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''War and Peace'' is a British television dramatisation of the 1869

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...

novel ''

War and Peace ''War and Peace'' (russian: Война и мир, translit=Voyna i mir; pre-reform Russian: ; ) is a literary work by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy that mixes fictional narrative with chapters on history and philosophy. It was first published ...

''. This 20-episode series began on 28 September 1972. The

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

dramatisation of Tolstoy's epic story of love and loss set against the backdrop of the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

Anthony Hopkins Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins (born 31 December 1937) is a Welsh actor, director, and producer. One of Britain's most recognisable and prolific actors, he is known for his performances on the screen and stage. Hopkins has received many accolad ...

heads the cast as Pierre Bezukhov,

Morag Hood Morag Hood (12 December 1942 – 5 October 2002) was a British actress who featured in numerous television programmes, stage productions, and audio presentations in the UK from the 1960s up to the late 1990s. Early life Hood was born in Gla ...

is Natasha Rostova,

Alan Dobie Alan Russell Dobie (born 2 June 1932) is an English stage, television and film actor and a former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Early life and career Dobie was born in Wombwell, West Riding of Yorkshire, England, to George Russ ...

is Andrei Bolkonsky and David Swift is Napoleon, whose decision to invade Russia in 1812 has far-reaching consequences for each of them and their families. The twenty-part serial was produced by David Conroy and directed by John Davies. Conroy's aim was to transfer the characters and plot from Tolstoy's novel to television drama to run for a duration of 15 hours. Scripted by

Jack Pulman Jack Pulman (11 July 1925 – 20 May 1979) was an award-winning British television screenwriter, most famous for the critically acclaimed 1976 BBC television series, ''I, Claudius'', based on the novels ''I, Claudius'' and ''Claudius the God' ...

, this version of ''War and Peace'' contained battle sequences, which were filmed in

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

. The theme tune is the Russian imperial anthem, played by the band of the

Welsh Guards The Welsh Guards (WG; cy, Gwarchodlu Cymreig), part of the Guards Division, is one of the Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. It was founded in 1915 as a single-battalion regiment, during the First World War, by Royal Warrant of George V. ...

. Hopkins received the

British Academy Television Award for Best Actor This is a list of the British Academy Television Awards for Best Actor. The Best Actor award was initially given as an "individual honour", without credit to a particular performance, until 1962, when Rupert Davies won for his performance in ''Maig ...

for his performance, and the production designer

Don Homfray Don Homfray (1935–2012) was a BAFTA-winning production designer for the BBC. Homfray was born at Codsall, Staffordshire, in 1935. He studied architecture at Wolverhampton Polytechnic and then worked for the BBC as a production designer in Bi ...

won a BAFTA for his work on the series.

Production

''War and Peace'' followed the success of such literary adaptations as ''The Forsyte Saga'' (BBC2, 1967). Charlie Knode designed the costumes. The production took three years (1969–72) and involved location filming in

SR Serbia , life_span = 1944–1992 , status = Constituent state of Yugoslavia , p1 = Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia , flag_p1 = Flag of German Reich (1935–1945).svg , p2 ...

and at English stately homes. Soldiers of the Yugoslav Territorial Defense appeared as extras in battle scenes.

Cast

Pierre Bezukhov Count Pyotr "Pierre" Kirillovich Bezukhov (; russian: Пьер Безу́хов, Пётр Кири́ллович Безу́хов) is the fictional protagonist of Leo Tolstoy's 1869 novel ''War and Peace''. He is the favourite out of several illeg ...

Andrei Nikolayevich Bolkonsky Prince Andrei Nikolayevich Bolkonsky (russian: Андрей Николаевич Болконский) is a fictional character in Leo Tolstoy's 1869 novel '' War and Peace''. He is the son of famed Russian general Nikolai Bolkonsky, who raises A ...

Natasha Rostova Natasha (russian: Наташа) is a name of Slavic origin. The Slavic name is the diminutive form of Natalia. Notable people * Natasha, the subject of ''Natasha's Story'', a 1994 nonfiction book * Natasha Aguilar (1970–2016), Costa Rican sw ...

