War and Peace (1956)

Director:

King Vidor

Writers:

Leo Tolstoy (novel)
Bridget Boland (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

21 August 1956 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | War

Tagline:

The Greatest Novel Ever Written ... Now Magnificently Alive On The Screen!

Plot:

Napoleon's tumultuous relations with Russia including his disastrous 1812 invasion serve as the backdrop for the tangled personal lives of two aristocratic families.

Plot Keywords:

Russia | Inheritance | 19th Century | Love | Opening Monologue

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Audrey Hepburn	...	Natasha Rostova
Henry Fonda	...	Pierre Bezukhov
Mel Ferrer	...	Prince Andrei Bolkonsky
Vittorio Gassman	...	Anatol Kuragin
Herbert Lom	...	Napoleon
Oskar Homolka	...	Field Marshal Kutuzov (as Oscar Homolka)
Anita Ekberg	...	Helene Kuragina
Helmut Dantine	...	Dolokhov
Tullio Carminati	...	Prince Vasili Kuragin
Barry Jones	...	Prince Mikhail Andreevich Rostov
Milly Vitale	...	Lisa Bolkonskaya
Lea Seidl	...	Countess Rostov
Anna-Maria Ferrero	...	Maria Bolkonskaya (as Anna Maria Ferrero)
Wilfrid Lawson	...	Prince Bolkonsky (as Wilfred Lawson)
May Britt	...	Sonia Rostova
Jeremy Brett	...	Nikolai Rostov
Patrick Crean	...	Denisov
Sean Barrett	...	Petya Rostov
John Mills	...	Platon Karataev
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Giuseppe Addobbati	...	House servant (uncredited)
Mario Addobbati	...	Young servant at Rostov's (uncredited)
Inna Alexeievna	...	Governess (uncredited)
Marisa Allasio	...	Matrosha (uncredited)
Luciano Angelini	...	Young soldier at Borodino (uncredited)
Cesare Barbetti	...	Young soldier shot in front of Pierre (uncredited)
Vincent Barbi	...	Balaga (uncredited)
Patrick Barrett	...	Russian soldier (uncredited)
Michael Billingsley	...	Russian soldier (uncredited)
Augusto Borselli	...	(uncredited)
Georges Bréhat	...	French officer at execution (uncredited)
Mario Cardoni	...	Soldier (uncredited)
Guido Celano	...	Victor (uncredited)
Carmelo Consoli	...	(uncredited)
Geoffrey Copleston	...	French officer (uncredited)
Tiziano Cortini	...	(uncredited)
Giorgio Costantini	...	French officer (uncredited)
Dave Crowley	...	Russian soldier (uncredited)
Robert Cunningham	...	Pierre's second at duel (uncredited)
Carlo Dale	...	Young French officer (uncredited)
Alex D'Alessio	...	Soldier (uncredited)
Henry Danieli	...	(uncredited)
Paul Davis	...	Young French officer (uncredited)
Richard Dawson	...	(uncredited)
Carlo Delmi	...	Young guard (uncredited)
Lucio De Santis	...	Young officer at orgy (uncredited)
Mino Doro	...	Russian general (uncredited)
Andrea Esterhazy	...	Dolokhov's second at duel (uncredited)
Andrea Fantasia	...	Constand (uncredited)
Charles Fawcett	...	Russian artillery captain (uncredited)
Gertrude Flynn	...	Mariya Peronskaya (uncredited)
Francis Foucaud	...	French soldier (uncredited)
Alan Furlan	...	Russian officer (uncredited)
Angelo Galassi	...	Russian soldier (uncredited)
Nandor Gallai	...	Bezukhov's servant (uncredited)
Stephen Garret	...	Coachman / Doctor (uncredited)
Dino Gelio	...	(uncredited)
Micaela Giustiniani	...	Woman (uncredited)
Christopher Hofer	...	French officer (uncredited)
John Horne	...	Gentleman at ball (uncredited)
Sdenka Kirchen	...	Old maid (uncredited)
Dimitri Konstantinov	...	Young officer at orgy (uncredited)
Mauro Lanciani	...	Young Prince Nicholas (uncredited)
Stephen Lang	...	Tichon, old servant of Bolkonskty (uncredited)
Arcibaldo Layall	...	(uncredited)
Marianne Leibl	...	Vera, Natasha's sister (uncredited)
Don Little	...	Gentleman at ball (uncredited)
Alberto Lolli	...	Prokofi - Rostov's butler (uncredited)
Gianni Luda	...	Soldier (uncredited)
Clelia Matania	...	Mademoiselle Geoges (uncredited)
Richard McNamara	...	De Beausset, French messenger (uncredited)
Nino Milia	...	(uncredited)
Enrico Olivieri	...	French drummer (uncredited)
Eric Oulton	...	Russian general (uncredited)
Piero Palermini	...	Russian artillery lieutenant (uncredited)
Mimmo Palmara	...	French officer (uncredited)
Piero Pastore	...	Bolkonsky's servant (uncredited)
Teresa Pellati	...	Liudmila (uncredited)
Frank Pex	...	(uncredited)
Paola Quagliero	...	Young girl protected by Pierre (uncredited)
Savo Raskovitch	...	Czar Alexander I (uncredited)
Jerry Riggio	...	French officer (uncredited)
Alfredo Rizzo	...	Soldier (uncredited)
Giovanni Rossi-Loti	...	Young Russian officer (uncredited)
Giacomo Rossi-Stuart	...	Young Cossack (uncredited)
Umberto Sacripante	...	Old man (uncredited)
Aldo Saporetti	...	Guest at Dolochov's party (uncredited)
John Stacy	...	Russian general (uncredited)
Robert Stephens	...	Officer talking with Natasha (uncredited)
Eschilo Tarquini	...	Soldier (uncredited)
Gilberto Tofano	...	Young dying soldier (uncredited)
Michael Tor	...	Pope (uncredited)
Gualtiero Tumiati	...	Count Kirill Bezukhov (uncredited)
Joop van Hulzen	...	Russian officer (uncredited)
Henri Vidon	...	(uncredited)
Robin White Cross	...	Young officer at orgy (uncredited)
Maria Zanoli	...	Mavra, Rostov housekeeper (uncredited)

