War and Peace (1956)
Directed by King Vidor

Film Review

The sheer enormity of Leo Tolstoy's epic novel War and Peace has always deterred filmmakers from attempting an adaptation.  Not only does the novel have a daunting scope, encompassing the lives of many complex characters over several years, but it includes many spectacular episodes (the battle scenes, the evacuation and subsequent wrecking of Moscow, the French retreat, etc) which could only be realised on a colossal budget.  This international production was only the second filmed version of the novel, the first being a silent Russian film released in 1915.  With the resources that only a major Hollywood studio could provide, director King Vidor made a valiant attempt to bring Tolstoy's literary masterpiece to the screen, although even he appears to have been overwhelmed by the enormity of the undertaking.

With a budget estimated to be around six million dollars, the film was shot in Europe (to keep the costs down) with an international cast and crew over a four-month period.  Vidor's first edit of the film ran to almost six and half hours, but this was cut by about a half at the insistence of his bosses at Paramount to make it more commercially viable.  Even at three and a quarter hours, the film feels over-long and static, failing to evoke more than a shadow of the greatness of the original novel.  Not surprisingly, the film was a box office flop and few critics responded kindly to it.  Today, it is overshadowed by what are considered to be two definitive adaptations of the novel - a seven hour long Russian film by director Sergei Bondarchuk (released in 1967) and a twenty-part BBC TV series first transmitted in 1972.

The film's biggest failing is the casting choice for the three lead roles.  Even Henry Fonda had to admit he was miscast, and he proves the fact by playing his part as if he were a half-comatose sheriff in low budget western.  Equally baffling is the choice of Mel Ferrer for the other male lead - characterless and unsympathetic, the actor appears completely lost in a role that is somewhat beyond his abilities.  Audrey Hepburn is also miscast in the female lead, but at least her portrayal of Natasha Rostova manages to capture something of Tolstoy's flawed heroine - the unsullied purity and resilience that symbolise a Russia determined to see off Napoleon and his armies.   The supporting cast give much greater value, particularly Hubert Lom, who is perfect in the part of Napoleon.  Lom conveys not just the general's great strength and intellect, but also his vulnerability, and it hard not to sympathise with his Napoleon when the Russian campaign turns into a humiliating defeat.

Whilst its first half feels like a sagging historical soap opera, the film redeems itself in its second half with some stunning visuals, which include some of the most spectacular battle sequences to appear in a film of this era.   This presumably is where most of the money went - in authentic recreations of the scenes of battle that employed thousands of extras and adhered rigorously to period detail, images that capture the sound and fury of the Napoleonic wars like no other film before and few others since.   This version of War and Peace may have its failings, but it is definitely worth seeing for its vivid portrayal of Napoleon's ill-fated Russian invasion.

Film Synopsis

Moscow, 1805.  Pierre Bezukhov, a pacifist wastrel, is in love with Natasha, the daughter of the wealthy Count Rostov, but knows he cannot marry her since he is of illegitimate birth.  Having inherited his father's title and vast estate, Pierre decides to marry the beautiful Helene Kuragina, but soon realises he has made a mistake.  Hearing rumours of Helene's infidelity, Pierre shoots one of his rivals in a dual and then tells his wife that their marriage is over.  Meanwhile, Natasha has fallen in love with Pierre's closest friend, Prince Andrei Bolkonsky, an officer in the Russian army.  Returning home after fighting the French at Austerlitz, Andrei learns that his wife has died in childbirth.  He withdraws into a state of extreme melancholia, from which he emerges only after he falls in love with Natasha.  They agree to marry a year later, but within a few months Natasha has already succumbed to the charms of another man, Anatole, who, unbeknown to her, is already married.  When Andrei hears of this betrayal, he breaks off their engagement, leaving Natasha distraught.   On the battlefield, Pierre and Andrei face their destiny against the might of Napoleon's army...