Angela Down Angela Down (born 15 June 1946) is an English actress. She is known for her role in the BBC drama programme ''Take Three Girls'' portraying cockney art student Avril for the first series before being replaced in the second. Career Down played ...

Maria Bolkonskaya Princess Maria"Marya" in certain translations Nikolaevna Bolkonskaya (russian: Марья Болконская, ''Mar'ia Bolkonskaia'') is a fictional character in Leo Tolstoy's 1869 novel ''War and Peace''. Princess Maria, the sister of Prince ...

Rupert Davies Rupert Davies FRSA (22 May 191622 November 1976) was a British actor. He is best remembered for playing the title role in the BBC's 1960s television adaptation of ''Maigret'', based on Georges Simenon's novels. Life and career Military serv ...

as Count Ilya Rostov * Faith Brook as Countess Natalie Rostova * David Swift as

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

Frank Middlemass Francis George Middlemass (28 May 1919 – 8 September 2006) was an English actor, who even in his early career played older roles. He is best remembered for his television roles as Rocky Hardcastle in '' As Time Goes By'', Algy Herries in ''To S ...

Mikhail Kutuzov Prince Mikhail Illarionovich Golenishchev-Kutuzov ( rus, Князь Михаи́л Илларио́нович Голени́щев-Куту́зов, Knyaz' Mikhaíl Illariónovich Goleníshchev-Kutúzov; german: Mikhail Illarion Golenishchev-Kut ...

Sylvester Morand Sylvester Morand is a British actor, best known for his role as Nikolai Rostov in the BBC's 1972 dramatisation of ''War and Peace''. He lives in West Hampstead, London, his brother, Timothy Morand lives nearby and is also an actor. He is also a ...

as Nikolai Rostov *

Joanna David Joanna David (born Joanna Elizabeth Hacking; 17 January 1947) is an English actress, best known for her television work. Life David was born in Lancaster, England, to Davida Elizabeth (''née'' Nesbitt) and John Almond Hacking. In 1971, she ...

as Sonya *

Harry Locke Harry Locke (10 December 1913 – 7 September 1987) was an English character actor. He was born and died in London. He married Joan Cowderoy in 1943 and Cordelia Sewell in 1952. He was a good friend of the poet Dylan Thomas. Their friendship in ...

as Platon Karataev * Donald Douglas as Tsar

Alexander I of Russia Alexander I (; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first King of Congress Poland from 1815, and the Grand Duke of Finland from 1809 to his death. He was the eldest son of Emperor Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg. The son of ...

John Cazabon John Forde Cazabon (3 August 1914 – 22 June 1983) was an English actor and stage writer whose career began in Sydney, Australia. History Cazabon was born in Hertford, Hertfordshire, to violinist and composer Albert Cazabon (1883–1970) and No ...

Barclay de Tolly Barclay de Tolly () is the name of a Baltic German noble family of Scottish origin (Clan Barclay). During the time of the Revolution of 1688 in Britain, the family migrated to Swedish Livonia from Towy (Towie) in Aberdeenshire. Its subsequen ...

* Fiona Gaunt as

Hélène Kuragina Princess Yelena "Hélène" Vasilyevna Kuragina (russian: Елена "Эле́н" Васи́льевна Кура́гина) is a fictional character in Leo Tolstoy's 1869 novel ''War and Peace'' and its various cinematic adaptations. She is playe ...

, wife of Pierre Bezukhov *

Anthony Jacobs David Anthony Jacobs, Baron Jacobs, known as Anthony Jacobs (13 November 1931 – 21 June 2014) was a British businessman and an Independent politician. He left the Liberal Democrats in 2011. The son of Ridley and Ella Jacobs, he was educated a ...

as Prince Nikolay Bolkonsky, father of Andrei and Marya *Athene Fielding as Mademoiselle Bourienne, companion to Marya *Barnaby Shaw and Rufus Frampton as

Petya Rostov Count Pyotr "Petya" Ilyich Rostov (1797–1812) is a character in Leo Tolstoy's 1869 novel ''War and Peace''. The youngest member of the Rostov family, Petya is initially a minor character; however, towards the end of the novel, Petya's importanc ...