Directed by
King Vidor

Writing credits
Leo Tolstoy		(novel "Voyna i mir")
Bridget Boland		(screenplay) and
Robert Westerby		(screenplay) and
King Vidor		(screenplay) and
Mario Camerini		(screenplay) and
Ennio De Concini		(screenplay) and
Ivo Perilli		(screenplay) and
Gian Gaspare Napolitano		(screenplay) and
Mario Soldati		(screenplay)

Produced by
Dino De Laurentiis	....	producer
Carlo Ponti	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Nino Rota

Cinematography by
Jack Cardiff

Film Editing by
Leo Cattozzo		(as Leo Catozzo)

Art Direction by
Mario Chiari

Set Decoration by
Piero Gherardi

Costume Design by
Maria De Matteis
Giulio Ferrari		(uncredited)

Makeup Department
Alberto De Rossi	....	makeup supervisor
Grazia De Rossi	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Giorgio Adriani	....	production manager
Fernando Cinquini	....	production supervisor
Fausto Saraceni	....	production manager
Bruno Todini	....	general production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Guidarino Guidi	....	assistant director
Bernard Vorhaus	....	assistant director (as Piero Mussetta)
Carlo Lastricati	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Mario Soldati	....	second unit director (uncredited)

Art Department
Franz Bachelin	....	associate art director
Mario Garbuglia	....	construction coordinator
Gianni Polidori	....	assistant art director
Italo Tomassi	....	head scenic painter (uncredited)

Sound Department
Aldo Calpini	....	sound engineer
Achille Filo Della Torre	....	sound engineer (as Filo Della Torre)
Leslie Hodgson	....	sound editor
Charles Knott	....	sound recordist

