviet space program, War and Peace is surely the biggest production ever put on film, with entire armies filling the screen and covering vast landscapes. The recreation of the Napoleonic era in St. Petersburg and Moscow is a wonderment. Director Sergei Bondarchuk makes the story work even better at the intimate level. The romantic adventures and heartbreaks of the story's central trio, Pierre, Natasha and Andrei lead to at least 4 or 5 devastatingly emotional highpoints.
Previously, there was the 1956 Dino DeLaurentiis version. Except for some awkward casting, it wasn't half bad, but it pales beside the opulence and scope of this colossus. Ruscico's version is both longer and better-presented than previous releases, and Image has packaged it with helpful extras and easily-navigated menus. More on that below.
Savant was excited to see this pricey-but-exceptional DVD release; Ruscico has a reputation for quality releases of hard-to-see Soviet pictures, and War and Peace is certainly the prize title, at least for Western audiences unfamiliar with the majority of Mosfilm's output. I saw the American release when 16 years old, serialized over two weeks in a fancy theater in San Bernardino. I can't say I followed the story well, and mostly remember the grainy, washed out picture and the distracting English dubbing - Natasha's voice squeaked like Minnie Mouse. But the eye-popping visuals stayed burned into my memory, especially a God's eye view, receding into the heavens, of the Austerlitz battlefield spread out below. It looked as if it took in miles of smoke and fighting.
In Russian with subs in a number of languages, the new Ruscico / Image DVD is a completely different viewing experience. The Russian voices are beautiful, and it's easy to catch cultural things we had only read about, such as the St. Petersburg elite opting to speak French for many conversational details. It's not 70mm, but on a big widescreen television, the scope of the visuals can be almost overwhelming.
Ruscico's DVD of War and Peace is handsomely presented on 4 discs in a thankfully easy-to-understand package. The transfer image isn't going to be able to compete with restorations done here, however. War and Peace was shot in a Soviet color system in 70mm, and the colors are a muted set of pastels we aren't used to. Either the age of the elements, or the reduction printing, or bad storage has given many scenes a dupey look, with slightly fluctuating contrast. The image is stable and intact, but there are occasional scratches and slight damage.
Either that one bad shot was an isolated instance, or most of the time we're too caught up in the story to notice such things. I should point out that I viewed the discs on a 65" monitor that magnifies these kinds of flaws, so many viewers will probably be completely unaware of them.
The DVD producers have included a generous allotment of extras, listed below. A fifth disc contains a couple of Soviet docus on Tolstoy and an elaborate commemorative behind-the-scenes piece. It starts with the stars at a Moscow premiere, and then backtracks to show how many scenes were filmed. The cameraman is on roller skates in the ballroom scene, and a trucking scene through the battlefield shows exactly how some of the more amazing shots were captured. The cameramen use portable 70mm cameras of a kind I've never seen, that look every bit as sophisticated as ours.
In one of the interviews, the President of the Mosfilm studio says that after the years of filming, War and Peace wasn't unanimously praised in the Soviet Union. Everybody saw it, but not everyone thought it was a masterpiece. Audiences are audiences, Russian or American, and after those 4 or 5 transcendant moments in the picture, the ending does seem rather downplayed and anti-climactic. But seeing the show now after 35 more years of film history, this enormous epic seems more of an accomplishment than ever.

P.S. To watch the movie preview video clip you can on russianDVD.com website for free.


