I am not one who generally finds it difficult to sit still for long periods of time, but over the weekend I endured a memorable challenge: I attended a rare showing of Serge Bondarchuk’s epic film of Tolstoy’s War and Peace. The film, which won the 1968 Oscar for Best Foreign Film, is seven-and-a-half hours long, and it is spectacular.
Among the central attractions of the film are recreations of the battles of Austerlitz and Borodino. When those battles between France and Russia were fought in the early 19th century, they were the largest military contests ever waged. Bondarchuk, with his film underwritten by the Soviet government, didn’t stint on any costs, and these massive recreations, involving tens of thousands of extras and thousands of horses, capture the chaos of combat brilliantly.
Bondarchuk also showed his genius for composition in the scenes involving grand balls. In one brilliant scene at one of the balls, we see news of Napoleon’s invasion of Russia spread one by one among the Russian army officers, as the rest of the aristocrats continue to whirl to the music. On the other end of the spectrum, there are many quiet scenes, scenes of nature, that are just as stirring.
When I came home from my hours of viewing, I learned that the film is indeed available on DVD. Do yourself a favor and rent it. Do yourself another favor, and watch it over three or four nights.
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Comments on this entry:
Thanks for this from one film nut to another!
I have seen the King Vidor version with Anita Ekberg
but had no idea this was about. Now I'll realy be able to say i 'read the book' lol