A film of breathtaking grandeur based on Leo Tolstoy's novel of 1869. Taking five years of concentrated production to complete, the film cost one hundred million dollars. Academy Award Nominations: Best Art Direction-Set Decoration. Academy Awards: Best Foreign Language Film.

This epic tale takes place during Napoleon's invasion of Russia in the years 1805-1820. While these calamitous historical events unfold, a variety of characters from various classes and cultures try to deal with their own personal dramas. Whether peasant or prince, soldier or gentlewoman, each person undergoes a search for happiness and self-knowledge... and each one ultimately finds a different answer.

The production of the film took five years and included 100,000 soldiers, 273 sets, 2,000 different costumes and art treasures from over 40 Soviet museums.

DVD Features:

Region 1
Boxed Set
Anamorphic Widescreen - 2.35
Audio:
Dolby Digital 5.1 - Russian
Additional Release Material:
Production Interviews - 1. Irina Skobtseva - Actor
2. Vassily Lanovoy - Actor
3. Anatoly Petritsky - Cinematographer
4. Vycheslav Ovchinnikov - Composer
5. Karen Shakhnazarov
Featurette - 1. Behind The Scenes
Documentary - 1. Leo Tolstoy
Text/Photo Galleries:
Production Art
Production Photos
Filmographies - 1. Cast & Crew

Distributor Notes: One of the cinema's greatest epics finally comes to DVD in its original lavish, uncut splendor! This definitive version of Leo Tolstoy's literary classic boasts an unprecedented scale for its battle scenes, including a fully created regular army, over 120,000 soldier extras, and over 35,000 costumes, bringing heightened realism to such breathtaking setpieces as the Battle of Borodino and the 1812 Moscow fire. A sprawling production that nearly bankrupted the Soviet government, "War and Peace" chronicles the timeless romance between Natasha Rostova and Prince Andrei Bolkonsky, whose lives mirror the upheaval of the nation around them. Boasting exquisite widescreen photography and one dazzling image after another, this essential movie experience rivals "Lawrence of Arabia" and "Gone with the Wind" for sheer spectacle and entertainment! Academy Award Winner, Best Foreign Language Film 1965; Golden Globe Winner - Best Foreign Language Film.

Source: Image Entertainment, Inc.

Sergei Bondarchuk: Russian Director/Actor

4 stars out of 5 -- "Beautifully shot, sturdy performances, deep and worthy of its Oscar."
"[T]his is film-making on a truly epic scale..."