War and Peace (1956) Audrey Hepburn / Henry Fonda - January 20, 2015 (1 Viewer)

[david hare]

The transfer is a little waxy and color is a little muted. It's been taken from an older master, and was generally released outside the States over a year ago in a tranche of Paramount titles including Funny Face ElDorado and Hatari (which is a total abomination.) These were all taken from substantially older masters, and all would have benefited from new masters/scans being made, but Paramount just doesn't bother with such things. Anyway it's serviceable. Certainly at local Oz/NZ prices last year ($14.99 or less) it was a good buy.I must be the only person who likes Fonda very much in this. He seems to have brought his implacability from his Ford Westerns over the this wonderful universe of King Vidor's which retells Tolstoy in what I think is a model of economy and skill.

 

[classicmovieguy]

It's fun to see Audrey Hepburn and Jeremy Brett playing brother and sister, several years before being reunited as Eliza and Freddy in "My Fair Lady"...

 

[JohnMor]

I have never seen this version all the way through. I'd actually forgotten Fonda was even in it. I'll probably pick it up, just to add to my Audrey on blu collection. But count me in with those who want the the Russian film on blu.

 

[Keith Cobby]

I can't understand why there isn't more information on this release. There are mixed feelings (as usual!) on the R2 release which is why I haven't bought it. I hope the US release is a new transfer and justice is done to what should be another superb VistaVision blu-ray.

VV releases very slow this year. Only Gunfight at the OK Corral (US) and Richard III (UK) so far I think.

 

[atfree]

The pre-order is up on Amazon.....only $10.48

 

[GlennF]

Which to me says it will be the same transfer. Oh, well, you can't argue about the price, much as it would be nice to see some work done on it to bring it up to what it could be.

 

[Will Krupp]

It's fun to see Audrey Hepburn and Jeremy Brett playing brother and sister, several years before being reunited as Eliza and Freddy in "My Fair Lady"...

and they're both so beautiful in this!

 

[David_B_K]

I must be the only person who likes Fonda very much in this. He seems to have brought his implacability from his Ford Westerns over the this wonderful universe of King Vidor's which retells Tolstoy in what I think is a model of economy and skill.

IMO, the character Fonda plays is simply not like the Pierre of the novel. Pierre is frequently described as large and even "fat" and sometimes "corpulent" in the novel. He was kind of a big strapping impetuous doofus. Physically, Fonda is essentially the opposite of Pierre. Pierre was constantly looking for "the meaning of life" in one philosophy or other, and for a time thought Freemasonry was the answer. He would try to talk to Prince Andre about how he'd found the answer, and Andre would sort of let him prattle on. Andre's rigid father actually felt that Pierre was so full of screwy ideas he actually found him amusing to have around. I guess the one thing Fonda does succeed in is standing out like a sore thumb; just in a different way.

Speaking of how the characters are portrayed, I thought Mel Ferrer's Prince Andre had a bit more depth to him than the Andre of the novel. He seems to know and see things more clearly than the cynical character from the book.

Audrey Hepburn is perfect. At least as perfect as she could be at her age. They sort of start her out a little older and more mature than the book, but this is understandable considering how they had to telescope such a large book. Ludmila Savelyeva in the Bondarchuk film actually ages from young girl to young woman over the several years course of filming; so she had a bit of an advantage there. She even reminds me of Audrey in her looks and manner.

Over all, I think they did a great job of presenting the plot highlights of the novel. There's not a lot of depth, but still there is enough there to make it entertaining.

One thing I missed from both films was Andre's sister Maria. She's in both films, but there was much more detail about her life and thoughts and wishes and disappointments in the novel.

 

[FoxyMulder]

IMO, the character Fonda plays is simply not like the Pierre of the novel.

I think Peter Ustinov would have done well in the part.

 

[Will Krupp]

I think Peter Ustinov would have done well in the part.

PERFECT!!!

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Now Available for Preorder
The link below will take you directly to the product on Amazon. If you are using an adblocker you will not see link.

