War and Peace (2007)
War and Peace (original title: War and Peace ) by Robert Dornhelm is the fourth film adaptation of the historical novel of the same name by Leo Tolstoy . The four-part TV mini-series was first broadcast at the end of 2007 on the Italian television station Rai Uno . In January 2008 she was seen on ZDF and ORF .
action
First part
A festival is held at the Rostov family estate. Important people from the Russian nobility have appeared. Including Marija Dmitrijewna and her protégé Pierre VISITOW, the illegitimate son of the terminally ill Count Visitow, who has just returned from his studies in Paris . During the festivities, the young Natascha Rostowa meets Prince Andrei Bolkonski. She falls in love with him, although he is out of reach for her. Because he's married to Lise.
Prince Vasili Kuragin, administrator of Count Visitov, wants to own his financial and political inheritance. Dmitrijewna and Pierre arrive at the Count's deathbed in good time so that he can hand over his will and a personal letter to the Tsar in which he recognizes Pierre as a legitimate son. Meanwhile, war is raging in western Europe. On the side of the Austrian Empire, the Russian Empire entered the war against the French Emperor Napoleon. In order to escape the monotonous life on the farm, Andrei hopes for military fame and recognition as General Kutuzov's adjutant . His wife Lise stayed at the country estate of his father, who was banished by Tsar Paul I, where he kept a strictly orderly household. His daughter Marija suffered badly as a result.
Clouded by sudden wealth, Pierre Visitow leaves the administrator Kuragin in office. Kuragin's daughter Hélène tries to seduce Pierre in order to get hold of his money and privileges. With the help of a successful conviction by her father, the naive Pierre soon stands in front of the altar. Pierre later realizes that the marriage was a grave mistake.
Nikolai Rostov joins the army with great enthusiasm. His hopes for success within the army are quickly dashed: General Kutuzov orders the withdrawal of his army from the rapidly advancing French. As a member of the rearguard , Nikolai has to prepare the demolition of an important bridge that is supposed to hinder the march of the French considerably. The opportunity to prove oneself has come. But he is wounded and rescued at the last minute by officer Vasily Denisov, a friend of Pierre Visitov's.
Nikolai Rostov introduces his lifesaver to his family. Denisov understands Natascha's gratitude completely wrong and proposes to her. Her mother, Countess Rostova, immediately rejects this. Denisov remains a good friend of the family after all.
In the Battle of Austerlitz , the Russian and Austrian troops of the French army under Napoleon are defeated. Andrei Bolkonski is wounded on the battlefield after fighting valiantly. He gets home just in time when his wife dies giving birth to her son. After this event, Pierre takes Andrei on a trip to his lands to help him out of his depression. At the Rostov family estate there is a reunion with Natascha, whom Andrei has not forgotten. Andrei leaves early to escape his confusing feelings.
Tsar Alexander I and Napoleon make the Peace of Tilsit . The negotiations are celebrated in Russia with a big dance ball at which Natascha and Andrei meet again. Andrei asks her to dance. They both realize that they are meant for each other.
Second part
The peace agreement between Tsar Alexander I and Napoleon gives Russia a respite and a treacherous peace. When Andrei Bolkonski visits the Rostovs again, the relationship between him and Natascha deepens. Andrei now asks his father for permission to marry Natascha Rostowa. The old Prince Bolkonski is against the marriage and demands a year postponement in order to test her love; But he secretly hopes that this will prevent the marriage. During this time, Andrei is supposed to serve in the staff of the High Command of the Russian Army on the border with Poland . Out of respect for his father, Andrei agrees. Before leaving, he asked for Natasha's hand. She accepts the year of separation and promises to wait for him.
Meanwhile, Vasily Kuragin tries to introduce his son Anatol to the Bolkonski family, since the wealthy Marija Bolkonskaja would be a good match. You visit the Bolkonskis on their country estate. Prince Bolkonski leaves the decision to his daughter. When this Anatol caught inflagranti in the stairwell with her companion Mademoiselle Bourienne, she refuses the marriage. Anatol Kuragin then takes on a position as captain in the cavalry .
