With my close attention to the American events after the infamous and insane presidential election of 2020, my long-awaited acquaintance with the second Italian-American film adaptation of L. Tolstoy's epic novel in 1956, which I missed in my early youth, happened quite accidentally. In total, in the history of cinema, this novel was filmed 6 times, starting with the very first Russian silent version in 1915, directed by Yakov Protazanov. His partner and co-director V. Gardin became the performer of the role of Emperor Napoleon, and the roles of Natasha Rostova and Prince Bolkonsky were played by actress Olga Preobrazhenskaya and the famous Russian actor Ivan Mozzhukhin.
3 years later, when the 2-episode already duplicated film adaptation of the famous American film director King Vidor, who put 55 films in 41 years of his career, hit the Soviet wide screen, I was still a schoolboy clearly "unlucky" with watching this movie. At that time, I was more interested in ice hockey, which became instantly popular, I spent all my free time at hockey matches, and the cinemas did not interest me in any way. And when I met my fiancee and future wife, deeply-advanced-in-cinema, 7 years later, it was from her that I learned what I had lost, not having had time to watch the Italian-American version in a fairly short period of its limited demonstration.
And she enthusiastically told me about the performance of Audrey Hepburn, a charming British-Dutch woman by birth, in the title role of Natasha Rostova and the male roles of Pierre Bezukhov and Andrei Bolkonsky in the brilliant performance of famous Hollywood actors Henry Fonda and Mel Ferrer.
Fragile and very young skinny 27-year-old Audrey Kathleen Ruston Hepburn with big brown eyes, which grew in great need in the impoverished family of a Dutch Baroness, was then at the peak of glory after the triple triumph in the Oscar-winning role of a British Princess in "Roman holiday" (1953), and the role of a humble American girls Sabrina movie 1954. and in the role of Natasha Rostova in epic film adaptation of "War and peace" (1956). Thanks to her natural genetics and special slimness, as well as a youthful passion for choreography, first in Amsterdam, and then at the London ballet School, 26-year-old Audrey in the role of 17-year-old Natasha at the first ball of the film adaptation looked very organic:
...as well as in the role of a more adult and seductive Natalie after her engagement to the brilliant colonel Prince Andrey Bolkonsky and a short acquaintance with the adventurer Anatol Kurakin performed by the handsome Italian Vittorio Gassman:
Even before the release of the epic film adaptation of the novel by L. Tolstoy, her future partner in the film American Mel Ferrer managed to become Audrey's first husband for 14 years and the father of her first son Sean…
In fairness, it should be noted that the American version, carried out by Italian producers Dino De Laurentiis and Carlo Ponti, was a rather superficial attempt to screen the complex epic novel by L. Tolstoy. The main focus of Italians and Americans was made on the love line of 3 couples Pierre and Helen, Natasha and Prince Andrew, Natasha and Anatole Kuragin, and ended with an unexpected union of Pierre and Natasha. The action takes place mainly at balls, social events, in the theater, and quite a bit on the Borodino battlefield. Great emphasis was placed on the sad thoughts of the Emperor Napoleon in the deserted and burning Moscow. Military battles and guerrilla warfare were only occasionally interspersed with the love shocks of the main characters of the film adaptation. The budget of this film adaptation was quite modest only $ 6 million, and the total fees from the film's rental in the United States exceeded the budget by a little more than 2 times.
The Soviet film authorities, after the great success of the Italian-American film adaptation with the Soviet public, were extremely annoyed and zealously took care to compete with the Hollywood dream factory in a purely Khrushchev style. The scope of the Soviet response for " our everything!", the favorite work of the people's count Leo Tolstoy, was truly grandiose, almost in the unperturbed Khrushchev style of corn and space exploration. And after 3 years, the 4-episode script of the 3rd film adaptation in the entire history of the novel was approved.
