Parts 1 and 2 starring
Ludmila Savelyeva Sergei Bondarchuk
The Russians' own film version of the most famous book in their literature is on a truly Tolstoyan scale with literally thousands of men deployed in the spectacular battle sequences and a peculiarly Russian intensity of emotion in the more intimate scenes. It is shown today and tomorrow in its original four parts with sequences restored that were cut for the English cinema release.
1805: In St Petersburg the talk is of Napoleon, threatening Europe and perhaps Russia herself. Nearer home, there is a more fascinating piece of gossip; Pierre Bezuhov , a socially graceless young man, has inherited a fortune, becoming overnight the most eligible bachelor in town.
Music by VYACHESLAV OVCHINNIKOV Directed by SERGEI BONDARCHUK