MOVIEmeter
SEE RANK
Up 357 this week

War and Peace (1956)

PG  |   |  Drama, Romance, War  |  21 August 1956 (USA)
6.8
Your rating:
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 -/10 X  
Ratings: 6.8/10 from 6,369 users  
Reviews: 47 user | 21 critic

Napoleon's tumultuous relations with Russia including his disastrous 1812 invasion serve as the backdrop for the tangled personal lives of two aristocratic families.

Director:

Writers:

(based on the novel by), (adaptation), 7 more credits »
0Check in
0Share...

Watch Now

From $2.99 on Amazon Video

ON DISC

Top 25 Trivia Items From the Last 25 Years

Here are some amazing facts and figures to deepen your appreciation of the movies you love.

See the full list

User Lists

Related lists from IMDb users

a list of 28 titles
created 01 Jun 2013
 
a list of 45 titles
created 09 Jul 2013
 
a list of 22 titles
created 12 Jul 2013
 
a list of 23 titles
created 02 Jan 2014
 
a list of 26 titles
created 22 Sep 2014
 

Related Items

Search for "War and Peace" on Amazon.com

Connect with IMDb


Share this Rating

Title: War and Peace (1956)

War and Peace (1956) on IMDb 6.8/10

Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.

Take The Quiz!

Test your knowledge of War and Peace.

User Polls

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 5 wins & 10 nominations. See more awards »

Videos

Photos

Learn more

People who liked this also liked... 

War and Peace (1966)
Drama | History | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.8/10 X  

Eight-hour epic based on the book of the same name by Leo Tolstoy. Two main story-lines are complex and intertwined. One is the love story of young Countess Natasha Rostova and Count Pierre... See full summary »

Director: Sergey Bondarchuk
Stars: Lyudmila Saveleva, Vyacheslav Tikhonov, Sergey Bondarchuk
Comedy | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.4/10 X  

The sprightly young assistant of a Hollywood screenwriter helps him over his writer's block by acting out his fantasies of possible plots.

Director: Richard Quine
Stars: William Holden, Audrey Hepburn, Grégoire Aslan
Adventure | Drama | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.6/10 X  

A young man in the jungles of Venezuela meets a strange girl of the forest and falls in love with her.

Director: Mel Ferrer
Stars: Audrey Hepburn, Anthony Perkins, Lee J. Cobb
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.6/10 X  

After leaving a wealthy Belgian family to become a nun, Sister Luke struggles with her devotion to her vows during crisis, disappointment, and World War II.

Director: Fred Zinnemann
Stars: Audrey Hepburn, Peter Finch, Edith Evans
Funny Face (1957)
Comedy | Musical | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.1/10 X  

An impromptu fashion shoot at a book store brings about a new fashion model discovery in the shop clerk.

Director: Stanley Donen
Stars: Audrey Hepburn, Fred Astaire, Kay Thompson
Drama | Romance | Western
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.8/10 X  

The neighbors of a frontier family turn on them when it is suspected that their adopted daughter was stolen from the local Kiawa tribe.

Director: John Huston
Stars: Burt Lancaster, Audrey Hepburn, Audie Murphy
Sabrina (1954)
Comedy | Drama | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.7/10 X  

A playboy becomes interested in the daughter of his family's chauffeur. But it's his more serious brother who would be the better man for her.

Director: Billy Wilder
Stars: Humphrey Bogart, Audrey Hepburn, William Holden
Comedy | Romance | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.3/10 X  

Director Billy Wilder salutes his idol, Ernst Lubitsch, with this comedy about a middle-aged playboy fascinated by the daughter of a private detective who has been hired to entrap him with the wife of a client.

Director: Billy Wilder
Stars: Gary Cooper, Audrey Hepburn, Maurice Chevalier
Drama | Comedy | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.6/10 X  

A couple in the south of France non-sequentially spin down the highways of infidelity in their troubled ten-year marriage.

Director: Stanley Donen
Stars: Audrey Hepburn, Albert Finney, Eleanor Bron
War and Peace (TV Mini-Series 2007)
Drama | History | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.3/10 X  

The story of five aristocratic families in Russia during the the Napoleonic Era.

Stars: Clémence Poésy, Alessio Boni, Alexander Beyer
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.8/10 X  

A troublemaking student at a girls' school accuses two teachers of being lesbians.

Director: William Wyler
Stars: Audrey Hepburn, Shirley MacLaine, James Garner
Comedy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.8/10 X  

When a measles epidemic forces the temporary closing of a child care center, the son of a film star and her estranged husband, a concert pianist, is mistakenly delivered to a touring musician.

