War and Peace (1972) Parts 1 to 3

Let's get epic...

Leo Tolstoy’s novel War and Peace has become shorthand for a story that is almost impossible to get through. It is the sort of enormous novel you start reading with intent multiple times but never finish. I’ve never even tried to read War and Peace so I decided to watch an ambitious attempt to bring the epic to life that was shown by the BBC across twenty episodes totalling fifteen hours weekly from late September 1972. It took several months because this is not some eight part Netflix sensation to be binged in one night that’s for sure!

Three years in production including twelve month's location filming the serial includes battle sequences, a large cast, a zillion extras and a timespan to match the novel. Shot in what was then Yugoslavia (using members of that country’s territorial army) and the UK it is nowadays best known as featuring Anthony Hopkins in his breakthrough role. The adaptation is by Jack Pulman and has a theme tune of the Russian Imperial anthem yet everyone speaks English of course! The serial was prestigious enough to even get its own Radio Times Special magazine (a rare honour) clips of which are scattered amongst these posts. 

It’s a series like no other with a considerably larger budget than other historical dramas of the day- compared to say Elizabeth R’s tight direction which hides a small number of extras, War and Peace literally has armies at its disposal. The scope of the outdoor scenes and the battles is immense, as well mounted as any feature film of the day. If some of the interiors can seem a tad stagey there is a rich cast to draw on and some sparkling performances to enjoy

For all its ambition the series wasn't an instant classic receiving a mixed critical reception at the time. It’s been called too slow or even dull and criticised for casting some actors who were too old for the characters they were portraying. Poor Morag Hood came in for particular criticism as the then nearly thirty year old had to initially appear as a thirteen year old. It is said the battle sequences plod – though some have pointed out this is a more accurate representation of the realities of warfare. At a time when a prestigious production like this might be expected to pull in ten to twelve million viewers it drew half of that and some episode fell below two million. It probably didn’t help that the first episode is largely talky and frivolous and it may have been advantageous for the events of part two to be shown first.

So how does this epic, now more than fifty years old, pan out? Only one way to find out..

Scans from the Radio Times Special publication which accompanied the serial.

Episode 1 Name Day

With a deliberate pace the Russian Imperial anthem, a military march played by the Band of the Welsh Guards, accompanies images of a crest containing two golden eagles to introduce this and every episode of the serial. It is a statement of intent, a hint of the enormous scope of the story to come and nothing else would have done as the opening credits. Yet the first episode itself, set in 1805, though home to quite a large cast, is intimate and familial with only the briefest hints of oncoming war. Yet it is present in the dinner table arguments over what to do about Napoleon and in the ambitious career intentions mothers have for their sons. However, much of the running time is taken up with more traditional costume drama tropes regarding money and marriage. With elderly Count Bezukhov on his deathbed relatives close and distant are circling to find out who his beneficiaries will be. By the sounds of the way he’s talked about they could be many. We don’t see this old man, merely the top of his head, but his legacy is a dominating presence nonetheless.

Perhaps to demonstrate the resources available to the series the opening scene depicts a table being laid with ornate crockery and as the camera follows the white gloved servant’s plate distributing it’s almost comical how long this table actually is. Does it end?! It shows how this is to be a drama series on a different level. Later when the table is occupied by diners celebrating the name day of both Countess Rostova and her daughter Natasha, we’re privy to one of the most realistic meals in period drama I’ve ever seen. Everyone is engaged in different conversations and they shout rather than talk because, as it would be in real life, it’s a noisy environment. Like the length of the table no expense is spared to make things seem real. Sure, there are some obviously stated dramatic touches but you do feel a sense of reality coming through. The sets are sumptuous looking though not robust enough to withstand a slammed door never mind the potential attack by the French! Its talky and gossipy in mood; various women sit and natter while most men seem to stand and pontificate. In some ways it’s no different to any other episode of the classic big costume dramas like The Pallisers or The Forsythe Saga.

One intriguing character is Countess Rostova played with world weariness by Angela Down. Though rich she seems to enjoy spending money on others rather too much.  Anthony Hopkins, in what was his breakout  role, plays Pierre Bezuhov, one of the Counts’ illegitimate sons, in the style of acting now very familiar in modern dramas. Instead of enunciating each word clearly in an RP accent like everyone else (except, curiously one actor playing a German who uses ze accent even though the Russians are all talking normal English) Hopkins swallows some words, fudges others and fidgets in anyone else’s presence. Pierre clearly loves the good life- drink, cards and women- yet Hopkins gives him a tainted innocence so you’re never quite sure whether under the quirky exterior something different lurks. It’s a remarkable performance for its time- and indeed its ahead of its time- and I wonder what people thought fifty one years ago. Did they imagine he couldn’t remember his lines? And yes it does look a bit weird to see the clearly twentysomething Morag Hood acting like a boisterous fifteen year old. In long shot she just about gets away with it but close up its as obvious as all those thirty-year-old American high schoolers more recent series have shown us.

