War and Peace (1956 film)

This article is about the 1956 film. For other uses, see War and Peace (disambiguation).

War and Peace
Theatrical release poster
Directed byKing Vidor
Screenplay by
Based onWar and Peace
by Leo Tolstoy
Produced byDino De Laurentiis
Starring
CinematographyJack Cardiff
Edited byLeo Cattozzo
Stuart Gilmore
Music byNino Rota
Production
company
Ponti-De Laurentiis Cinematografica
Distributed by
Release dates
  • August 21, 1956 (1956-08-21) (United States)
  • December 29, 1956 (1956-12-29) (Italy)
Running time
208 minutes
Countries
  • United States
  • Italy
LanguageEnglish
Budget$5 million[1]
Box office$12 million (US/Italy/France/Germany rentals)

War and Peace (Italian: Guerra e pace) is a 1956 epic historical drama film based on Leo Tolstoy's 1869 novel of the same name. It is directed and co-written by King Vidor and produced by Dino De Laurentiis and Carlo Ponti for Paramount Pictures. The film stars Audrey Hepburn as Natasha, Henry Fonda as Pierre, and Mel Ferrer as Andrei, along with Vittorio Gassman, Herbert Lom, Oskar Homolka, Anita Ekberg in one of her first breakthrough roles, Helmut Dantine, Barry Jones, Anna Maria Ferrero, Milly Vitale and Jeremy Brett. The musical score was composed by Nino Rota and conducted by Franco Ferrara.

War and Peace opened on August 21, 1956, to a mixed reception, with some reviewers critical with the film truncating much of Tolstoy's novel, and the casting of 50-year-old Henry Fonda as the 20-year-old Pierre Bezukhov. It received Academy Awards nominations for Best Director, Best Cinematography (Color), and Best Costume Design (Color).[2] It was also nominated for four Golden Globes, including Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama (Audrey Hepburn), and won for Best Foreign Film.[3]

In February 2020, the film was shown at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival as part of a retrospective dedicated to King Vidor's career.[4]

  1. ^ "Yen Yank names for War and Pace". Variety. May 1955. p. 1.
  2. ^ "The 27th Academy Awards (1957) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. March 26, 2015. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  3. ^ "Winners & Nominees 1957". Golden Globes. Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  4. ^ "Berlinale 2020: Retrospective "King Vidor"". Berlinale. Retrieved February 28, 2020.