War and Peace (1956)
- Starring:
- Audrey Hepburn, Henry Fonda, (more)
- Director(s):
- King Vidor
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- PG
- Format(s):
- DVD
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Synopsis of War and Peace
War and Peace is a commendable attempt to boil down Tolstoy's long, difficult novel into 208 minutes' screen time. In recreating the the social and personal upheavals attending Napoleon's 1812 invasion of Russia, $6 million was shelled out by coproducers Carlo Ponti, Dino de Laurentiis and Paramount Pictures. Some of the panoramic battle sequences are so expertly handled by second-unit director Mario Soldati that they appear to be Technicolor-and-Vistavision newsreel footage of the actual events. Still, the film falters dramatically, principally because of a lumpy script and King Vidor's surprisingly lustreless direction. In addition, the casting is wildly consistent: for example, while Audrey Hepburn is flawless as Natasha, Henry Fonda is far too "Yankeefied" as the introspective Pierre. Proving too long and unwieldy for most audiences, War and Peace died at the box office; far more successful was the epic, scrupulously faithful 1968 version, filmed in the Soviet Union. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Theatrical Feature Running Time:
- 208 mins
Complete Cast of War and Peace
- Audrey Hepburn - Natasha
- Mel Ferrer - Prince Andrei Bolkonsky
- Anita Ekberg - Helene
- Herbert Lom - Napoleon
- Helmut Dantine - Dolokhov
- Barry Jones - Count Ilya Rostov
- Jeremy Brett - Nicholas Rostov
- Anna Maria Ferrero - Mary Bolkonskv
- Patrick Crean - Denisov
- John Horne - Old Gentleman Dancing with Natasha
- Maria Zanoli - Mayra
- Richard Macnamara - De Beausset
- Gilberto Tofano - Young Dying Soldier
- Georges Brehat - French Officer at Execution
- Lea Seidl - Countess Rostov
- Enrico Olivieri - French Drummer
- Robert Stephens - Officers Talking with Natasha During Exile
- Andrea Fantasia - Constand
- Paul Davis - Young French Officer
- Cesare Barbetti - Young Boy
- Gualtiero Tumiati - Pierre's Father
- Umberto Sacripante - Old Man
- Piero Palermini - Russian Artillery Lieutenant
- Michael Tor - Pope
- Bob Cunningham - Pierre's Second at Duel
- Henry Fonda - Pierre
- Vittorio Gassman - Anatole
- Oscar Homolka - Gen. Mikhail Kutuzov
- John Mills - Platon
- Milly Vitale - Lise
- Wilfred Lawson - Prince Nicholas Bolkonsky
- Sean Barrett - Petya Rostov
- Tullio Carminatti - Kuragin
- Gertrude Flynn - Peronskaya
- Alfredo Rizzo - Soldiers During the Rostovs' Exile
- Andre Eszterhazy - Dolokhov's Second
- Stephen Lang - Tichon
- Michael Billingsley - Russian Soldier
- Teresa Pellati - Masa
- Guido Celano - Napoleon's Officer
- Marianna Leibl - Servant at Bolkonsky's
- Mino Doro - Russian General
- Alberto Carlo Lolli - Rostov's Major-Domo
- Charles Fawcett - Russian Artillery Captain
- Giacomo Rossi-Stuart - Young Cossack
- Marisa Allasio - Matriosa
- Clelia Matania - Mlle. Georges
- Joop van Hulzen - Russian Officer
- Vincent Barbi - Balaga
- Director(s):
- King Vidor
- Writer(s):
- King Vidor, Bridget Boland, Ivo Perilli
- Producer(s):
- Dino de Laurentiis, Carlo Ponti
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- PG(Not For Children)
- Categories:
- Television
- 1956 - Golden Globe - Best Foreign Film
- 1956 - Hollywood Foreign Press Association - Best Foreign Film
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BY MAIL
