War and Peace (1972 TV series): Difference between revisions

War and Peace
War and Peace TV mini series DVD cover
Created by	David Conroy
Starring	Anthony Hopkins Alan Dobie Morag Hood Angela Down
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of episodes	20
Production
Running time	15 hours
Original release
Network	BBC
Release	1972 – 1973

War and Peace is a television dramatization of the Leo Tolstoy novel of War and Peace. This 20 episode series began on September 28, 1972.

The BBC dramatisation of Tolstoy's epic story of love and loss set against the backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars. Anthony Hopkins heads the cast as the soul-searching Pierre Bezukhov, Morag Hood is the impulsive and beautiful Natasha Rostova, Alan Dobie is the dour, heroic Andrei Bolkonsky and David Swift is Napoleon, whose decision to invade Russia in 1812 has far-reaching consequences for Pierre and the Rostov and Bolkonsky families.

The twenty-part serial was produced by David Conroy. His aim was to transfer the characters and plot from Tolstoy's magnum opus to television drama to run for 15 hours (actually closer to 17). Scripted by Jack Pulman and directed by John Davies, Conroy's War and Peace had superb cast, design, and battle sequences, which were filmed in Yugoslavia.

This dramatization differs from previous ones in that it preserves many of Tolstoy's "minor" characters — notably Platon Karataev, played by Harry Locke.

The series was released in a Region 2 4-DVD boxset by DD Home Entertainment in 2005. The set is accompanied by an illustrated booklet, written by Andy Priestner, which provides a detailed account of how the series was made.

• War and Peace (1956 film), version directed by King Vidor
• War and Peace (1968 film), Soviet-produced version, directed by Sergei Bondarchuk

• War and Peace at IMDb

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