'War and Peace' is from personal perspective one of the magnum opuses in literature. It is very powerful, admittedly not the easiest to be gripped by straightaway, and the story is very rich with complex characterisation and themes. It is very difficult to adapt as a result of all of this, as well as the mammoth length. From personal experience, as an avid reader of all genres this and Stephen King's 'IT', at least they're the ones coming to mind at the moment, have the longest lengths of any book.
Anybody who even as much attempts to adapt Leo Tolstoy's magnum opus 'War and Peace' deserves at least a pat on the back for trying, regardless of how successful it is in doing so or not. This adaptation from Sergei Bondarchuk is one of the best, evidenced already in this first part, alongside the 1972 mini-series. When it comes to flawed but towering achievements, this adaptation immediately fits that distinction, something that shouldn't be missed regardless of whether you speak or have knowledge of Russian or not. Part 1 is excellent and starts the adaptation off on a more than promising note, though all four parts have so many fantastic merits in their own way. Even if more than one sitting is necessary as the whole adaptation is very lengthy and heavy going (not meant in a bad way).
Pacing at times could have been tighter as we are introduced to the characters. And the tone is occasionally a touch too sullen, the savage satirical bite that is sometimes adopted in the source material could have been brought out more.
Mostly though the acting is fine. Particularly Vyacheslav Tikhonov, while Bondarchuk himself as Pierre has grown on me and Pierre is one of the more fleshed out characters here.
Visually, 'War and Peace Part 1: Andrei Bolkonsky' is stunning. The scenery and period detail is spectacular and gives a sense of time and place far better than any other version of War and Peace and the cinematography is inventive and enough to take the breath away. The scope and spectacle is also enormous and that is apparent in the truly gut wrenching war scenes. Enhanced by a truly chilling music score, not only music that was emotionally powerful and beautiful to listen to but also gave a sense that the story was set in Russia in the way that few of the other versions managed to achieve, only the 2016 music score came close.
The script is rich in detail, thoughtful and mostly true to Tolstoy's style, and the story while not the easiest to get into straightaway is compelling on the whole, at its best in the war scenes. Fans of the book will be thrilled to find as many of the key scenes, themes and characters kept intact as much as possible and with the full impact they should do, while the human drama is more often than not thoughtful and genuinely poignant, even if here a lot of it is set up. The characters don't come over as caricatures, with Pierre actually being the most real character here. Bondarchuk's direction is remarkable, his task was monumental and he succeeded in making it completely fascinating and the spectacle is not just jaw dropping visually it has soul and emotional impact.
Altogether, excellent first part to a towering achievement. 9/10
