[yasr_overall_rating]
As the Russian conflict with Napoleon reaches its peak, five aristocratic families face the possibility of their lives being changed forever.
“War & Peace” takes place in Russia in 1805 and tells the story of Pierre Bezukhov (Paul Dano), the illegitimate son of Russia’s wealthiest man, Count Bezukhov (Ferdinandas Jaksys). When the Count passes away, Pierre inherits his title and everything else associated with it; money, wealth, and power. While Pierre is naive to the world, he knows enough about what’s going on around him, namely, that Napoleon’s army is moving closer and closer to Russia’s borders, that he wants to try and change it. Pierre has always loved the beautiful Natasha Rostova (Lily James) and while they have known each other for many years, she looks at him as more of a friend, with no romantic feelings for him whatsoever.
Prince Vassily Kuragin (Stephen Rea), egocentric and conceited, and who was Count Bezukhov’s right-hand man, tries to secretly have his will discarded and replaced with a fraudulent one he has created, one that will relegate all of the Count’s power and wealth over to him but when that fails, he surreptitiously ingratiates himself with Pierre, hoping to at least benefit from his new inheritance. Pretending to Pierre that he knows more than he does and promising to guide him through shark-infested waters, he hastily asserts that Pierre should marry but with him claiming that he is awkward around women, he shrugs it off. Secretly, Vassily plots with his daughter, Princess Hélène Kuragina (Tuppence Middleton), to charm Pierre with the ultimate intention of marrying him, therefore, bringing their family into royalty.
“War & Peace” is based on Russian author Leo Tolstoy’s novel of the same name and the story revolves around a multitude of different aristocratic families, specifically the Bezukhovs, the Bolkonskys, and the Rostovs and we see how each of their lives are shaped and changed throughout the show, a result of the Napoleonic wars. The battle scenes are exciting and violent, filled with faceless legions of men who know nothing about why they are there other than to shoot their enemy. I remember watching, as a child, the 1972 mini-series starring Anthony Hopkins and naturally, at that age, I didn’t understand a thing but watching this new iteration, brimming with first-class performances, exquisite cinematography, elegant costume design, and shot on location in picturesque Russia, Lithuania, and Latvia, gave me a newfound respect for Tolstoy and his vivid imagination. The show is replete with eminent and stately balls and soirees, double-crossing, love and hate, jealousy and rivalry, and did I mention, war and peace?
The show runs over six hours long but is most certainly worth it. The high-caliber cast is a who’s who of British and American actors including Paul Dano, James Norton, Lily James, Greta Scacchi, Jim Broadbent, Gillian Anderson, and Brian Cox. “War & Peace” summons up memories of various 1970s and 1980s TV mini-series’ such as “The Thorn Birds,” “Roots,” “Shaka Zulu,” “North and South,” and “Rich Man, Poor Man,” where the overall scope was even greater than movies playing in theaters, and for that time, that was truly epic.
Available on Blu-ray & DVD May 10th
