This has the look and slow pace of a typical BBC Masterpiece production, good if you like that, and I usually do, especially the Dickens novels. (check out Martin Chuzzlewit for Paul Schofield's best performance) However, unlike most, in Tolstoy's major work, they've not remained true to the original literature.
Apparently (I've seen only Pt 1 myself), after reading a major media review, they've decided to sex up this story with scenes never in the Tolstoy novel.. in pt 1 a brother got in bed w his sister (both adults) in the morning, something inappropriate that I never remembered from any Tolstoy novels.. later there will be an infidelity they've thrown in as well -- poetic license apparently means RATINGS TRUMP LITERATURE.. I'm surprised they didn't add some gory violence as well, the more explicit, the more teenage viewers will love it.
FOR ME: IF you're going to film a major work of literature, then film THAT work, don't recreate it in your own modern perception filter of what it should have been.. or just write something original (if you can), but don't twist the classics into something more ratings worthy.
After seeing all four parts of this, I will no doubt immensely prefer the 1966 Russian version (even though subtitled), seven hours long with 250,000 Red Army extras in the war scenes, directed by actor Sergey Bondarchuk, shown here on PBS in four parts. A more epic and cinematic film, it had much better pace, more passion, and didn't invent scenes with the audience in mind. The war scenes in this TV production are very 'cheesy' by comparison.
Apparently (I've seen only Pt 1 myself), after reading a major media review, they've decided to sex up this story with scenes never in the Tolstoy novel.. in pt 1 a brother got in bed w his sister (both adults) in the morning, something inappropriate that I never remembered from any Tolstoy novels.. later there will be an infidelity they've thrown in as well -- poetic license apparently means RATINGS TRUMP LITERATURE.. I'm surprised they didn't add some gory violence as well, the more explicit, the more teenage viewers will love it.
FOR ME: IF you're going to film a major work of literature, then film THAT work, don't recreate it in your own modern perception filter of what it should have been.. or just write something original (if you can), but don't twist the classics into something more ratings worthy.
After seeing all four parts of this, I will no doubt immensely prefer the 1966 Russian version (even though subtitled), seven hours long with 250,000 Red Army extras in the war scenes, directed by actor Sergey Bondarchuk, shown here on PBS in four parts. A more epic and cinematic film, it had much better pace, more passion, and didn't invent scenes with the audience in mind. The war scenes in this TV production are very 'cheesy' by comparison.