Introduction

War and Peace (Russian: Война и мир, trans. Voyna i mir) is a 1965–67 Soviet 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 picture was produced by the Mosfilm studios between 1961 and 1967, with considerable support from the Soviet authorities. 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 its native country. 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.

Outline Series 01, Episode 01

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 recognises 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.

War and Peace Series

• Part 01: Andrei Bolkonsky.
• Part 02: Natasha Rostova.
• Part 03: The Year 1812.
• Part 04: Pierre Bezukhov.

Production & Filming Details

• Director: Sergei Bondarchuk.
• Producer: Viktor Tsirgiladze, Nikolai Ivanov, G. Meerovich, and V. Krivonoschenko.
• Screenplay: Sergei Bondarchuk and Vasily Solovyov.
• Music: Vyacheslav Ovchinnikov.
• Cinematography: Anatoly Petritsky, Yu-Lan Chen, and Alexander Shelenkov.
• Editor: Tatiana Likhacheva.
• Production: Mosfilm.
• Distributor: Continental Distributing (US)
• Release Date: 14 March 1966 (Part 01), 20 July 1966 (Part 02), 21 July 1967 (Part 03), and 04 November 1967 (Part 04).
• Running time: 147 minutes (Part 01), 100 minutes (Part 02), 84 minutes (Part 03), 100 minutes (Part 04), and 431 minutes (total running time).
• Country: Soviet Union.
• Language: Russian, French, and German.

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