A CLASSIC THAT NEEDS NO INTRODUCTION..."WAR AND PEACE"

OK, I hear you. Yes, there is (or should be) a limit to the phenomenon of watching the movie rather than reading the book… I hear you and understand, but I do not agree, not in this case. First, there is the practicality of it (don’t cringe, I’m a pretty average representation of the modern generation and I do NOT read as much as I should and I’m pretty sure you don’t either!). So come on, hands on hearts, it’s only us here: How many of you have actually read War and Peace? (The full four-volumes; not the abridged version.) Ok, how many of you actually got through it to the end? I thought not. I have never read it either. The second thing is, the film in question is not any old film. There are just about eight million re-makes of this one so let’s just specify; this is the 1968 film directed by Russian director Sergei Bondarchuk. Now, I can also guess your first criticism : “Essie, there you are mouthing off about the book being four-volumes long, that will NOT fit into a film, even you will agree.” Well you are right of course, but you see, this film is 405 minutes long. So actually, it’s more of a “mini-series” than a film. It’s pretty easy to watch as well, I mean it’s divided into “films” as the book is divided into “sections”. (My edition is three DVDs long, the first DVD was one film two hours long, ending at a good stopping place, making it easy to pick up later). Then there is the film itself. Despite its enormous length, this film won the Oscar® for Best Foreign Film in 1968. I was rather surprised to read this on the cover when I first got the film but by the end of the first DVD, I could see why…
Ok, so the story. Good God, where to begin? The story spans the lives of a multitude of characters in the Russian aristocracy of the 19th century. Over a seven year period we follow their lives and loves and wars… Yes, for between these dates (as some of you may know) Russia was involved in two great wars, both with the same foe : Napoleon Bonaparte… Through the multitude of characters we discuss many different topics, from the academics who “know nothing of real life” to the old aristocracy, ready to dive in swords drawn to defend Mother Russia…
Now, there is one major difficulty about watching this film. First of all, don’t make the mistake I did. Don’t try and watch it all at once. The “film” is divided into four films (four books, remember?) for a reason. I, having a lot of free time on my hands, watched three of them in a single day. Big mistake. You see, since the story is so long you just glaze over and cannot get “involved” after a while. Which is a shame – or possibly not – because the war scenes are among the most lifelike I have ever seen, i.e. absolutely horrendous. And of course there is a lot both in the story and in the film to underline the “anti-war” nature of the film. One by one they may have been more effective. Watched in bulk like I did, well… As I said, I was glazed over… On a slightly more technical note, in the 1960’s, before CGI, I absolutely shudder to think how those scenes with THOUSANDS of people were organized… Brr…
Speaking of technicalities though, within minutes of starting the film, I was bowled over sideways by the director’s use of the camera and the editing. The quality is above and beyond ANYTHING I have watched in a very long time. (This kind of mastery just fills me with the despair of knowing that I will never be this good even if I do get to make my own films one day… Ooops did I let that one slip? J ) . Just the way we pass from one scene to another, from one sequence to another is breath-taking, intelligent and in some cases deeply moving (and yes, editing CAN be deeply moving and you will see what I mean if you watch this film!). Then there is the majesty of the film itself… No expense was spared to finish this film so much so that when the budget is converted to today’s currency it ranks as the most expensive film in all of history. For the war scenes alone, 1,200 people were used to form an actual army – that should give you some idea as to the grandeur of the film. The length is no matter, the story is so strong and the representation of it so masterful that you are swept away into the story before you can know it…
There are, of course some little “kinks” stemming from the fact that this is a 60’s film… First of all, I sincerely doubt dubbing is widely available for this one so you will have to watch it in Russian. (My Mother who is among the first to throw up her hands in dismay at the idea of a film in a “foreign language” did the same for this one. I explained that the sheer number of people it would take – ever read a Tolstoy novel? – and the length of time would send the costs soaring). Then there is the fact that the director assumes a certain level of general knowledge. Now I’m not being snooty, that in fact is the whole point; I didn’t have the said knowledge either! Of course, in the 60’s the cinema was not a “pass-time” but quite an intellectual undertaking, so you were supposed to either have read the book or at least be familiar with the particulars of the Franco-Prussian war of 1805. If you were not, you were pretty much left guessing (or alternately stopping the DVD and grilling your mother /laptop/smart phone on historical and literary details; much to the annoyance of my Mother who was already disgruntled at having the TV hijacked by a Russian film I might add). I mean, you are given a vague outline but no helpful introductory “in case you hadn’t noticed” dialogue you tend to find in U.S. movies or at the ends of crime dramas. What dialogue there is, I have already explained, is in Russian. So, if you don’t speak Russian, you are left to the mercy of the subtitler, your wits, imagination, internet connection or your Mothers’ (insert any helpful and available relative) patience. This, bizarrely enough, does not put you off though. I know it should logically, but it doesn’t. The film is just so well done that you WANT to find out. You are swept up in the film, you sympathize with the characters and want to find out what the heck is happening to them… So you get a dollop of general culture, almost read one of the world’s literary classics AND watch a brilliant movie / miniseries all in one. If that isn’t a bargain I honestly don’t know what is…
P.S. If you ever get your hands on this edition (and I sincerely hope you do) for my personal favorite look out for Natasha and Prince Andrei’s waltz – and the “aftermath”. One of the best filmed love scenes I have EVER seen…