* Peter Bathurst as Pfuhl *

Morris Perry Frank Morris Perry (28 March 1925 – 19 September 2021) was a British actor, best known for his roles on television. Perry was born in Bromley, Kent, England. His TV credits include '' City Beneath the Sea'', '' The Avengers'', ''Z-Cars'', ''C ...

as Joseph Fouché * Geoffrey Morris as Napoleon's secretary * Michael Gover as General Balashev *Toby Bridge as young Nikolenka Bolkonsky *

Neil Stacy Neil Stacy (born 1941) is a British actor particularly known for his role in the 1980s television series ''Duty Free''.Vahimagi p.292 Selected television filmography * ''The Indian Tales of Rudyard Kipling'' (1964) * '' It's Dark Outside'' (1965 ...

as Boris Drubetskoy *Anne Blake as Princess Drubetskoya *

Gary Watson Gary Watson (born Garrowby Watson, 13 June 1930) is a British retired actor. Early in his career he appeared in Friedrich Hebbel's 1962 play '' Judith'' at Her Majesty's Theatre in London, with Sean Connery. He made more than 40 appearances i ...

as Denisov * Donald Burton as Dolokhov *

Tony Steedman Anthony Francis Steedman (21 August 1927 – 4 February 2001) was an English character actor, perhaps best known for roles in British TV drama series of the 1970s and 1980s, and for his role as Socrates in ''Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure' ...

Marshal Davout Louis-Nicolas d'Avout (10 May 1770 – 1 June 1823), better known as Davout, 1st Duke of Auerstaedt, 1st Prince of Eckmühl, was a French military commander and Marshal of the Empire who served during both the French Revolutionary Wars and th ...

*Joseph Wise as Russian officer *

Colin Baker Colin Baker (born 8 June 1943) is an English actor who played Paul Merroney in the BBC drama series '' The Brothers'' from 1974 to 1976 and the sixth incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running science fiction television series '' Doctor ...

Anatole Kuragin Anatole Vasilyevich Kuragin (russian: Анатолий (Анатоль) Васильевич Курагин) is a fictional character in Leo Tolstoy's 1869 novel ''War and Peace'', its various cinematic adaptations, and an operatic adaptation as w ...

Basil Henson Basil Henson (31 July 1918 – 19 December 1990) was an English actor. Henson had a lengthy career on stage and television. His stage performances included a number of parts in Shakespeare productions, including ''The Merchant of Venice'' oppos ...

as Prince Vasili Kuragin *Josie Kidd as Katishe *

James Appleby Sir James Louis John Appleby (born 27 February 1955) is a British psychiatrist who leads the National Suicide Prevention Strategy for England and directs the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Homicide by People with Mental Illne ...

as German adjutant *Gerard Hely as

Prince Murat Prince Murat is a Nobility of the First French Empire, French princely title that traces its origin back to 1804, when Emperor Napoleon granted the rank of Nobility of the First French Empire#Princes, ''prince français'' to his brother-in-law Joa ...

* Michael Billington as Lt. Berg *Will Leighton as Tikhon *

Patricia Shakesby Patricia Shakesby (born 6 November 1942) is an English actress and playwright, best known for her role as Polly Urquhart in '' Howards' Way''. She is also notable for being an original cast member of ''Coronation Street'', in which she played S ...

as Vera Rostova, married to Berg *Alison Frazer as Princess Lisa Bolkonskya *

Colin Fisher Colin Douglas Fisher (born 27 December 1949) is a Scottish Rugby union player and administrator.Bath, p139 He was capped five times between 1975 and 1976 for . He also played for Waterloo R.F.C. Waterloo Rugby Club (known as Firwood Wat ...

as Telyanin *

John Breslin John Breslin ( ga, Seán Ó Breisleáin; born 1973 in Dublin, Ireland) is an Irish engineer and full professor at the University of Galway. He is co-founder of the Irish websites boards.ie and adverts.ie. He co-authored the Irish bestselling b ...

