War and Peace

"Greatest motion picture ever made! Romance ever lived! Adventure story written!"

1968 7h 2m RU

🙌

7.6

BANGER

★7.6TMDB · 168

HistoryDramaWarRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

The love story of young Countess Natasha Rostova and Count Pierre Bezukhov is interwoven with the Great Patriotic War of 1812 against Napoleon's invading army.

“Greatest motion picture ever made! Romance ever lived! Adventure story written!”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Cast

Ludmila Savelyeva
Natasha Rostova
Sergei Bondarchuk
Pierre Bezukhov
Vyacheslav Tikhonov
Andrei Bolkonsky
Viktor Stanitsyn
Ilya Andreyevich Rostov
Kira Golovko
Countess Rostova
Oleg Tabakov
Nikolai Rostov
Nikolay Kodin
Petya Rostov
Sergei Yermilov
Petya Rostov

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Sergei Bondarchuk
Writers: Sergei Bondarchuk, Vasiliy Solovyov
Languages: German, French, Hungarian, Russian
Countries: Soviet Union

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

At 422 minutes, this is a three-hour-plus commitment — longer than 95% of films ever made.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Budget of $700M — blockbuster tier. Only ~1% of films ever made reach this.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 2% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

58 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 4 languages: German, French, Hungarian, Russian.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

228+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Sergei Bondarchuk, shot by Anatoly Petritsky. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Vyacheslav Ovchinnikov. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Sergei Bondarchuk directs. Anatoly Petritsky behind the camera. Vyacheslav Ovchinnikov scores. Tatyana Likhachyova cuts. A long sit — settle in. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in Soviet Union. Dialogue in German, French, Hungarian, Russian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1At 422 minutes, this is a three-hour-plus commitment — longer than 95% of films ever made.
2Budget of $700M — blockbuster tier. Only ~1% of films ever made reach this.
3Earned back only 2% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
458 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
5Dialogue crosses 4 languages: German, French, Hungarian, Russian.
6228+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
7Directed by Sergei Bondarchuk, shot by Anatoly Petritsky. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
8Original score by Vyacheslav Ovchinnikov. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
9Editor Tatyana Likhachyova shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
10Ludmila Savelyeva and Sergei Bondarchuk and Vyacheslav Tikhonov carry the top of the cast.
11Marketing tagline: "Greatest motion picture ever made! Romance ever lived! Adventure story written!".
12IMDB entry: tt0063794 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
13Released under 19 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Anatoly Petritsky
Original score: Vyacheslav Ovchinnikov
Editing: Tatyana Likhachyova
Production design: Gennady Myasnikov
Costume design: Mikhail Chikovani
Makeup / hair: Mikhail Chikirev
Runtime: 422 min · 7h 2m
Status: Released
Budget: $700,000,000
Box office: $14,000,000
Return: 2% of budget
Original language: RU
IMDB: War and Peace (1968)

Awards

Academy Award for Best International Feature Film

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Sergei Bondarchuk

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

crastana2022-07-18
★ 9/10
This movie has the best battle scene of the 20th century, almost equaled by the battle scene of War and Peace of 2016, the soundtrack is great, how well it follows the battle of Austerlitz. What is not a very bright idea is that the director himself, Segei Bondarchunk, at 40 years old decided to take the main role, he does not do it badly but a younger actor should have been in the role.

Production companies