Kristi007 I have never read the book nor seen any other adaptation of it. I watched the series throughout the week, one episode per night. Three days later all I can think of is the last film. My heart is aching. The scene where Pierre is walking with his fellow prisoners and has to leave Platon behind in a fit of cough... and three seconds later within the same shot (no editing) the French soldier shoots Platon in cold blood and we see Pierre's exhausted face (still no cut) realising what just happened. This scene will haunt me for a long time. Just like Pierre I think of his friend's wisdom ("You see, they are prisoners too.") and compassionate heart. I found myself closing my eyes and savouring every bite while eating my rice & veg dish during lunch break. Sure, I will probably never go hungry like they did - and yet it spoke to me. Platon *is* Tolstoy. He is the soldier who has never killed anyone nor wanted to. A blissful satisfaction took over me as Pierre sits with Natasha and Marya and tells them of Platon. Finally, the three (or four) nicest people of the saga are reunited and they celebrate the truest of them all. Thank you, writer, for giving us a moment of joy after all the suffering. Paul Dano stands out as Pierre as does Tuppence Middleton as Helene. Prince Andrei holding hands with Anatole after the battle was powerful. Alas the final scene was underwhelming, but understandable for its time. True happiness is having babies - sure if you say so. The series makes me want to read the book so bad. I do love Russian literature so it's only a question of time for me. I recommend the series to anyone who enjoys period dramas.

tomcervo This is not a review of the series--you like it or you don't--it's about the way you'll get to see it. The original UK presentation was a six part series totaling 370 minutes. The first five episodes were roughly the same length; the sixth ran longer. These are the scripts as written by Davies. This is the content of the UK discs. The US and Canadian discs contain eight episodes, totaling 357 minutes--13 minutes less than the UK version. They are all exactly 45 minutes long. The most obvious cut is the entire 13 minute sequence in which the Kuragins try to marry off Anatole to Marya Bolkonsky. (Most of the reviewers seemed to think that Jessie Buckley's Marya was one of the high points of the series, but apparently the US programmers didn't agree.)There are other, more subtle cuts; and some of the deleted scenes on the UK disc extras are in their place. They don't seem to have any particular reason other than to fit the 45 minute time limit--which also seems to throws off the continuity that Davies crafted. In one scene Nikolai and Denisov are in their quarters, each with a girl in bed. Nikolai has to go. The US scene ends there; in the UK version, Denisov tells Nikolai's girl to get in his bed to stay warm and they all go back to sleep. In another, Count Rostov's dance on Natasha's name day is cut short, but appears fully in the short bonus feature. (It seems that the US cable presentation, in two hour blocks, actually comprised 90 minutes of actual show and half an hour of ads.)As well, the UK version comes on three discs and looks like a premium release; the US version comes on two discs and looks like a rental release. The UK release is region 2, view-able on multi-region or hacked viewers, or a computer with a multi-region program, readily available through shareware. Or you can wait for the full UK version to get to the US. UK version: 10; US version: 8.5

Dan1863Sickles I read Tolstoy's WAR AND PEACE when I was fifteen, and over the years I've read it so many times that the characters are almost like friends and family. And I have to say that on the whole this BBC adaptation was exciting, romantic, and great fun to watch!Lily James is perfect as Natasha Rostov. She excels at capturing all the moods of a young girl's coming of age, from giddy excitement to tearful despair to frank curiosity about men and sex. The thing about Natasha is that she has to be as natural and exuberant in a fabulous ballgown surrounded by glittering aristocrats as she is in a log cabin making merry among the Russian peasants. That's a lot to take on and Lily James manages it all perfectly. Bravo!James Norton and Jessie Buckley are both tremendously impressive as the Bolkonsky siblings, Andrey and his sister Marya. Both of them capture how deeply spiritual their characters are, in very different ways. Prince Andrey's search for meaning leads him to a near death experience on the battlefield, but his spiritual longings come across clearly even when is acting the part of a haughty aristocrat. Jessie Buckley's longing for her father's love is beautifully expressed, as is her devotion to Christian love in general. In the book Tolstoy suggests that Princess Marya's goal is simply "to love men as Christ loved men" and that quality is evident in every scene she plays. I had a lot of trouble accepting Paul Dano as Pierre Bezukhov. So much of Pierre's stature in the novel comes from . . . well, from his stature. He's described over and over as being tall, broad shouldered, clumsy, too big to fit indoors, moving like a big bear. His childlike qualities, his kindness and trusting nature, are balanced out by a gigantic and often menacing physical presence. Now, Paul Dano gets the childish side of Pierre perfectly, but in the darker moments there's definitely something missing. Even when he's a prisoner of the French he comes across more like Billy Pilgrim in SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE than like the Pierre of the book, who is looked upon by both prisoners and guards as a natural leader. I think there's a tendency today to downplay brute male strength as a positive asset, and Paul Dano's casting is symptomatic of a kind of bizarre politically correct form of censorship. But after all, this is a very multi- faceted character, and Paul D. certainly does capture Pierre's gentleness and kindness. I don't want this to be a ten page review, so I just want to say that the rest of the very large cast is absolutely extraordinary. While Andrey, Pierre, Natasha and Marya are so complex that no actor could really capture them completely, there are dozens of lesser characters who actually come more to life in this mini-series than they do in the book itself. I just want to mention very briefly the following performances:Tom Burke as Dolohov and Thomas Arnold as Denisov . . . these two characters are like book-ends, the good guy soldier and the bad guy soldier. And the two Toms nail them perfectly!Aisling Loftus as Sonya was a true revelation. Reading the book as a kid, I always felt like Tolstoy had it in for Sonya. She's the poor relation who always gets left out in the cold, and Tolstoy does a lot of victim-blaming to rationalize how the system works. But Aisling Loftus gives Sonya a depth, strength, and courage that's actually better than what's in the book! Greta Scacchi and Adrian Edmondson as Countess Rostov her husband Count Rostov. So much of the magic of WAR AND PEACE comes from the sense of family warmth and happiness in the Rostov home. These two actors really make you understand why Nikolay and his sister Natasha are so much loved and so at home in the world, because they grew up with the most loving parents imaginable! Even their flaws are endearing and totally believable. Tuppence Middleton and Callum Turner really make an impression as the evil, deadly siblings, Helene and Anatole Kuragin. The two of them are like a perfectly matched pair of dragons, or a couple of deliciously deadly vampires set down among the unsuspecting nobility! But the actors find something sad and almost desperate about both of them, keeping them real and capturing the humanity of Tolstoy's vision even with characters he painted in very broad strokes. The highest compliment you can pay to this production is that the great characters are represented in (almost) all their complexity, and that there are minor characters who are more real here than they were on the printed page. What a fabulous achievement for the writer, the director, the fabulous cast and the BBC!

sinatrakennedy A truly beautiful depiction of a classic novel. Emotional and deeply tragic, this is the film version we have been waiting for. The characters are brought from the page to the screen perfectly. I will be seeking it out for purchase as this is a must own series. I fell in love with the characters almost right away and I think that you will do the same. Love, hate,fear, pain, sorrow, and plenty of goose bumps. This mini series will move you and bring you to tears more than once. "Do you think you could love me?""Yes, yes I do..."I need not say any more.