as Marshal Berthier *

Pat Gorman William Patrick "Pat" Gorman (10 May 1933 – 9 October 2018) was a British actor who, despite never appearing in a starring role, appeared in minor roles in a large number of films and television productions, including ''The Elephant Man'', '' ...

as French Sergeant *

Philip Lowrie Colin Philip Lowrie (born 20 June 1936) is an English former stage and television actor, best known for playing Dennis Tanner in the long-running ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', from the programme's inception in 1960–1968, and again from ...

as French Captain *

Edmund Bailey Edmund is a masculine given name or surname in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector". Persons named Edmund include: People Kings and ...

as Prokofy *

Hugh Cross Hugh Cross (24 September 1925 – 14 May 1989) was a British television and film actor. Selected filmography * '' Just William's Luck'' (1947) * ''William Comes to Town'' (1948) * ''Warning to Wantons'' (1949) * ''Seven Days to Noon'' (1950 ...

as Mitenka *Richard Poore as French messenger * Barbara Young as Anna Scherer *Karin MacCarthy as Julie Karagin * Maurice Quick as Pavel * Roy Spencer as Timohin *Hubert Cross as General Rapp *Geoffrey Denton as Host *

Tenniel Evans Walter Tenniel Evans (17 May 1926 – 10 June 2009) was a British actor and, latterly, clergyman. Family Walter Tenniel Evans was born in Nairobi, Kenya. His middle name derived from the illustrator Sir John Tenniel, a distant relation.

Prince Bagration Prince Pyotr Ivanovich Bagration (10 July 1765 – 24 September 1812) was a Georgian general and prince serving in the Russian Empire, prominent during the Napoleonic Wars. Bagration, a member of the Bagrationi dynasty, was born in Tbilisi. His ...

* Gordon Faith as Galitsyn *John Lawrence as Anna's guest *Judith Pollard as Olga *Edith Sharpe as Madame Scherer *

Tony Caunter Anthony Patrick Caunter (born 22 September 1937) is a Retired British actor best known for his role as Jack Shepherd in the Yorkshire TV sitcom '' Queenie's Castle'' and also his portrayal of Roy Evans in ''EastEnders'' from 1994 to 2003. The ...

as French Corporal *

Erik Chitty Erik Chitty (8 July 1907 in Dover, Kent – 22 July 1977 Brent, Middlesex), was an English stage, film and television actor. Early life Chitty was the son of a flour miller, Frederick Walter Chitty and his wife Ethel Elsie Assistance née Fra ...

as Gerasim

Episodes

Reception

According to Dr. Lez Cooke in ''British Television Drama: A History'' (2003), ''War and Peace'' consolidated BBC2 as the channel responsible for 'quality' literary drama. In ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'' in 2016,

Louis Menand Louis Menand (; born January 21, 1952) is an American critic, essayist, and professor, best known for his Pulitzer-winning book ''The Metaphysical Club'' (2001), an intellectual and cultural history of late 19th and early 20th century America. L ...

wrote, "It drags in parts today, but in 1972 no one had seen television that grand or ambitious before. The length—almost fifteen hours—meant the series could include scenes, like the

wolf hunt Wolf hunting is the practice of hunting gray wolves ''(Canis lupus)'' or other species of wolves. Wolves are mainly hunted for sport, for their skins, to protect livestock and, in some rare cases, to protect humans. Wolves have been actively hun ...

, or Denisov dancing the

mazurka The mazurka (Polish: ''mazur'' Polish ball dance, one of the five Polish national dances and ''mazurek'' Polish folk dance') is a Polish musical form based on stylised folk dances in triple meter, usually at a lively tempo, with character de ...

, that are dramatically superfluous but thematically vital. The acting is inspired, in part because the casting was inspired, from

, as Pierre, to David Swift, as a pint-sized, swaggering Napoleon. Everyone looks just the way he or she's supposed to look."

