War and Peace (Criterion Collection) (1966) on Blu-ray

Actor: Kira Ivanova-Golovko, Lyudmila Savelyeva, Sergei Bondarchuk, Sergey Bondarchuk, Vyacheslav Tikhonov, Viktor Stanitsyn, Kira Golovko, Nikolay Kodin, Anatoliy Ktorov
Director: Sergey Bondarchuk, Sergei Bondarchuk
Genre: Drama
Year: 1966
Studio: Criterion Collection
Length: N/A
Released: 6/25/2019
Rating: Not Rated (MPAA Rating)
Format: Blu-ray
Misc/Special Features: Blu-ray
Language: English
Subtitles : Yes

DESCRIPTION:

At the height of the Cold War, the Soviet film industry set out to prove it could outdo Hollywood with a production that would dazzle the world: a titanic, awe inspiring adaptation of Leo Tolstoy’s classic tome in which the fates of three souls—the blundering, good hearted Pierre; the heroically tragic Prince Andrei; and the radiant, tempestuous Natasha—collide amid the tumult of the Napoleonic Wars. Employing a cast of thousands and an array of innovative camera techniques, director Sergei Bondarchuk conjures a sweeping vision of grand balls that glitter with rococo beauty and breathtaking battles that overwhelm with their expressionistic power. As a statement of Soviet cinema’s might, War and Peace succeeded wildly, garnering the Academy Award for best foreign language film and setting a new standard for epic moviemaking. TWO BLU RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES • New 2K digital restoration, with 5.1 surround DTS HD Master Audio soundtrack • New interviews with cinematographer Anatoly Petritsky and filmmaker Fedor Bondarchuk, son of Sergei Bondarchuk • Two 1966 documentaries about the making of the film • Television program from 1967 profiling actor Ludmila Savelyeva, and featuring Sergei Bondarchuk • New program with historian Denise J. Youngblood (Bondarchuk’s “War and Peace”: Literary Classic to Soviet Cinematic Epic) detailing the cultural and historical contexts for the film • Janus rerelease trailer • New English subtitle translation • PLUS: An essay by critic Ella Taylor