One of the world's greatest films   September 27, 1999
Peter S. Lunde (Houston, Texas USA)
28 out of 28 found this review helpful

Sergei Bondarchuk, as director and central actor, creats a masterpiece that not only renders the heart and soul of the book, but tells it in purely cinematic terms that takes the movie way beyond any normal book to film translation. This is, literally, a beautiful film, amazing to watch. The acting is so finely cast and etched, you remember all the characters sharply in your memory. What seems at times to be merely conventional quickly shifts into almost surreal flowing imagery, thrusting you inside the characters, seeing and feeling as they do in the story. And on top of this, Tolstoy's great theme of the common man versus the makers of history in war and peace is carefully and effortlessly laid out from Napoleon, General Kutusov, the four central families, down to the servants. The soul and courage of the Russian people in the face of impending disaster is quietly and forcefully portrayed. The sacking of Moscow by the French makes "Gone With The Wind"'s Atlanta appear like a tacky backyard marshmellow roast in comparison. The destruction of the French army by the Russian winter in their retreat from Moscow brings one of history's great military failures vividly to life. Think of it: the French went into Russia with 500,000 men and came out with less than 20,000. Anyone who thinks they have seen all the great films, but not this one, especially in the Russian version, has missed a seminal work.


This is the one.   December 13, 2000
28 out of 29 found this review helpful

This has to be the greatest film ever made. It's certainly the most expensive, but that doesn't tell the whole story. In the English-dubbed version, which is slightly abridged from the original Russian-language version, the film quality is a little ragged, the color looks a little washed-out for about the first third of the film, and the dubbing isn't perfectly done, but in spite of these drawbacks the greatness of it comes through (can we hope for a restoration in the near future?). The absolute fidelity to Tolstoy and the understanding of what makes a great film are a combination unequaled. The battle of Borodino in this film is, as far as I know, the largest battle ever staged for a movie. One can only wonder how a director handles something of that size. Then there's the burning and looting of Moscow, there's the retreat of the French, rank after rank, through mud and snow... But the lives and personalities of the characters in the film really stand out. To repeat something said by another reviewer, you will fall in love with Natasha just as Pierre did. That'll happen about the time of the ball in Petersburg, where she dances with Prince Andrei, in what I'm convinced is the most romantic scene in any movie anywhere. Never before or since, in literature or in film, has there been so enchanting, so captivating a heroine. In the 1956 Hollywood version, Audrey Hepburn had the role, but she was mainly playing Audrey Hepburn. (Incidentally, Henry Fonda, though likeable, was badly miscast as Pierre Bezukhov. He walks through that film like a cowboy wearin' fancy duds an' spectacles.) But Ludmila Savelyeva here IS Natasha. ...And, of course, there's the superb direction throughout by Sergei Bondarchuk (Pierre), there's the powerful and moving score by Vyacheslav Ovchinnikov...You should see both the English-dubbed version and the original Russian-with-subtitles. The latter is more complete, with gorgeous color, but the former has a more immediate emotional impact due to the lack of the extra step in reading a subtitle, and the voices chosen for the overdubbing are quite good, as is that of the narrator, Norman Rose. In a way, they're two different films, but two different films that are the greatest film ever made. It will truly stay with you. (BL, Tucker, GA)


Priceless film   June 9, 2003
Sam King (Concord, New Hampshire United States)
25 out of 25 found this review helpful

I just spent the weekend watching the new DVD special edition of this work. In one word: amazing!! The sheer scope of the picture, location shots, costumes, acting, etc. combines to present an authentic vision of early 19th century Russia. You actually feel like you have been transported back in time. What sets this picture apart is the fact that the actors are really Russian. You can "feel" the parts they play. The beginning of the picture is very slow, as other reviewers have reported. However, the whole environment of the film soon engulfs you. Stand out scenes are the sleigh rides with the horse bells, the ballroom scenes and obviously the battle sections (200,000 extras, the Russian army).Of note is the use of candlelite to envoke an accurate image on the evening scenes. Authentic set pieces, paintings, pottery, etc. were provided by Russian museums. Picture David Lean's epic Dr. Zivago extended to double its length and triple its quality. No wonder the country almost went bankrupt producing it. The extra disc provides a fascinating "making of" sequence which is a must see for any epic film buff. If you have not seen this movie, buy the special edition. It is truly one of the best motion pictures ever made and definitely worth the cost of purchase. You will never want to see "Gone With The Wind" again.