War and Peace (1968 film)
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| War and Peace | |
|---|---|
 Original Russian film poster |
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| Directed by | Sergei Bondarchuk |
| Produced by | Mosfilm studios, Goskino USSR |
| Written by | Leo Tolstoy (novel), Sergei Bondarchuk, Vasili Solovyov |
| Starring | Lyudmila Savelyeva, Vyacheslav Tikhonov, Sergei Bondarchuk |
| Distributed by | Kultur International Films Mosfilm (Soviet Union) |
| Release date(s) |  28 April 1968 |
| Running time | 484 Min (4 parts) Italy 263 Min (2 parts) UK:401 Min (video version) USA 390 Min |
| Language | Russian, some French |
| Budget | ~ $100,000,000 (700,000,000 with inflation) |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
War and Peace (Russian: Война и мир; Voyna i mir) is a Soviet-produced film adaptation of the Leo Tolstoy's novel War and Peace. Sergei Bondarchuk directed the film, co-wrote the screenplay and starred in the role of Pierre.
The film took 7 years to produce and cost over $100 million. If inflation is taken into account, a film of this magnitude would cost over 700 million dollars today, making War and Peace the most expensive film ever made [1].
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[edit] Production
Pre-production started on Mosfilm in 1961, and filming commenced in 1963.
According to the Guinness Book of Records, the Battle of Borodino scene included 120,000 soldiers, making it one of the largest battle scenes ever filmed. Many museums in the USSR contributed artifacts for the production design, making it one of the most elaborate films ever created.
War and Peace was one of the first films in the USSR to be shot and released in 70 mm. The process was called "Sovscope 70" in the USA, and was the Soviet version of "Todd-AO", a large camera/presentation format (65/70mm) with 6-channel stereophonic sound. There are many hand held shots in the film, which are difficult to achieve with a 70 mm camera. However, a special lightweight camera was devised for this film (which can be seen on the bonus DVD of the RUSCICO release). The camera resembles a Bolex camera, and its magazine takes up most of the camera body.
[edit] Theatrical exhibition
In the USSR, the film was released in 4 parts, with a total running time of 484 minutes (8 hours); a longer running time of 511 minutes is a miscalculation based on longer length of 70 mm prints[citation needed]:
- Part 1 - "Andrei Bolkonsky" and
- Part 2 - "Natasha Rostova", combined running time 255 minutes, released 1965
- Part 3 - "1812", running time 104 minutes, released 1966
- Part 4 - "Pierre Bezukhov", running time 125 minutes, released 1966.
For the US release, the film was shortened by more than an hour and shown in two parts: in some cities part one was shown for one week and part two the next. However, the US screenings retained the four part structure by dividing part one into two chapters (entitled 'Natasha and Andrei' and 'The Battle of Austerlitz'). Part two was similarly divided into chapters entitled 'Natasha and Pierre' and 'The Burning of Moscow'. The run time of part one was three and a half hours, and part two was three hours both of these include fifteen minute intermissions between the named chapters. The film was dubbed into English with a linking narration, both of which were decried by some reviewers.
[edit] Video releases
War and Peace was released initially on VHS in the truncated US cut, with dubbing and pan and scan. Recently it has been restored to its original length, original language, and original aspect ratio by Ruscico, a Russian/Belgian DVD company specializing in Russian cinema. This version is available from Image Entertainment in the US.
Part of the massive restoration effort undertaken by Mosfilm studios, the film was restored in 1988, from surviving studio 35mm reduction elements. The original 70mm film elements were unavailable at the time, stored somewhere in the Ukraine, their condition unknown due to feud over Bondarchuk's legacy between post-Soviet Russia and Ukraine.[citation needed] As a result the film is only printable (and available on video) based on the 35mm restored version.
[edit] Awards
- 1969 - Academy Award - Best Foreign Language Film
- 1969 - Golden Globe - Best Foreign-Language Foreign Film
- 1969 - National Board of Review Award - Best Foreign Language Film
- 1968 - New York Film Critics Circle Awards - Best Foreign Language Film
[edit] See also
- List of most expensive films
- War and Peace - book by Leo Tolstoy
- War and Peace - 1956 film directed by King Vidor
- War and Peace - 1972 BBC television adaptation starring Anthony Hopkins and Alan Dobie
- War and Peace - an opera composed by Sergei Prokofiev
[edit] External links
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Closely Watched Trains |
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film 1968 |
Succeeded by Z |
| Preceded by Closely Watched Trains |
Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film 1969 |
Succeeded by Z |
