I'm still watching this miniseries on disks but as the end approaches I'm beginning to think I ought to add some observations before I forget. I once tried to read it but, like the Russian Army at Austerlitz, I pulled back in fear and exhaustion. This is, after all, a longie. And as someone said about driving through Texas, it just goes on and on and on.
I can barely remember the 1956 version with Audrey Hepburn as Natasha, but I do recall thinking at the time that Mel Ferrer, as Andre, was something of a goof. He's a fine actor in the right role, but the role should have a bit of snootiness built into it. Natasha can be thoughtless and flighty, and I like Audrey Hepburn pure. Above all, Henry Fonda was too old for Pierre.
Sergei Bondarchuk's mammoth production was an improvement. My God, the expense of shooting it would have provided everyone in the USSR with a brand new Cadillac and postponed its collapse. It was, I suppose, closer to history than the earlier version. People at fancy balls spoke French. But even at seven hours it couldn't cover all the bases, since I don' recall any reference to Pierre's experimenting with Masonry. Bondarchuk's Natasha could pass for a bewitching thirteen in the early scenes.
This TV version is long too and the production values are impressive. Austerlitz and Borodino don't have the same extravagance but I think, on the whole, the performances are better than any other version. Some of the less important roles are caricatures but the principals do fine. As Pierre, Anthony Hopkins is superb, much better than Sergei Bondarchuk and a vast improvement over Henry Fonda. Hopkins brings an edgy, half crazy quality to the role. He stumbles and bumbles but his suffering has a kinetic quality. And Alan Dobie as Prince Andre is properly proud, brooding, and thoughtful. As Natasha, alas, Morag Hood is not thirteen and not captivating.
The direction is efficient, not more than that, and the absence of incidental music gives the entire production a hollow sound and a stagy feel. A handful of people meet and are introduced in a sitting room. The hostess says, "Why don't we all sit down and talk." There is a long moment, silent except for the rustling of skirts, as everyone moves to his or her chair and sits. Then there is usually another awkward moment while they sit and stare at one another before someone says something like, "Tell me, how are you, and your dear brother?" It breaks the tempo and it seems as if a hole has just opened up on the screen and, for a moment, swallowed the actors.
There are occasional voice overs by Pierre, Andre, and Frank Middlemass as General Kutuzov. Unlike so many voice overs ("I was conked on the noggin and fell into a deep black hole"), these actually help us understand the conundrums faced by the characters. I was particularly impressed when Middlemass wants to yield Moscow to Napoleon and everyone objects that Moscow is the beating heart of Russia. "Moscow is a collection of buildings and streets," muses Middlemass, "and the heart of Russia is with its people." In other words, symbolic territories aren't worth the cost of an army, a mistake Hitler made at Stalingrad. Let's all be pragmatists for a while.
Well, space is short and "War and Peace" is long. I'd skip the Hollywood version and go with either of these, or both, although, like Texas, they do go on and on and on.
I can barely remember the 1956 version with Audrey Hepburn as Natasha, but I do recall thinking at the time that Mel Ferrer, as Andre, was something of a goof. He's a fine actor in the right role, but the role should have a bit of snootiness built into it. Natasha can be thoughtless and flighty, and I like Audrey Hepburn pure. Above all, Henry Fonda was too old for Pierre.
Sergei Bondarchuk's mammoth production was an improvement. My God, the expense of shooting it would have provided everyone in the USSR with a brand new Cadillac and postponed its collapse. It was, I suppose, closer to history than the earlier version. People at fancy balls spoke French. But even at seven hours it couldn't cover all the bases, since I don' recall any reference to Pierre's experimenting with Masonry. Bondarchuk's Natasha could pass for a bewitching thirteen in the early scenes.
This TV version is long too and the production values are impressive. Austerlitz and Borodino don't have the same extravagance but I think, on the whole, the performances are better than any other version. Some of the less important roles are caricatures but the principals do fine. As Pierre, Anthony Hopkins is superb, much better than Sergei Bondarchuk and a vast improvement over Henry Fonda. Hopkins brings an edgy, half crazy quality to the role. He stumbles and bumbles but his suffering has a kinetic quality. And Alan Dobie as Prince Andre is properly proud, brooding, and thoughtful. As Natasha, alas, Morag Hood is not thirteen and not captivating.
The direction is efficient, not more than that, and the absence of incidental music gives the entire production a hollow sound and a stagy feel. A handful of people meet and are introduced in a sitting room. The hostess says, "Why don't we all sit down and talk." There is a long moment, silent except for the rustling of skirts, as everyone moves to his or her chair and sits. Then there is usually another awkward moment while they sit and stare at one another before someone says something like, "Tell me, how are you, and your dear brother?" It breaks the tempo and it seems as if a hole has just opened up on the screen and, for a moment, swallowed the actors.
There are occasional voice overs by Pierre, Andre, and Frank Middlemass as General Kutuzov. Unlike so many voice overs ("I was conked on the noggin and fell into a deep black hole"), these actually help us understand the conundrums faced by the characters. I was particularly impressed when Middlemass wants to yield Moscow to Napoleon and everyone objects that Moscow is the beating heart of Russia. "Moscow is a collection of buildings and streets," muses Middlemass, "and the heart of Russia is with its people." In other words, symbolic territories aren't worth the cost of an army, a mistake Hitler made at Stalingrad. Let's all be pragmatists for a while.
Well, space is short and "War and Peace" is long. I'd skip the Hollywood version and go with either of these, or both, although, like Texas, they do go on and on and on.