![]() This movie has absolutely awe inspiring panning and tracking shots. This is a great piece of Russian literature adapted into an epic movie by Russian filmmakers, and so a lot of effort has been put into all the performances to bring this time in history to life. They end up by expressing philosophies about the purpose of life that are at odds with each other until Prince Andrei sees what the oak tree has to teach us. Andrei and Pierre both lose their wives, but in different ways. ![]() We jump back and forth from the festivities and grandly decorated homes of the well-to-do to the dirt and smoke and death of the battlefields. We briefly meet Natasha Rostova in this part as an energetic, playful young girl. Pierre is related to the Rostova family, the other main players in the story. Bondarchuk plays him appropriately as an awkward melancholy fellow who is the main connecting thread through the length of the film. He feels he doesn't quite fit in to the rest of the upper crust society. He doesn't see the point of going off to fight Napoleon. ![]() Pierre openly describes himself as the illegitimate son of a wealthy Count or some such nobility. Pierre serves as our narrator for much of Tolstoy's philosophical observations, but we also hear the interior monologue of several characters as they ponder things and make decisions. Pierre is friends with Prince Andrei and they often go for walks talking about the meaning of life and the purpose of war. Pierre Bezukhov is also introduced as played by the director of the picture, Sergei Bondarchuk. His father does care and wishes that Andrei would stay safe at home, but Andrei wishes to make a name for himself through his own work leading men into battle. Prince Bolkonsky finds out that his wife is pregnant just as he is preparing to leave for war. He has lived a privileged existence with his sister under his father's harsh and disciplined hand. This part is itself split into two parts as well, but both focus on Prince Andrei Bolkonsky. Tolstoy philosophy, epic panoramas of the landscape, and upper class human drama from early 1800's Russia combine in this nearly 7 hour four part film. ![]()
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