The basic film studio was Mosfilm, and the screenwriter and director was NAR.artist of the USSR S. Bondarchuk, and for him it was only the 2nd director's work, but what! The budget of this epic film adaptation for 5 years became a record ($29 million) even by world standards, and in fact it was 45 times higher than the cost of a 1-episode full-length film. Mosfilm employed more than 40 companies to create props, and used the expositions of 58 museums in the country. For the needs of the film, a huge porcelain set, 9 thousand costumes were made, 50 objects of scenery and 8 bridges were built, the most grandiose crowd of 120 thousand soldiers of the active Armed Forces was assembled.
The cast of the 1965-67 Soviet film adaptation was quite impressive, starting with such elders of the acting clan as V. Stanitsyn, A. Ktorov and B. Zakhava. The biggest problems were formed with the choice of actors for the main roles of Prince Andrei Bolkonsky, Natasha Rostova and Count Pierre Bezukhov. Due to the inability to use I. Smoktunovsky (who starred in Hamlet during this period), according to S. Bondarchuk's initial wish, the role of Bolkonsky was long approved by the audience's favorite V. Tikhonov. Instead of auditioning for the role of Natasha A. Vertinskaya, Gurchenko, Fateeva, director S. Bondarchuk quite unexpectedly chose a 19-year-old aspiring Leningrad ballerina Lyudmila Savelyeva without an acting education. And the role of the full 20-year-old Pierre Bezukhov was played by S. Bondarchuk himself at the age of 45, in fact it turned out somehow not very reliably.
From the point of view of the greatness of the resulting epic, the 4-episode "War and Peace" by S. Bondarchuk can only be compared with the 5-film epic directed by Yu.Ozerov's "Liberation" (1968). Bondarchuk's epic was deservedly awarded the most prestigious film awards "Oscar" and "Golden Globe" as " best foreign film "(1969), and his first series "Andrey Bolkonsky" became in 1966 the leader of the Soviet rental for 58 million people. This film adaptation was subsequently purchased by 117 countries around the world.
The main acting duo L.Savelyev and V. Tikhonov on the big screen looked great, was very harmonious. But the full figure of Pierre in the performance of the creator of the film adaptation S. Bondarchuk in my personal opinion failed, the mature age of the director-actor affected, and the narrative itself from the author in the course of 3 and 4 series was excessively prolonged. Most likely, the compactness of this film adaptation would not hurt at all, but would look as easy as the Italian-American, which was watched by 31.5 million people from the first call in 1959.
I would not like to compare both of these adaptations directly, because of the extremely different approach of their creators, superficially personal in the Italian-American version, and battle-epic in the Soviet version. These adaptations were shot in completely different ways, with different accents, and here it is better not to hit the usual taste. But I, as a moviegoer with experience, would still like to draw a kind of performing parallel between the main characters performed by the super-experienced film actress Audrey Hepburn with her 33 wonderful roles, recognized by the American Film Academy as the 3rd largest legend of female world cinema, and our Lyudmila Savelyeva, who only began her acting career 55 years ago, for which she played only 18 film roles.
Very close in age at the time of filming in "War and Peace", as well as in their ballet specialization in their youth, both actresses have the most sincere and charming girlish images, which in my opinion they are very similar in appearance. Of course, it is very difficult to compare their personal acting experience, Audrey here has a clear advantage and absolute recognition in the world of cinema. Lyudmila has a much smaller number of memorable roles. Audrey also had a lot of composing experience and singing talent, her wonderful performance of the famous song "Moop River" in the movie "Breakfast at Tiffany's" (1961).
That's the kind of nostalgic notes I was set up by that unexpected viewing of a 4-hour American masterpiece 65 years ago. And I immediately remembered another American even earlier movie masterpiece "Gone with the Wind", also with a very epic plot, but about the Civil War between the North and South of America. So maybe it's time for aggressive Americans to finish fighting for their notorious democracy not only with other nations, but also so fiercely to fight among themselves. Let all these wars remain only on the screen as a memory of past battles. Maybe you should still let the Americans watch a wonderful cartoon about Leopold the Cat, huh? I want to shout across the ocean that separates us: "Guys and girls! And let's live together!»
