Voyna i Mir I: Andrey Bolkonskiy (1965)
Genre: Drama / War
Duration: 147 minuten
Alternative title: Война и Мир I: Андрей Болконский
Country:
Soviet Union
Directed by: Sergey Bondarchuk
Stars: Ludmila Savelyeva, Sergey Bondarchuk and Vyacheslav Tikhonov
IMDb score:
8,1 (2.682)
Releasedate: 14 March 1966
This movie is not available on US streaming services.
Voyna i Mir I: Andrey Bolkonskiy plot
First part of the epic film adaptation of Tolstoy's 'War and Peace'. The story is set during Napoleon's invasion of Russia in the years 1805-1820. Amid all the historical events, characters from different classes and cultures are followed with their own personal dramas. Prince, peasant or soldier; all are looking for happiness.
Actors and actresses
Natasha Rostova
Pierre Bezukhov
Andrei Bolkonsky
Ilya Andreyevich Rostov
Countess Rostova
Nikolai Rostov
Petya Rostov
Sonya
Nikolai Andreyevich Bolkonsky
Princess Mariya
Reviews & comments
Mug
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- 13981 messages
- 5969 votes
Foreign. I found the introductions of the characters murderous, much too slow on the one hand, and much too unclear (only accessible to those who know the epic) on the other. I haven't read the book myself.
Then it explodes completely. Battles, thousands of extras (the Soviet Union subsidized the film in kind, among other things, by deploying the Soviet army as the thousands of men...beautiful, a million times more beautiful than all the cgi puppets we've seen in recent years). And what a beautiful death scenes. I can still drool over the costumes, sets, gigantic chambers, choir singing, heavenly camera shots and whatnot.
I thought the voice-over of the thoughts of the title character Prince Andrei Bolkonsky was brilliant, unlike Queto's opinion. Especially the last minutes in combination with the beautiful symbolism of the oak and the camera work on it. Poetic imagery supported by images, it works more than well in the film.
Impressive, too bad about the opening part that I had to struggle through. On to the next parts!
It is remarkable that there is little voting for the individual parts (with low averages) and more for the international, Oscar-winning part (with an excellent average). The Moskwood edition (and other DVD editions I believe) is the separate parts edition after all.
Also, the posters for the individual parts may be adjusted (now the complete series DVD cover). A fanatic 'in the house'?
4*, but leans very strongly towards 4.5*. And now to switch to the soap opera developments in Part 2.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Vinokourov
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- 3143 messages
- 2909 votes
I just started the Voyna i Mir series and the first part is already a very nice start. Very pleasant voice-over, which supports the thoughts. The introduction of all those characters is necessary story-wise. Only I couldn't do much with it, I could enjoy the beautiful elegant camera work and how the battle was portrayed. Hopefully it won't get too soapy in the next parts.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Filmkriebel
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- 10325 messages
- 4836 votes
Highly impressive. The Russian film adaptation of Tolstoy's work was a reaction to Vidor's American film at the time. Of course, Russian literary heritage could not be given a definitive American version. sacrilege! Bondarchuk's film adaptation became a real prestige project, then surpassing everything that had already been made. Boundaries were pushed here, thanks to the re-creation of the battles that Napoleon fought at the time. Also budget-wise one of the most expensive films ever made. More about this :
The Wild Story Behind Sergei Bondarchuk's Epic War and Peace - vulture.com
The whole story has at its epicenter the atypical friendship between the illegitimate son of a nobleman who feels out of place in the high spheres where he lives (Bezukhov), and a soldier who is deeply patriotic and wants to be remembered as a national hero ( Bolkonsky). In between there is a third character, Natasha Rostova, but she is dealt with more in the second film. In the first we see, among other things, at the side of Bezukhov how he inherits his father's fortune and becomes a coveted match for the noble daughters of the empire. But he is also scorned by those nobility for not participating in the war to stop Napoleon. Bolkonski will go to the front. An episode in this film is about the battle of Austerlitz, a fiasco for the Russians.
The first film is especially impressive because of its wealth on display (country houses, ballrooms), but Kutuzov's battles in Austerlitz also take your breath away. I liked the pace, but the verbose dialogues sometimes make it hard to follow.
Translated from Dutch · View originalPre- and sequels
Voyna i Mir III: 1812 God
1967
Voyna i Mir IV: Pierre Bezukhov
1967
Voyna i Mir II: Natasha Rostova
1966
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