War and Peace 1956

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War and Peace ★★½ 1956

Lengthy adaptation of Tolstoy's great (and likewise lengthy) novel about three families caught up in Russia's Napoleonic Wars from 1805 to 1812; filmed in Rome. Bad casting and confused script (by six writers) are somewhat overcome by awesome battle scenes and Hepburn. Remade in 1968. 208m/C VHS, DVD . Audrey Hepburn, Mel Ferrer, Henry Fonda, Anita Ekberg, Vittorio Gassman, John Mills, Oscar Homolka, Herbert Lom, Helmut Dantine, Tullio Carminati, Barry Jones, Milly Vitale, Maria Ferrero, Wilfred Lawson, May Britt, Jeremy Brett, Lea Seidl, Patrick Crean, Sean Barrett, Richard Dawson; D: King Vidor; W: King Vidor, Bridget Boland, Mario Camerini, Ennio de Concini, Ivo Perilli, Irwin Shaw, Robert Westerby; C: Jack Cardiff, Aldo Tonti; M: Nino Rota. Golden Globes ‘57: Foreign Film.