War and Peace Review - by Gregory Meshman

( aka 'War and Peace', "Voina I Mir" )

directed by Sergei Bondarchuk
Soviet Union 1967

"This gigantic motion picture epic, based on the novel of the same name by the great Russian writer Leo Tolstoy, has won worldwide critical acclaim. For the shooting of the film’s battle scenes, such as the Battle of Borodino or the 1812 Moscow fire, a regular army was mustered into service, as well as a specially created cavalry regiment. Over 12,000 soldiers participated as extras in the crowd scenes. More than 35,000 costumes were made for the production.

The details of 19th-century Russia’s everyday life, the period costumes, society and its traditions, the psychological characteristics and the heroism of the people, the glory of Russian arms – all this attracts the viewer not less than the love story of the delightful Natasha Rostova and the Prince Andrei Bolkonsky."

IMdb

DVD REVIEW: Ruscico Region 0 - NTSC (with PAL speed-up)

All screenshots courtesy of Ashirg. Thanks Gregory!

DVD Box Cover		Click the logos to order from:
5 Disc Box Set Package
Distribution	Studio: Mosfilm
Runtime	Approx. 403 minutes ( 6 hours 43 minutes )
Video	2.30:1.00 Letterboxed WideScreen / anamorphic Average Bitrate: See below for 4 film discs NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s
Audio	Russian, English, French (Dolby Digital 5.1 )
Subtitles	Russian, English, French, German, Dutch, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, Swedish, Greek, Japanese, Chinese, Arabic, Herbew, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Mosfilm / through RusCiCo ( Russian Cinema Council ) Aspect Ratio(s): Widescreen anamorphic - 2.30:1 Region 0
Comments:	The picture is hit and miss. This is the best the film looked on video, but there's many instances of grain and specs. I have previously seen the film (really poor quality) on Russian TV, so this DVD is a revelation. Even for a production of such a large scale there were numerous technical difficulties with film stock. The director of photography recalls this in an interview on the fifth disc where he also talks about the restoration. Shakhnazarov, who produced the restoration of about 80 films of Mosfilm studio, notes that when they started restoration of 'War and Peace', they couldn't find the negatives. The sound, restored from mono to 5.1 is also very clear, with some directional effects added. out of Gregory Meshman
	DVD Release Date: 2nd Quarter 2003 Keep Case Chapters: Disc 1- 22, Disc 2 -13, Disc 3 - 13, Disc 4 - 20

The DVDs
Details and Screen Captures

Disc 1

Details

Time 2:19:55

Bitrate 7.11 mps

Chapters: 22

Extras:
Materials on Alexander I, 19th-century manor houses;
Cast & crew photos and filmographies.

Disc 2

	Details Time 1:33:06 Bitrate 9.14 mps Chapters: 13 Sketches of the sets; Materials on national-lideration; Cast & crew photos and filmographies.

Disc 3

	Details Time 1:17:39 Bitrate 9.14 mps Chapters: 13 Scetches of the sets; Materials on amusements and celebrations in 19th century Russian countryside, M.I. Kutuzov, Russian classicism; Cast & crew photos and filmographies.