Krieg und Frieden (1956)

Krieg und Frieden: Directed by King Vidor. With Audrey Hepburn, Henry Fonda, Mel Ferrer, Vittorio Gassman. Napoleon’s tumultuous relations with Russia, including his disastrous 1812 invasion, serve as the backdrop for the tangled personal lives of two aristocratic families.

“Beautiful movie to look at (Cinematography Oscar nom was well earned). Fine epic movie score. Good direction and editing. Some of the best costume work ever put on film. No one even today could do a finer job of costuming.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eMel Ferrer is nowhere near the same league as Omar Sharif was in u0026quot;Zhivagou0026quot;. Sharif was great, Ferrer just average. Ferrer is a major drawback. In contrast, Fonda displays tremendous acting ability (not having read the book I can concentrate on his performance rather than whether he looks the part). Hepburn is perfection and she delivers a great acting performance.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eYes it is a 1950u0026#39;s style movie, which of course has some dated aspects. However, in the case of costume, cinematography and some of the acting you couldnu0026#39;t see better in a film of any era. This is an impressive effort all-around.”