Special Effects by
Costel Grozea	....	special effects (as Tell Grozea)

Camera and Electrical Department
Aldo Tonti	....	director of photography: second unit

Editorial Department
Stuart Gilmore	....	editorial supervisor

Music Department
Franco Ferrara	....	musical director

Other crew
Arthur Fellows	....	production assistant: Mr. Vidor
Aurel Milloss	....	choreographer
Ralph Serpe	....	production assistant: New York
Guy Thomajan	....	dialogue coach
Auriel Millos	....	choreographer (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Paramount Pictures
• Ponti-De Laurentiis Cinematografica

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1956) (USA) (theatrical)
• Paramount (1957) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Paramount Pictures (1963) (USA) (VHS) (re-release)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1964) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Paramount Home Video (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Paramount Filmes do Brasil (2003) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Associated British Film Distributors (ABFD) (????) (UK) (theatrical)
• Dino de Laurentiis Cinematografica (????) (Italy) (theatrical)
• CIC Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• CIC-Taft Home Video (????) (Australia) (VHS)
• Paramount Home Video (198?) (USA) (VHS)
• Paramount Home Video (????) (USA) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Tuena  antiques for set decoration

Also Known As:

Guerra e pace (Italy)

MPAA:

Rated PG for violence.

Runtime:

208 min

Country:

Italy | USA

Language:

English | Italian | Russian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System) | Perspecta Stereo

Certification:

Italy:T | Brazil:Livre | West Germany:12 (f) | Argentina:16 | Australia:G | Chile:18 | Finland:K-14 | Spain:18 | USA:PG | Canada:PG

Filming Locations:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

In the scene where the Rostovs invite Prince Andrei to go hunting with them, Jeremy Brett is the only actor never on a mechanical horse: in all his shots he is clearly on a live horse. Audrey Hepburn, Henry Fonda, Mel Ferrer, Barry Jones and May Britt are all clearly on mechanical horses in their close shots.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the first battle, Prince Andrei dismounts to take the flag of the shot soldier who is holding it. Then the wounded soldier kneels twice.

Quotes:

Dolokhov: [about French prisoners] Take them away! You know what to do with them!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Rec: Sensou to heiwa (#1.7)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

Die Rose von Nowgorod

"Damn you, Napoleon! Damn you to Hell!"

Tolstoy's mammoth Russian novel "Voyna i mir" cannot be summed up in a few mere sentences...however, King Vidor's movie-adaptation certainly can, and therein lies a telling difference between the two. An alarming amount of Hollywood generalities have been incorporated into this script (apparently worked on by numerous writers at different intervals), turning a war story into a star-crossed lovers saga. Grand costume spectacle mixes peculiarly with battlefield drama, just as the location footage mixes uneasily with the studio work. In 1800 Russia, as Napoleon is taking over Europe but finding resistance in Russia and England, a virginal, somewhat boy-happy Countess can't decide to whom her heart belongs: a family friend who initially supports Napoleon or a dashing Prince. The Prince soon becomes a Colonel in the war against the French as Napoleon's army advances, leading to the one spectacular, engrossing sequence wherein Henry Fonda (in dress clothes and spectacles), on a jaunt through the countryside, inadvertently finds himself in the middle of battle. Of the large, international cast, only Herbert Lom as Napoleon seems suitable. Audrey Hepburn wears a succession of lovely outfits, yet always seems to be looking out the window or standing on a balcony, speaking to the skies (at one point she speaks to herself in voice-over, as does Prince Mel Ferrer, and you think the producers have to be kidding!). Henry Fonda looks very handsome, but can't seem to get a grasp on his character; his old-chums relationship with Ferrer is scuttled by Ferrer's fearsome non-acting, and the love-triangle asides involving the Countess are piqued, at best. Director Vidor received an Academy Award nomination for his work, but only the battle scenes excel--the rest is a tad clumsy. ** from ****