‘Most underrated’ war movie ever boasts ‘grandest battle sequence in cinema history’ | Films | Entertainment

An iconic Soviet film is hailed as the most “underrated” war movie of all time with one of the “grandest” battle sequences you’ll ever see. War and Peace was released in four installments between 1965 and 1967 based on Leo Tolstoy’s seminal 1869 novel of the same.

The sprawling epic is set between 1805 and 1820 and follows a romantic drama within the Russian aristocracy against the backdrop of war with France, and Napoleon’s invasion in 1812, a major turning point in the long-running Napoleonic Wars. The film was written and directed by Sergei Bondarchuk who also starred in the leading role of Pierre Bezukhov, alongside Vyacheslav Tikhonov and Ludmila Savelyeva, as Prince Andrei Bolkonsky and Natasha Rostova, respectively.

The film was produced by Mosfilm studios with significant backing from the Kremlin, becoming the most the most expensive film made in the Soviet Union. It’s not often presented as a single 7-hour film.

War and Peace was a huge hit in the Soviet Union, and won a number of awards internationally, including the Oscar Best Foreign Language Film, despite Cold War tensions between the USSR and The West.

Collider put the film top in a ranking of the 10 most underrated war films, writing: “When it focuses more on the war than the peace, it proves to be something unparalleled, as far as scale and spectacle go, with some of the grandest battle sequences in cinema history featured here, all of which need to be seen to be believed.”

Fans have flocked to IMDb to shower the film with praise. One wrote: “The broad scope of emotions, the grand scale of the aristocracy’s parties with all their luxury, the battles with tens of thousands of extras, the impressive burning of Moscow, the actors who don’t act but live the plot, it all adds to the wonderful experience of this film.

“This movie is highly recommended to any true lover of Tolstoy’s book, who is interested in Napoleonic history or simply anyone who likes deep, moving, impressive movies. “

Another said the film “reaches beyond the book and in doing so successfully is one of the greatest motion pictures of all time”.

“It is cinematic poetry and entertainment of the highest order,” they added.

A third said: “Nothing in film today can compare to those battle scenes. Nowadays, such scenes are too computerized.”

A fourth added: “A great movie, near perfect. If you like directors like Eisenstein of David Lean, this might just be your new favorite film. Give it even a second viewing a couple of months after the first one.”

The film contains scenes related to suicide, and some brutal battle scenes – so viewer discretion is advised.

Mosfilm has added all four parts of War and Peace to YouTube, where you can watch it free of charge.

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