War and Peace with Audrey Hepburn: DVD Cover
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War and Peace Director: King Vidor Cast: Audrey Hepburn, Henry Fonda, Mel Ferrer, Vittorio Gassman

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  • DVD Release Date: 12/03/2002
  • Original Release: 1956
  • Rating: Rated PG
  • Sales Rank: 6,601

Viewer Rating: (6 ratings)

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Features

Closed Caption; Widescreen version; enhanced for 16:9 TVs; Dolby digital ; English mono; English subtitles; Theatrical trailer-behind the scenes of war and peace; Re-release theatrical trailer

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Scene Index

Side #1 --
1. Pierre Bezukhov
2. Dolokhov's for Debauchery
3. The Count Sleeps
4. Promises of Father and Son
5. Great Human Pleasures
6. Battle Plans and Duty
7. Home to Moscow
8. Lise's End
9. Duel in the Snow
10. Reunited With Andrei
11. The Honor of a Dance
12. Natasha's Impatience
13. Anatole Kuragin
14. A Subject for Gossip
15. Soldier's Words
16. Eve of War
17. An Interesting Morning
18. Horse Calvary Attack
19. Moscow Exodus
20. No One to Surrender
21. Spared and Not Spared
22. Private Monastery
23. Napoleon's Army Decay
24. The Animal Runs
25. Ensign Rostov's Bargain
26. Victory Is Complete
27. Wounded, But Still Standing

Scene Index

Editorial Reviews

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, All Movie Guide

Customer Reviews

What a bust - read the book insteadby Anonymous

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March 30, 2009: How could one of the greatest novels ever written have been done with a worse cast and more awful acting. Audrey is of course gorgeous, but Henry Fonda is too old by 1 - 2 decades and Mel Ferrer is typically stiff. The only believable character per the book is Kutuzov. No wonder the film died.

An Accessible Introductionby Anonymous

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December 14, 2006: Fans of both the novel and the undeniably great Russian film by Bonderchuk are very quick to put this version down. Being a fan of both of those myself, I cannot deny that this comes in second or third place. HOWEVER - if you are interested in finding out what the "infamous" War and Peace is all about and don't feel like reading 1200 pages of translated 19th century prose, or watching the 7 hour Russian film (and deal with bad dubbing, three languages, and a hefty price tag), then this version is for you. Granted, it lacks the authentic location shoots, costuming, and battles with 10,000 extras, but it does manage to contain most of the main characters and follow most of the main plot lines. And Audrey Hepburn really is a magnificent Natasha. If you really want to experience War and Peace, read the novel and then watch the Russian version (the 5 DVD set from Rusico, NOT the butchered 3-disc version from Kultur) in the original Russian language (and skip the subtitles). But if that is too much to ask, check this version out.


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