The task of adapting a fifteen book novel into a film that is not only of 'acceptable' length but also commercially viable is truly daunting. As it happened this one fared extremely well at the box office. Purely as a film it should be judged not by what has been taken out but by the effectiveness of what has been left in.
There are some truly spectacular scenes here, mostly directed by King Vidor, with a few, notably the French army's entry into and retreat from 'Moscow the Holy', being handled by Mario Soldati. It is the intimate scenes directed by Mr. Vidor that seem somehow lacking.
As Natasha Rostova Miss Audrey Hepburn is utterly luminous and gives one of her finest and most captivating performances. Her casting facilitated the use of her then husband Mel Ferrer as Prince Andrei Bolkonsky. Mr. Ferrer has an aristocratic bearing and an air of mystery but is alas rather bland. The other man in Natasha's life, Pierre Bezukhov, whom she eventually marries, is played by Henry Fonda. By his own admission he regretted taking the role and resented changes made to Irwin Shaw's original script by the director. He is a far cry from the 'stout, heavily built young man with close-cropped hair' of Tolstoy's imagining. He is a marvellous actor but here he cannot rise above his ludicrous miscasting.
The performances to note here are the profligate Kuragin of Vittorio Gassman, the wily General Kutuzov of Oscar Homolka and especially the egomaniacal Napoleon of Herbert Lom. Mr Lom had previously played the role on film in 1942 and would come full circle when performing it in an instantly forgettable play in the 1970's. Anita Ekberg certainly has the 'wow' factor as Pierre's unfaithful, gold-digging wife Helene. Her oestrogen practically leaps off the screen.
None better than Maestro Nino Rota to write the score nor Mario Chiari for the art design. Simply splendid is the cinematography of Jack Cardiff whose contribution to the duel scene between Pierre and Kuragin is especially impressive considering it is filmed on a sound stage!
As with all films shot in Italy we have the eternal problem of post-synchronisation with booming voices sounding as if they are talking in a bathroom. King of the 'dubbers' Robert Rietty is again very much in evidence.
In one of the epilogues to Tolstoy's novel Pierre and Natasha have settled down to a bourgeois existence and in middle-age she has a tendency to nag. Oh well, that's Life!
There are some truly spectacular scenes here, mostly directed by King Vidor, with a few, notably the French army's entry into and retreat from 'Moscow the Holy', being handled by Mario Soldati. It is the intimate scenes directed by Mr. Vidor that seem somehow lacking.
As Natasha Rostova Miss Audrey Hepburn is utterly luminous and gives one of her finest and most captivating performances. Her casting facilitated the use of her then husband Mel Ferrer as Prince Andrei Bolkonsky. Mr. Ferrer has an aristocratic bearing and an air of mystery but is alas rather bland. The other man in Natasha's life, Pierre Bezukhov, whom she eventually marries, is played by Henry Fonda. By his own admission he regretted taking the role and resented changes made to Irwin Shaw's original script by the director. He is a far cry from the 'stout, heavily built young man with close-cropped hair' of Tolstoy's imagining. He is a marvellous actor but here he cannot rise above his ludicrous miscasting.
The performances to note here are the profligate Kuragin of Vittorio Gassman, the wily General Kutuzov of Oscar Homolka and especially the egomaniacal Napoleon of Herbert Lom. Mr Lom had previously played the role on film in 1942 and would come full circle when performing it in an instantly forgettable play in the 1970's. Anita Ekberg certainly has the 'wow' factor as Pierre's unfaithful, gold-digging wife Helene. Her oestrogen practically leaps off the screen.
None better than Maestro Nino Rota to write the score nor Mario Chiari for the art design. Simply splendid is the cinematography of Jack Cardiff whose contribution to the duel scene between Pierre and Kuragin is especially impressive considering it is filmed on a sound stage!
As with all films shot in Italy we have the eternal problem of post-synchronisation with booming voices sounding as if they are talking in a bathroom. King of the 'dubbers' Robert Rietty is again very much in evidence.
In one of the epilogues to Tolstoy's novel Pierre and Natasha have settled down to a bourgeois existence and in middle-age she has a tendency to nag. Oh well, that's Life!