There were initial disagreements between Pierre Visitow and his wife Hélène: While Pierre preferred a withdrawn life, Hélène, a lady of life, loved large companies and often stayed away overnight. Pierre Visitow admits to his friend Andrei Bolkonski that it was a mistake to marry Hélène. After Pierre received an anonymous message that Hélène was having an affair with his friend Fyodor Dolochow, he challenged him to a duel on pistols. Natascha Rostowa tries everything to prevent the duel between the inexperienced Pierre Visitov and the battle-hardened Dolokhov. She also seeks out Hélène Visitova and implores her to prevent the duel. When she shows no interest, Natascha bitterly accuses her of letting Pierre run into his death. Hélène feels seen through and tells Natascha out of the house. After Dolochow is surprisingly shot in a duel by Pierre Visitow, who remains unharmed, Hélène reveals to her husband Pierre her abysmal contempt for him. This breaks out in anger and immediately throws Hélène out of the house. On the mediation of his father-in-law Wassili Kuragin, Pierre Visitow comes to terms with his wife Hélène a few days later, but only to keep up social appearances.
The Rostovs are getting more and more financial difficulties and are forced to lend their possessions with high mortgages . When Nikolai Rostov finally confesses to his mother that he and Sonja love each other and that he wants to marry her, Countess Rostova refuses to bless this connection and implores her son to marry the wealthy Julija Orlowa in order to prevent the Rostov family from financial ruin preserve.
A visit by Natascha Rostova and her father to the Bolkonskis ends in a scandal , provoked by Prince Bolkonski. Natascha leaves the Bolkonskis' house deeply humiliated. She has to realize that she is unwelcome in the Bolkonski house and more and more doubts that the marriage with Andrei Bolkonski will come about.
When a report was received by Lieutenant Colonel Andrei Bolkonski at the headquarters of the High Command that Captain Anatol Kuragin had seduced the daughter of a Polish nobleman and left her with a child, Andrei Bolkonski gave the confessed Anatol Kuragin an ultimatum to marry the girl. Anatol Kuragin has no choice but to take revenge on Andrei Bolkonski. During a visit to the opera, Hélène VISITOVA, who has no longer been sympathetic to Natascha Rostova since the incident before the duel, invites her to her box to introduce her to her brother Anatol Kuragin. Anatol Kuragin knows from his sister that Natascha Rostowa is Andrei Bolkonski's fiancé and therefore courted her. The intrigue set up by Hélène Visitowa takes its fateful course.
third part
Preparations for Natasha's wedding to Andrei Bolkonski are in full swing in the Rostov's house. But Natascha Rostowa is still deeply impressed by meeting Anatol Kuragin at the opera. Hélène VISITOVA again intrigues and invites Natascha Rostowa to a soiree , where she meets Anatol Kuragin. With the help of his sister, Anatol Kuragin puts Natascha under pressure by means of stormy love letters, love vows and a fictitious suicide attempt. Natascha is not up to Anatol's onslaught and gets involved with him. In a letter to Marija Bolkonskaja, she informs him that she wants to break off her engagement with Andrei.
Andrei Bolkonski is sent to negotiate with Napoleon. His mission fails because Napoleon is convinced of the military superiority of his army. When the Tsar allows the British to use the port of St. Petersburg for their warships, war seems inevitable. French troop movements on the border announce the near invasion. Andrei's return to Moscow is delayed.
The Rostovs' financial needs are getting worse. When Nikolai Rostov has to ask his father for money in order to be able to pay his immense gambling debts with Fyodor Dolokhov, he shows understanding, but he has to take drastic measures and sell something belonging to the family. Marija Bolkonskaja visits the Rostovs to apologize for the unsuccessful reception at their home. Natascha, still offended, refuses to see her.
Anatol Kuragin plans to kidnap Natasha Rostova with the help of Fyodor Dolokhov. Natascha, ready to flee, is locked in her room by Sonja. The escape is prevented at the last moment by Marija Dmitrijewna and Pierre Visitov. When Natascha learns from Pierre that Anatol Kuragin is married, she breaks down. Pierre Visitow puts his brother-in-law Anatol in his house and gives him money so that he will never show up again.
