Directed by:
Tom HarperScreenplay:
Andrew DaviesCinematography:
George SteelComposer:
Martin PhippsCast:
Paul Dano, James Norton, Lily James, Adrian Edmondson, Aisling Loftus, Greta Scacchi, Jack Lowden, Tuppence Middleton, Aneurin Barnard, Jessie Buckley (more)VOD (3)
Episodes(6)
Plots(1)
A thrilling tale of love, war, and family, War and Peace is widely considered the greatest novel ever written. Set against in the backdrop of Napoleon's invasion of Russia, War & Peace is the ultimate story of passion and romance, scandal and deceit, following the rise and fall of fortunes of five aristocratic families - The Bezukhovs, Bolkonskys, Rostovs, Kuragins, and Drubetskoys - all jockeying for top position in the waning days of imperial Russia. The dashing Andrei Bolkonsky (Norton) yearns for glory of war, but finds only heartbreak and disillusionment, which may be cured by the lovely young Natasha Rostov (James), who desperately needs to marry well to save her family from financial ruin. Meanwhile, Pierre Bezukhov (Dano) suddenly finds himself in possession of great wealth at the mercy of fortune hunters eager to take advantage of his naiveté. (A&E Television Networks)
(more)Videos (4)
Reviews (3)
If you can get over the fact that "Russian soul" has disappeared from it and it is so noticeably British aristocratic and somewhat unnecessarily decadent in the behavior of some characters, it's excellent (so far). That is for sure. It's just no longer THE War and Peace. Which is a bit strange, especially when it strikes your eyes how many times Harper has seen Bondarchuk's version. In any case, you will hardly see a better television (not only) production with such a cast again, and if so, it will hardly be of such high quality.
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The classic that BBC had to serve me on a silver platter, for which I can only give them my thanks. When the mess of many characters turns into a proper web of relationships, it's got you. All the moments of love, hate, and emotional intensity are polished to perfection, and the central trio of characters – the lost Paul Dano, the charismatic James Norton, and especially the radiant Lily James – who the viewer believes in her naive charm from the moment she first blinks, won my sympathy from the very beginning. If it weren't for the deceitful Kuragin family, I might even go for the highest rating. Nevertheless, the modern War and Peace has become a classic that doesn't hurt, but is instead tailored precisely to the viewer who enjoys being carried away by the inexhaustible stream of British television.
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I was really upset about the way the first part of the title was handled in the screenplay due to the budget. Practically all key battles took place off-screen. However, I liked how the romantic drama was executed. Paul Dano gave a brilliant performance in my view. The only problem was that he didn’t feel like an authentic Russian character. Anyway, I liked the series as a whole, but the creators could have put more effort into the details.
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