War and Peace (1956)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

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 | Opening Monologue | Scorched Earth Policy

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:

Audrey Hepburn recommended her Roman Holiday (1953) co-star Gregory Peck for the role of Pierre, but Henry Fonda was cast instead.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Although the Battle of Austerlitz was fought in December, the trees seem to be in full summer bloom.

Quotes:

Natasha Rostov: When I finally say I love you to any man and really mean it, it will be like a defeated general who's lost all his troops, surrendering and handing his sword to the enemy.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Audrey Hepburn: Ein Star auf der Suche nach sich selbst (2004) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Die Rose von Nowgorod

Looks as good as GWTW but doesn't sound like it!

This film came out on DVD yesterday and I rushed to buy it. This version is the first to render all the detail and perfection of Jack Cardiff's amazing compositions and brilliant, varied photography. As a collection of memorable images, this film is better than any comparable historical epic of the period and even gives GWTW a run for its money. King Vidor's direction is a series of 'tableaux vivants' where the characters are not posing but acting in a very natural, period-specific way. I have never had a problem with this adaptation of Tolstoy's novel. I think it is a wonderful introduction to the period and the novel and that it is a very poetic, very original work in its own right. Henry Fonda's characterization is especially moving, including great memorable interactions with/reations to Mel Ferrer, Audrey Hepburn, Helmut Dantine and John Mills, but all members of the cast are actually perfect. The harrowing last 45 minutes of the film manage to convey a sense of history, a sense of grandeur as well as to communicate very clearly Tolstoy's ideas about the meaning of life, by relying mostly on the power of memorable images. The most conspicuous handicap of this movie, in my opinion, is its soundtrack (in glorious mono).

The barely hi-fi recording of dialogues and music sounds pinched, hollow and tinny and it always has in very version I have ever seen: in the theatres, on TV and on video. Even the soundtrack album is an atrocity. In some scenes, before the necessary adjustments of bass and treble, Audrey Hepburn's and Mel Ferrer's voices actually hurt your ear. Nino Rota's very Russian-sounding score is serviceable and melodic, although rather sparse in its orchestration and in the number of players. One can only wonder what 'War and Peace' could have sounded like with a cohort of Hollywood arrangers, decent recording facilities and lavish, varied orchestrations in true high fidelity and stereophonic sound. According to Lukas Kendall of 'Film Score Monthly', the original recording elements of the soundtrack have long ago disappeared, which is the common lot of international, independent co-productions of the era. Someone somewhere is certainly guilty of skimping on quality or embezzlement for this 1956 movie to sound so much worse than a 1939, pre-hi-fi epic like GWTW. Like all VistaVision films, this one was meant to be shown in Perspecta Stereophonic Sound where the mono dialog track was meant to be channelled to three different directions, making it directional, while the seaprate mono music + sound effects track was generally directed to all three speakers at the same time. The results fooled the viewers into thinking everything was in true stereo and the reproduction of the music was usually in very high fidelity. Maybe the soundtrack used on the DVD is a mono reduction of those two separate tracks that has squandered that fidelity and maybe the DVD can be issued again with better results in some kind of 4.0 presentation. When they do, very little electronic restoration work will be needed to make the image absolutely perfect.

But let's concentrate on the positive: This film is a summit of visual splendour and its sets, costumes, colour photography, composition and lighting achieve, in every single scene, wonders of artistry, creativity and delicacy that will probably never be equalled. Suffice it to say that it has, among many other treasures, a sunrise duel scene in the snow that still has viewers wondering whether it was shot outdoors or in a studio and that will have them wondering forever.