Natascha's letter to Marija Bolkonskaja comes into the hands of Prince Bolkonsky through Mademoiselle Bourienne. He triumphantly reveals the contents of the letter and his fiancée's affair with Anatol Kuragin to his son. Despite the intercession of Pierre Visitov, Andrei Bolkonski cannot forgive Natascha and now breaks off the engagement. Natascha, who has now realized that she was wrong, is desperate and tries to kill herself. Pierre Visitow rushes to her and confesses his secret love.
Napoleon moves with his troops across the Memel and breaks the peace treaty with Russia. The invasion has started. General Kutuzov is appointed to the council of war and commands the scorched earth strategy. Natascha Rostowa turns to Marija Bolkonskaja and begs her pardon. Inspired by the Christian commandment to forgive, she is convinced of Natascha's sincerity and asks her brother to forgive Natascha. Andrei Bolkonski, who has distanced himself from the faith, remains unforgiving. The officers and soldiers go to war. Andrei Bolkonski asks General Kutuzov to transfer to his old regiment. The first fighting occurs with the French, in the course of which the Russian army has to withdraw. The population flees and sets their houses on fire. Andrei Bolkonski advises his father, Prince Bolkonski, to flee as well. This, meanwhile mentally confused, expelled his son from the house. In the madness of being able to fight back the French, Prince Bolkonski armed his serfs .
Pierre Visitow visits Andrei Bolkonski at the front. He is still inspired by his thoughts of revenge against Anatol Kuragin. General Kutuzov receives the order from the Tsar to stop the French troops in front of Moscow. Pierre Visitow witnessed the Battle of Borodino and experienced the horrors of the war up close. Andrei Bolkonski is wounded during an artillery bombardment. In the field hospital he lies next to the seriously wounded Anatol Kuragin. He holds the hand of the dying and can thus make his peace with him and with God. Pierre Visitov finds Andrei Bolkonski and complies with his request to bring him to Natascha Rostowa. General Kutuzov can no longer answer for the immense losses in the battle and orders the withdrawal of the Russian army. This clears the way for Napoleon to Moscow.
fourth part
The French are marching towards Moscow. The population gives up the city. The Rostovs also pack up to flee to Yaroslavl . Her youngest son Petya joins the army against his mother's wishes. When the officer accompanying a wounded transporter asked Natascha Rostova for water for his men, she spontaneously invited the wounded soldiers to the Rostov's house. She can convince her parents to leave their belongings behind and take the wounded soldiers with them.
Pierre Visitov accompanies the seriously wounded Andrei Bolkonski on the way back to Moscow. When they arrive at the Rostov's house, the Natascha family hide the arrival of Bolkonski, who is lying in a locked carriage. Pierre leaves the Rostovs in a hurry. When Wassili Kuragin and Hélène try to convince Pierre Visitow to ally with the French, there is a final break between Pierre and Hélène. Pierre Visitow goes into hiding disguised as a farmer. He plans to assassinate Napoleon.
After the death of the old Prince Bolkonsky, Marija Bolkonskaya tried, following the advice of her brother, to flee from the approaching French. However, she is being held by a pack of rebel serfs. At that moment Nikolai Rostov comes along with some officer comrades and frees Marija. He offers to escort her behind the Russian lines to bring her to safety.
When the French enter Moscow, the city burns. Pierre Visitow is picked up by French soldiers and sentenced to death as an alleged arsonist. He barely escapes execution and is imprisoned by the French. In prison he met the simple farmer Platon Karatajew and became friends with him. Karataev teaches Pierre not only how ordinary Russian people think, but also how to survive under these primitive conditions.