Directors: Jean Boyer, Lester Fuller
Stars: Audrey Hepburn, Jules Munshin, Cara Williams
Edit

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
...
...
...
...
Oskar Homolka ...
Field Marshal Kutuzov (as Oscar Homolka)
...
Helmut Dantine ...
Tullio Carminati ...
...
Milly Vitale ...
Lea Seidl ...
Anna Maria Ferrero ...
Wilfrid Lawson ...
Prince Bolkonsky (as Wilfred Lawson)
...
Edit

Storyline

By 1812, Napoleon's forces controlled much of Europe. Russia, one of the few countries still unconquered, prepares to face Napoleon's troops together with Austria. Among the Russian soldiers are Count Nicholas Rostov and Prince Andrei Bolkonsky. Count Pierre Bezukhov, a friend of Andrei's and self-styled intellectual who is not interested in fighting. Pierre's life changes when his father dies, leaving him a vast inheritance. He is attracted to Natasha Rostov, Nicholas's sister, but she is too young, so he gives in to baser desires and marries the shallow, manipulative Princess Helene. The marriage ends when Pierre discovers his wife's true nature. Andrei is captured and later released by the French, and returns home only to watch his wife die in childbirth. Months later, Pierre and Andrei meet again. Andrei sees Natasha and falls in love, but his father will only permit the marriage if they postpone it for one year until Natasha turns 17. While Andrei is away on a military mission, ... Written by alfiehitchie

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Taglines:

"A TRULY GREAT PICTURE!"--Los Angeles Enquirer See more »

Genres:

Drama | Romance | War

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for violence | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
Edit

Details

Country:

|

Language:

| |

Release Date:

21 August 1956 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

La guerra y la paz  »

Box Office

Budget:

$6,000,000 (estimated)
 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

(Western Electric Recording)| (as Perspecta Stereophonic Sound ® by Suonitalia Studio - Rome -)

Color:

(Technicolor) (as Technicolor®)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
See  »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the Italian post-synchronized version of the film, the following dubbers lent their voice to the English-speaking cast: Maria Pia Di Meo (Audrey Hepburn), Emilio Cigoli (Henry Fonda), Stefano Sibaldi (Mel Ferrer), Arnoldo Foà (Herbert Lom), Mario Besesti (Oskar Homolka), Lidia Simoneschi (Anita Ekberg), Gualtiero De Angelis (Helmut Dantine), Amilcare Pettinelli (Barry Jones), Fiorella Betti (Milly Vitale), Rosetta Calavetta (May Britt) and Carlo Romano (John Mills). Vittorio Gassman dubbed himself. See more »

Goofs

In the first battle, Prince Andrei dismounts to take the flag of the shot soldier who is holding it. Then the wounded soldier kneels twice. See more »

Quotes

Gen. Kutuzov: [to himself] Time and patience. Patience and time. The Grand Army is wounded, but is it mortally wounded? An apple should not be plucked while it's green. Patience and time.
See more »

Crazy Credits

Closing credits epilogue: The most difficult thing - but an essential one - is to love Life, to love it even while one suffers, because Life is all. Life is God, and to love Life means to love God. Tolstoy "WAR and PEACE" See more »

Connections

Version of Voyna i mir I: Andrey Bolkonskiy (1965) See more »

Soundtracks

Les roses de Novgorod
(uncredited)
Music by Nino Rota
Lyrics by Nadine Laik
Sung by Eva
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.

User Reviews

King Vidor's masterful version is simplified and stagey, but still beautifully done.
3 December 2002 | by (Colorado Springs) – See all my reviews

This film version of Tolstoy's novel nicely captures the essence of his story. The VistaVision, Technicolor photography by Jack Cardiff give the the set pieces the look of a classic painting. Nino Rota's lavish score perfectly compliments the visuals. The casting is superb; and even though Fonda is physically wrong in the critical role of Pierre, his dignified persona makes up for it. Hepburn, as ever, is radiant as Natasha, and hits her marks perfectly. Anita Ekberg's superstructure alone brings Helene to life; Ferrer, Homolka and Mills are all, likewise, wonderful in this. The largely underappreciated Herbert Lom is absolutely brilliant as Napoleon. Practically speaking, this is a notable film adaptation of an enormous literary work, inspite of any comparisons one would care to make between the book and the movie.


17 of 22 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

Message Boards

Recent Posts
Henry Fonda Miscast jokoool
Filming great literature huigh
Which actors today could play the parts? nedbingryerson
Dreadful version compared to BBC series cluciano63
500 million budget kaisergrendel
Quote at the end of the movie Laurey_Loves_Curly
Discuss War and Peace (1956) on the IMDb message boards »

Contribute to This Page