Episode 2 Sounds of War

In which the arguments about Napoleon’s progress through Europe are mingled with the chauvinistic views of the time. I suppose this was surprising even fifty years ago but there is a scene where Andrei Bolkonsky, played with skilful measure by Alan Dobie, advises his old friend Pierre never to marry until he’s old and has nothing better to do. Comparing getting married with Bonaparte’s campaign, Andrei suggests that women restrict a man from doing what he wants and instead fill his life with frippery. This by the way comes from someone whose wife is pregnant and craving affection he is clearly unable to give. Rather like Pierre, Andrei is an unusual protagonist for a story and Dobie’s laidback presence is as interesting in its way as Anthony Hopkins’ realism. What both actors do in a relatively short time is sketch intriguing portraits of what their characters are about. It’s more than just the words, many of which are no doubt from the novel. Its about those little gestures and looks, the body language. It is telling that when Andrei goes back to the family home, he greets an old footman with more bonhomie than he does his wife.

As Andrei’s analogy suggests and the title of the episode alludes, much Russian society conversation is now about Bonaparte, a marked difference from the first episode where gossip seemed to prevail yet not a lot of time has passed. Pierre is now rich having inherited his late father’s estate but does not really know what to do either with his fortune or indeed his life. “Nothing interests me” he says yet something clearly does. He becomes animated when arguing a point about Napoleon and we learn how much he admires the Frenchman. Everyone seems to have an opinion of the yet unseen Napoleon- in this episode he is praised, reviled and described as a merely competent artillery man. Yet Andrei is off to war to deal with him and his wife can’t bear it. In the next scene we see him being alternately considerate and cold about her when talking to his father and you wonder just where this fascinating character can go.

Also making his mark in this episode is Anthony Jacobs as Andrei’s father. He’s like some eccentric scientist from a science fiction movie as he teaches his daughter Maria (Angela Down beautifully restrained) mathematics and shouts whenever he speaks to anyone. If it does date the production just a little (did the actor think he was on stage?) you don’t forget him.

Like episode one much of the running time is devoted to conversation in drawing rooms yet there is also a sense of matters expanding with a few location shots and, in the final sequence, out first glimpse of the military side of the story. It’s an impressive taster too with row upon row of neatly attired soldiers marching towards the camera, shot from a suitably arty distance. It does seem to be summer time which contradicts the gloomy weather the studio scenes have suggested (Andrei won’t be needing his giant coat that’s for sure) but it neatly underscores what almost all the characters have been talking about.

Episode 3 `Skirmish at Schongraben`

The third episode provides a contrast between the unrealistic expectations of the hierarchy and the actual experiences of the soldiers on the ground. For all the talk of victory and honour we witness something of the hard work and desperation of the battlefield. The narrative switches between officers talking tactics and alliances to soldiers seemingly marching around forever. The fact that this is all exquisitely mounted adds to the realism of the scenario. With a massive number of extras, it is possible to stage something far more impressive than you might expect from a television drama, especially one made before the advent of digital effects. Here you get a sense of a full sized army trudging about unsure of what is actually happening and hearing rumour as much as actual information, The fact that two officers spend much of the time arguing over a purse of coins shows how unfocussed it was possible to become.  The link between the various locations is Andrei. We saw him last week uncomfortable in drawing rooms and hallways, this week he is out and about volunteering to take to the field of war rather than sit in similar rooms looking at maps.

The episode features two skirmishes, one involving the Russians retreating over a bridge and, later, a more sustained French attack that hits harder. From the marching to the fighting, everything has the air of dusty authenticity. The sort of heroics you might see in any historical film is replaced by slower moves, the thud of heavy cannon fire and the shouting of soldiers as they advance. Director John Davies’ cameras never over play these scenes, sometimes it is like we are witnessing clips from real history, there’s even blood and plenty of it.

Just as effective are the sequences of the aftermath - carts full of wounded soldiers, wheels stuck in mud, the awkward attempts to get over the bridge. The shots of the French advancing are deliberately spread across a wide area as the camera pans proudly to capture it all. It must have taken some organising and probably as many maps as the real General would have had. What’s more everything is done without any incidental music at all leaving the viewer to their own devices. It makes you realise how much music in modern productions shapes your mood when watching them. The second skirmish ends with a sudden cut to silence as Rostov wakes up on the ground and unexpectedly, we hear his internal monologue for a moment. I’m not entirely sure it works in the context of authenticity we’ve seen elsewhere.

The episode also gives us the first glimpses of Napoleon played by David Swift who bears an uncanny resemblance to well-known portraits of one of history’s best known characters. When we meet him, he is a touch arrogant perhaps but also pragmatic and very clever. He reads the situation on the ground far more accurately than his Austrian or Russian enemies. Swift give him a reasonable side too. He is clearly going to be a fascinating character to watch.  

The final scene involves Dobie’s Andrei standing up for a general who seems to be getting the blame for not pulling back in time. Earlier we’ve seen him physically assist in moving a cannon, something a man of his rank would never normally do. Despite Alan Dobie’s dour demeanour there are enough moments of humanity and principle to mark Andrei out as the real hero of the story.