The Rostov family and the wounded find shelter outside Moscow. In the night you see the glow of the fire in the burning capital. When Natascha learns that Andrei Bolkonski is among the wounded, she immediately rushes to his sick bed. They are reconciled, and their love for one another is stronger than before. Nikolai Rostov, who had been informed of the situation by his mother, found Marija Bolkonskaya and led her to her brother. Sonja realizes that Nikolai Rostov has become estranged from her and that she feels drawn to Marija Bolkonskaya. Despite being cared for by Marija and Natascha, Andrei Bolkonski succumbs to his injuries. A close friendship has developed between the two women.
Wassili Kuragin and his daughter Hélène collaborate with the French in occupied Moscow. Hélène becomes a French officer's mistress. She realizes too late that he is suffering from a contagious disease. Napoleon has to realize that he cannot winter with his army in Moscow. The retreating French take the prisoners with them, including Pierre Visitow. Exhausted from the long march in wet and cold weather, the prisoners drag themselves forward. When Karataev collapses exhausted, he is shot by a French guard. Pierre Visitow faces the same fate. But a detachment of Russian hussars , including Fyodor Dolokhov and Nikolai and Petya Rostov, attacked the train under the leadership of Vasily Denisov. Petya is killed by a French bullet in the attack. Fyodor Dolokhov finds Pierre among the freed prisoners. Both regret that the duel had to come about; Dolokhov apologizes to Pierre.
Nikolai Rostov has a painful duty to inform his family that Petya died in battle. When his letter reaches the Rostovs, the countess has a nervous breakdown. The Russian army pursues the fleeing rather than withdrawing French and inflicts heavy losses on them. Pierre Visitow, marked by captivity and the long march, is taken in by a peasant family and nursed back to health.
When the Rostovs returned to the completely destroyed Moscow in the spring, they learned from Marija Dmitrijewna that Hélène Visitova had died and that Vasily Kuragin, ostracized for collaborating with the French, had lost her mind about it. The Rostovs, whose palace has been devastated, find shelter with Marija Bolkonskaya. When Nikolai Rostov also arrives, he has to choose between Sonja and Marija Bolkonskaja. Although he loves Marija, the destitute Nikolai has scruples about proposing to the wealthy Marija. When Nikolai reveals that he is going to war again, since Napoleon must now be finally rendered harmless, Marija bursts into tears and confesses her love for him. Nikolai and Marija get married in a solemn ceremony.
Natascha Rostowa, driven by grief and longing, returns to the ravaged Rostov palace. She sits down at the grand piano and plays. She is heartbroken because there is still no news from Pierre Visitow. At that moment Pierre Visitow drives past on a farmer's cart and remembers knowing this house. Pierre enters the palace and he and Natascha embrace. They are finally free for one another. They get married and have children together. Nikolai and Marija also started a family. Every summer they meet at the Rostov's summer residence. The war has finally given way to peace.
background
The production costs amounted to 26 million euros. The staff, numbering 150, traveled with 27 main actors, 15,000 extras and 1,500 horses to 105 locations for 100 days. 2400 historical costumes (uniforms, ball gowns etc.) were made. The actors completed riding lessons in Rome . According to Eos Entertainment , one of the numerous production companies, the miniseries reached an average of 6.1 million viewers in France and Italy, and thus a market share of 26 percent. In France, 5.25 million viewers gave a market share of 20 percent. An average of 5.46 million viewers in Germany saw all four episodes of the series; the last one reached 5.24 million viewers with a market share of 16.2 percent.
War and Peace was mainly filmed in Saint Petersburg , including in the large ballroom of the Pushkin Palace, in the Peterhof Palace and in the Peter and Paul Fortress . The city is also the scene of scenes of burning Moscow . Because the cast came from ten different nations, the film had to be shot in English. The location of the battles of Austerlitz and Borodino shown in the film is Lithuania . 650 muskets and 15 cannons were used there.
premiere
The first international premiere was under the title Guerre et paix on October 19, 2007 in Belgium . Below is a list of all European premiere dates.