Clive James Clive James (born Vivian Leopold James; 7 October 1939 – 24 November 2019) was an Australian critic, journalist, broadcaster, writer and lyricist who lived and worked in the United Kingdom from 1962 until his death in 2019.Morag Hood Morag Hood (12 December 1942 – 5 October 2002) was a British actress who featured in numerous television programmes, stage productions, and audio presentations in the UK from the 1960s up to the late 1990s. Early life Hood was born in Gla ...

when I said that her performance made me want to throw a

tarpaulin A tarpaulin ( , ) or tarp is a large sheet of strong, flexible, water-resistant or waterproof material, often cloth such as canvas or polyester coated with polyurethane, or made of plastics such as polyethylene. Tarpaulins often have reinforced ...

e over her and peg down the corners. I should have blamed the director, who had obviously told her to bounce up and down at all times in order to convey exuberance. ..In that same production,

Andrei Andrei, Andrey or Andrej (in Cyrillic script: Андрэй , Андрей or Андреј) is a form of Andreas/Ἀνδρέας in Slavic languages and Romanian. People with the name include: *Andrei of Polotsk (–1399), Lithuanian nobleman *A ...

was grim enough to send you to sleep, but

was a perfect

Pierre Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

: a real tribute to his acting, because his default mode is to be in command." Paul Mavis (

DVD Talk DVD Talk is a home video news and review website launched in 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman. History Kleinman founded the site in January 1999 in Beaverton, Oregon. Besides news and reviews, it features information on hidden DVD features known as ...

) awarded it 4 stars, saying, "It positively luxuriates in its expansive format, giving the viewer a remarkable chance to fully experience the various nuances of character and the myriad permutations of shifting relationships (as well as Tolstoy's numerous plot coincidences) that mark this mammoth work." He praised

as "uniformed in

Byronic The Byronic hero is a variant of the Romantic hero as a type of character, named after the English Romantic poet Lord Byron. Both Byron's own persona as well as characters from his writings are considered to provide defining features to the cha ...

splendor ..spot-on as the dour, heroic, closed-off Andrei Bolkonsky", also praising

(Maria) and

(Nikolai). However, he criticised Hood's performance, saying, "the casting of Morag Hood (which, according to the production history included in this DVD set, was a desperate, last-minute decision) is a distressing misfire. ..poor Hood can't begin to approach the character with even a modicum of believability.

Natasha Natasha (russian: Наташа) is a name of Slavic origin. The Slavic name is the diminutive form of Natalia. Notable people * Natasha, the subject of ''Natasha's Story'', a 1994 nonfiction book * Natasha Aguilar (1970–2016), Costa Rican sw ...

begins the story as a wild, impetuous girl of thirteen - an age and a temperament that Hood evidently felt needed to be delineated by having Natasha laugh insanely at everything while leaping about like a mad thing (Hood is also far too old to be a believable 13-year-old). As for later maturing into this bewitching, erotic little beauty whom all men adore, either an actress has that innate, inexplicable quality or they don't - you can't 'act' that powerful allure onto the screen. It has to come from within, and simply put, Hood doesn't have it."

Andrew D. Kaufman Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in List of countries where English is an official language, English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is freq ...

, in his book ''Give War and Peace a Chance: Tolstoyan Wisdom for Troubled Times'' said that this version had "much to recommend", although he preferred the 1966–67 Soviet film.

James Monaco James F. Monaco (November 15, 1942 – November 25, 2019) was an American film critic, author, publisher, and educator. Life and Work Monaco founded Baseline in 1982, an early online database about the entertainment industry, and a forerunner o ...

called it "easily the best adaptation ..in any medium" in ''How to Read a Film: The World of Movies, Media, Multimedia: Language, History, Theory'' (1977).

DVD release

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. In 2009 Simply Home Entertainment released a 5-disc edition with 200 production stills.

References

External links

*
List of War and Peace episodes at BBC Programmes
{{War and Peace 1970s British drama television series 1972 British television series debuts 1973 British television series endings BBC television dramas Films based on War and Peace Television series set in the 1800s Television series set in the 1810s Television shows filmed in Serbia