"The Soviet epic War and Peace, directed by Sergei Bondarchuk, is considered one of the most ambitious projects in film history. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Leo Tolstoy, a classic I've already briefly mentioned in my top five list of Napoleonic novels.
While I grew up with the 1956 US theatrical version, which I would still prefer as entertainment, the sets, battles, and many individual scenes in the Soviet miniseries particularly impress me. Therefore, I'd like to present this film from the perspective of a figure enthusiast and shed light on some details of its impressive production history.
In the 1960s, the Soviet government wanted to create a monumental film adaptation of the Russian literary classic War and Peace—essentially as a response to the 1956 Hollywood production. The Soviet Union wanted to demonstrate that its film industry was also capable of producing elaborate films.
The film was intended to take a different approach than the American version, presenting Tolstoy's work as comprehensively as possible while simultaneously honoring Russian history and culture. The state-owned studio Mosfilm, commissioned to produce the film, allocated an extraordinary number of resources.
The production had access to military equipment, historical props from museums, and thousands of extras. The Soviet film War and Peace was ultimately produced between 1962 and 1967 and released in four parts. The total running time of all four parts is an incredible 432 minutes—over seven hours…"
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FIGUREN UND GESCHICHTEN
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Armand
goes to sea with the Terrain Mat.