| title | country | TV premiere |
|---|---|---|
| Guerra e pace | Italy | October 21, 2007 |
| Guerre et paix | France | November 6, 2007 |
| Война и мир | Russia | November 6, 2007 |
| Wojna i pokój | Poland | December 25, 2007 |
| war and peace | Germany | January 6, 2008 |
Reviews
“Dornhelm's 'War and Peace' - a big marriage market. An opulent painting, a real ham. Much peace, little war. The political circumstances in Russia at the time of the Napoleonic Wars have so far been largely excluded. Which is a shame, because that would give the tension-free, slow film a bit of speed. But politics is not Dornhelm's business. "
“Still, this European television company called 'War and Peace' deserves respect. Incidentally, not least because, in the course of four hundred minutes, one wonders less and less why one should film such a giant novel again today. The sense of the undertaking lies in himself. That is not a little. "
“The remake explores the connections and parallels between characters, relationships and events that also shed light on a changing world. In glittering ballrooms , on bloody battlefields, in dark carriages, in lavishly furnished palaces - whether in a glittering evening gown or with a saber in hand - everything that Tolstoy's novel heroes and the protagonists in the film witness ultimately lead to the realization that friendship takes place Hostility, forgiveness instead of revenge, compassion instead of ignorance as well as helpfulness and cohesion give people the dignity without which the species would probably have long been extinct. "
“The four-part event 'War and Peace' impressively proves that high-quality literary film adaptations also find a large audience in prime time. The above-average acceptance among highly educated viewers shows that the general thesis of flattening the program does not apply to ZDF. I was particularly pleased that more under 30-year-olds than usual enjoyed this sophisticated television meal. "
“But none of you [the actors] can cover up the fact that Tolstoy's confusion of emotions against a historical background in the well-tempered Euro TV format sometimes looks like Rosamunde Pilcher. [...] Anyone who wants to measure the dramatic impact of the sweeping epic and look into the much-invoked soul of "Holy Mother Russia" must continue to fall back on the monumental cinema version by Sergei Bondarchuk - or take the novel to hand. "
Film music
In December 2007 , the Italian record label Rai Trade released the film music composed by Jan AP Kaczmarek on an audio CD under the title Guerra e Pace . There are twenty-two recordings on it with a total length of one hour and seventeen minutes.
- War And Peace (02:35)
- The Promise Of Things To Come (02:59)
- Daily Life (03:09)
- Napoleon Is Coming (01:20)
- Rostovs (04:18)
- Andrey And Liza (05:34)
- Austerlitz (06:17)
- Andrey And Natasha In Love (07:42)
- The Grand Ball (02:22)
- Bezukhov (02:57)
- Death (05:55)
- Nicolay At War (02:59)
- Sonya And Natasha (02:04)
- Masha Bolkonsky (02:17)
- Borodino (03:52)
- Kuragins (06:18)
- Memories Of Liza (02:00)
- Pierre Goes To Borodino (01:26)
- Rostov's Return To Moscow (02:36)
- Napoleon Is Leaving Russia (02:41)
- Russian Victory (01:37)
- Natasha And Pierre (03:59)
Publications
- War and Peace (Book Edition, 2 DVDs), Universal Home Entertainment, released January 16, 2008
- War and Peace (Standard Edition, 2 DVDs), Universal Home Entertainment, released February 21, 2008
- Guerra e Pace (soundtrack, audio CD), Rai Trade, released December 2007
Web links
- War and Peace in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- War and Peace ( Memento from January 9, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) on ZDF
- War and Peace on France 2 ( Memento of April 14, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- List of main characters in the Russia Journal
- Conversation with Robert Dornhelm and Thomas Bellut (audio)
- Conversation with Benjamin Sadler, Alexander Beyer, Hary Prinz and Ken Duken (audio)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b "War and Peace" casts ZDF viewers under its spell. Positive response to the filming of the Tolstoy classic ZDF press kit in the database for press information, January 18, 2008
- ↑ TV review "War and Peace": Pilcher for advanced learners DiePresse.com, January 10, 2008
- ^ The Heroes of Retreat on Siegerstrasse FAZ.net, January 6, 2008
- ^ "War and Peace" as a TV spectacle Stern.de, January 6, 2008
- ↑ Tolstoy for Bildungsblender Spiegel.de, January 6, 2008