War & Peace (1972)
starring: Anthony Hopkins, Alan Dobie, Morag Hood, Joanna David, Sylvester Morand
directed by: John Davies
directed by: John Davies
List Price: $99.98
Prices subject to change.
You Pay Only: $55.49
You Save: $44.49 (44%)Prices subject to change.
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 0741952648895
Format: Closed-captioned, NTSC
Label: Koch Vision
Manufacturer: Koch Vision
Number Of Items: 5
Publisher: Koch Vision
Region Code: 1
Release Date: October 23, 2007
Running Time: 890 minutes
Sales Rank: 17620
Studio: Koch Vision
Theatrical Release Date: November 20, 1973
Related Items:
- War & Peace (1968)
- War and Peace
- War and Peace
- Anne of the Thousand Days / Mary, Queen of Scots
- Cranford
- see more
Editorial Review:
Description:
Leo Tolstoy’s timeless masterpiece of love and loss is universally recognized as one of the greatest novels ever written. Focusing on the consequences faces by three Russian families during the Napoleonic Wars, this classic work is retold in twenty parts in this epic BBC production, complete with award-winning design and breathtaking battle sequences.
Anthony Hopkins heads the cast as the soul-searching Pierre Bezuhov (a role for which he won the 1972 Best Actor BAFTA); Morag Hood is the impulsive and beautiful Natasha Rostova; Alan Dobie is the dour but heroic Andrei Bolkonsky; and David Swift is Napoleon, whose decision to invade Russia in 1812 has far-reaching consequences for both the Rostov and Bolkonsky families.
Includes a 44-page booklet featuring production notes, episode summaries, character profiles and stunning behind the scenes photography.
Amazon.com:
Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace towers over most novels. It isn't merely the length that impresses--over 1,200 pages--but the number of characters. This BBC/Time-Life serial spans the Napoleonic Wars (1805-20) and incorporates 52 principals and 110 supporting players (a 44-page booklet proves indispensable with identification). Chief among them is Pierre (a bespectacled Anthony Hopkins), an illegitimate idler who becomes Count Bezuhov upon his father's death. Pierre admires Napoleon (David Swift), and chooses not to fight. Cousins Nikolai Rostov (Sylvester Morand) and Andrei Bolkonsky (Alan Dobie) harbor no such reservations.
The Yugoslavia-filmed battle sequences convince with their cavalcade of extras, but the drawing-room scenes serve as the heart of the series. (The soft exteriors were shot on film; the crisp interiors on video.) In these sequences, the other Rostovs, Bolkonskys, and Bezuhovs--notably Nikolai's impetuous sister, Natasha (Morag Hood)--emerge as complex individuals. Occasional inner monologues distinguish them further. There's some overacting from a few cast members, like the splenetic Anthony Jacobs (Prince Bolkonsky), but Dobie, Angela Down (Andrei's sister, Maria), and especially BAFTA winner Hopkins, give three of the more nuanced performances. Dramatized by Jack Pulman (I, Claudius) and directed by TV veteran John Davies (Germinal), this 20-part series follows a black-and-white silent, a Hollywood production (with Henry Fonda and Audrey Hepburn), and an Oscar-winning Russian epic. The British edition, however, stands as the most complete adaptation. As Pulman stated at the time, 'Part of the novel's effect is achieved by its sheer weight of detail, the piling up of incident upon incident.' After 15 increasingly compelling hours of marriages, affairs, births, duels, and deaths, it's hard not to feel a kinship with these fatefully entwined families. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
Average Rating: 
Rating:
- Just as great as I rememberI watched this when it was on Masterpiece Theater in the early 70's. I have loved Anthony Hopkins ... Read More
Rating:
- War and Peace - 1972 Version with Anthony HopkinsThe BBC version is great! We are really enjoying it! It's almost like watching a play. Have not ... Read More
Rating:
- War and Peace, 1972, BBCThis was a painstakingly accurate portrayal of a wonderful, meaningful novel. The brilliant actors ... Read More
Rating:
- Welcome Home,FinallyWhen War and Peace appeared on public television in 1972, I was enthralled by the multiple characters, ... Read More
Rating:
- Finally, it's available!I've been looking for a video recording of this production for decades, and it has finally arrived in this ... Read More
Browse for similar items by category:
- Drama - Genres - DVD - Video - General
- Television - Drama - Genres - DVD - Video - General AAS
- Television - Genres - DVD - Video - Miniseries
- ( H ) - Actors & Actresses - Custom Stores - Specialty Stores - DVD - Video - Hopkins, Anthony
- ( D ) - Directors - Custom Stores - Specialty Stores - DVD - Video - Davies, John
Copyright ©2003, Mark Carey.