War and Peace movie storyline. Eight-hour epic based on the book of the same name by Leo Tolstoy. Two main story-lines are complex and intertwined. One is the love story of young Countess Natasha Rostova and Count Pierre Bezukhov, who is unhappy in his marriage. Another is the “Great Patriotic War” of 1812 against the invading Napoleon’s Armies.
The people of Russia from all classes of society stand up united against the enemy. The 500,000 strong Napoleon’s army moves through Russia and causes much destruction, culminating in the battle of Borodino. The Russian army has to retreat. Moscow is occupied, looted and burned down, but soon Napoleon loses control and has to flee. Both sides suffer tremendous losses in the war, and Russian society is left irrevocably changed.
War and Peace (Russian: Война и мир) is a 1966–67 Soviet Union war drama film co-written and directed by Sergei Bondarchuk and a film adaptation of Leo Tolstoy’s 1869 novel War and Peace. The film, released in four installments throughout 1966 and 1967, starred Bondarchuk in the leading role of Pierre Bezukhov, alongside Vyacheslav Tikhonov and Ludmila Savelyeva, who depicted Prince Andrei Bolkonsky and Natasha Rostova.
The film was produced by the Mosfilm studios between 1961 and 1967, with considerable support from the Soviet authorities and the Red Army which provided hundreds of horses and over ten thousand soldiers as extras. At a cost of 8.29 million Soviet rubles – equal to US$9.21 million at 1967 rates, or $50–60 million in 2017, accounting for ruble inflation – it was the most expensive film made in the Soviet Union.
Upon its release, it became a success with audiences, selling approximately 135 million tickets in the USSR. War and Peace also won the Grand Prix in the Moscow International Film Festival, the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film and the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
Part 1: Andrei Bolkonsky
In St. Petersburg of 1805, Pierre Bezukhov, the illegitimate son of a rich nobleman, is introduced to high society. His friend, Prince Andrei Bolkonsky, joins the Imperial Russian Army as aide-de-camp of General Mikhail Kutuzov in the War of the Third Coalition against Napoleon.
As Pierre’s father recognizes him, Pierre attracts the attention of Hélène Kuragin and marries her, only to learn through rumor that she has been unfaithful and slept with Fedor Dolokov, an intimate of Hélène’s brother Anatol. Meanwhile, Andrei takes part in the failed campaign in Austria, where he witnesses the Battle of Schöngrabern and the Battle of Austerlitz, is badly wounded and mistaken for dead. He returns to his father’s estate just in time to witness his wife Lisa die during childbirth.
Part 2: Natasha Rostova
In the end of 1809, Natasha, the young daughter of a count attends her first ball at age 16. Andrei Bolkonsky falls in love with her and intends to marry her, but his father demands they wait. Andrei travels abroad, and Natasha desperately longs for him. But she then meets the handsome Anatol Kuragin who falls in love with her and follows her with much passion.
Overwhelmed Natasha decides she prefers him over Andrei. At the last minute, she regrets her choice and abandons her plans to elope with Anatol. However, Andrei has heard of her plans and declares their betrothal is over. Natasha suffers a nervous breakdown. Pierre, trying to calm her down, suddenly announces he loves her.
Part 3: The Year 1812
In 1812, Napoleon’s Army invades Russia. Field Marshal Kutuzov is appointed by the Tsar to defend the land. Kutuzov asks Andrei to join him as a staff officer, but he requests a command in the field. Pierre approaches the battlefield of the upcoming confrontation between the armies during the Battle of Borodino, he volunteers to assist in an artillery battery. Andrei’s unit waits in the reserve, but he is hit by a shell and both he and Anatol suffer severe wounds. The battle involves hundreds of thousands of soldiers, thousands of horses, hundreds of cannons firing from both sides. French Army forces the Russian Army to retreat leaving Moscow unprotected. Napoleon advances on Moscow.
Part 4: Pierre Bezukhov
As Moscow is set ablaze by the retreating Russians, the Rostovs flee their estate, taking wounded soldiers with them, and unbeknownst to them, also Andrei. Pierre, dressed as a peasant, tries to assassinate Napoleon but is taken prisoner. As the French are forced to retreat, he is marched for months with the Grande Armée, until being freed by partisans. The French Armies are defeated by Field Marshal Kutuzov in the Battle of Krasnoi. Andrei is recognized and is brought to his estate. He forgives Natasha on his deathbed. She reunites with Pierre and they marry as Moscow is being rebuilt.
War and Peace (1966)
Directed by: Sergei Bondarchuk
Starring: Sergei Bondarchuk, Lyudmila Savelyeva, Vyacheslav Tikhonov, Boris Zakhava, Anatoly Ktorov, Antonina Shuranova, Oleg Tabakov, Viktor Stanitsyn, Kira Golovko, Irina Skobtseva, Vasily Lanovoy, Irina Gubanova
Screenplay by: Sergei Bondarchuk, Vasily Solovyov (Based on War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy)
Production Design by: Mikhail Bogdanov, Aleksandr Dikhtyar, Said Menyalshchikov, Gennady Myasnikov
Cinematography by: Anatoly Petritsky, Alexander Shelenkov
Film Editing by: Tatiana Likhacheva
Costume Design by: Vladimir Burmeyster, Nadezhda Buzina, Mikhail Chikovani, V. Vavra
Set Decoration by: Georgi Koshelev, V. Uvarov
Art Direction by:
Music by: Vyacheslav Ovchinnikov
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: Continental Distributing (United States)
Release Date: March 14, 1966 (Part 1), July 20, 1966 (Part 2), July 21, 1967 (Part 3), November 4, 1967 (Part 4)
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