16 June 2007

War and Peace, the (Russian) Movie

A couple of weeks ago, when my friend Ellen was visiting, we went to see the Russian War and Peace. About seven hours in four installments, which we took in on three different days. War and Peace (novel) fans out there really shouldn't miss the opportunity to see this movie. It is pretty perfect, with casting that jibes exactly with your imaginings of what these characters should look/be like.

Of course it doesn't include every Tolstoyan subplot, but for the plotlines it includes, the movie is utterly faithful. Director and star Sergei Bondarchuk really achieved something phenomenal.

Although the last 20 minutes or so of Part 4 is pretty lousy. Still, out of 400-odd minutes, that's not bad.

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