 

[David_B_K]

I think Peter Ustinov would have done well in the part.

That would have been interesting! I think at one time Alexander Korda included War and Peace among his many unmade projects with Orson Welles as Pierre.

 

[ShellOilJunior]

The only WAR AND PEACE i want is the Russian version.

I believe that version was announced by that "George Kaplan" home video outfit

 

[darkrock17]

This is coming out in Jan, and yet there's still no Wait Until Dark, clearly WB dose not care about the thriller or it would of been out by now. With this coming out next year, I wold hope WB releases WUD before the end of 2015, if Criterion should pick up the right's and distribute the 1967 classic.

 

[Matt Hough]

This is coming out in Jan, and yet there's still no Wait Until Dark, clearly WB dose not care about the thriller or it would of been out by now. With this coming out next year, I wold hope WB releases WUD before the end of 2015, if Criterion should pick up the right's and distribute the 1967 classic.

Warners will have to do some work on Wait Until Dark to make an acceptable Blu-ray. I rewatched it on DVD a few weeks ago and hadn't remembered that the print they used was dirty and with some damage. I suspect it'll cost some serious money to get it up to their quality standards for a Blu-ray release.

 

[Citizen87645]

Roman Holiday should take priority over Wait Until Dark.

 

[darkrock17]

Warners will have to do some work on Wait Until Dark to make an acceptable Blu-ray. I rewatched it on DVD a few weeks ago and hadn't remembered that the print they used was dirty and with some damage. I suspect it'll cost some serious money to get it up to their quality standards for a Blu-ray release.

or WB might regulate it to Warner Archive, like they did with The Great Race and the upcoming Yankee Doodle Dandy

Roman Holiday should take priority over Wait Until Dark.

Roman is good, but at least Holiday has had a couple re-releases on DVD, Wait only has the 2003 debut.

 

[JoHud]

I believe that version was announced by that "George Kaplan" home video outfit

The only way we'll likely be seeing the '66 War and Peace is if RUSCICO (The Russian Cinema Council) releases it on blu-ray as they are likely the only outfit that both has access to the OCNs and is able to release it on blu-ray. It will be an import disc and no R1 or Western European distributor will likely do it otherwise. A company called "Seagull films" supposedly has NA rights to it, but they don't seem to be involved in home video at all.

If anyone delivers this on blu, it will come from Russia. It'll probably take time though. Restoration & remastering this film would be a task of mammoth proportion. That is unless they decide to half-ass it...

Roman Holiday should take priority over Wait Until Dark.

Wonder what's holding that one up. I believe that one and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance are the only two out of Paramount's brief but high profile "Centennial Collection" that have not been upgraded to blu-ray (in Region A, that is)

 

[Citizen87645]

On the original Roman Holiday DVD release there was a featurette on the digital clean up done by then Lowry Digital. Described as a "very dirty film" I would imagine there has been some significant work needed on the original elements, but I don't know if that work is in the pipeline or already finished and awaiting some magic marketing window for the release.

 

[Allansfirebird]

The only way we'll likely be seeing the '66 War and Peace is if RUSCICO (The Russian Cinema Council) releases it on blu-ray as they are likely the only outfit that both has access to the OCNs and is able to release it on blu-ray. It will be an import disc and no R1 or Western European distributor will likely do it otherwise. A company called "Seagull films" supposedly has NA rights to it, but they don't seem to be involved in home video at all.

If anyone delivers this on blu, it will come from Russia. It'll probably take time though. Restoration & remastering this film would be a task of mammoth proportion. That is unless they decide to half-ass it...


Wonder what's holding that one up.

IIRC, Ruscico doesn't actually have access to the OCN's for Voyna I Mir. They're supposedly locked up in an archive/warehouse in... I believe it was Ukraine, I'd heard. Due to a rights issue with Sergei Bondarchuk's estate when he died, the legal status of who owns the OCN's is tenuous. What Ruscico released was a 35mm reduction print of the Sovscope 70 originals. I haven't heard of any process undertaken by Mosfilm to try to get the OCN's from that archive.