This is an impressive epic but resulting to be miscast and largerly misconceived ; standing out the overwhelming battles tremendously staged by Mario Soldati , helping out credited filmmaker King Vidor and adding Jack Cardiff's brilliant cinematography and Nino Rota's rousing score . Lengthy adaptation of Tolstoy's great novel about three families caught up in Russia's Napoleonic Wars from 1805 to 1812 , filmed in Italy . Bad casting and confused script by six writers are somewhat overcome by spectacular battle scenes and always attractive Audrey Hepburn. Henry Fonda , though miscast and too old , is still surprisingly good as Pierre , and there are nice contributions from a notorious support cast , such as : Mel Ferrer who married Audrey Hepburn , Vittorio Gassman , Anita Ekberg, John Mills , Helmut Dantine , Barry Jones , Milly Vitale, Anna Maria Ferrero, Wilfrid Lawson , May Britt, Jeremy Brett and especially Oskar Homolka as Field Marshal Kutuzov and Herbert Lom as Napoleon . The first couple of hours , rambling episodically on , seems less a panoramic view of the upper class scenes than a gaggle of characterisations with nowhere much to go. But after battle of Borodino , Vidor and the movie seem to be pulling together for the first time in the flurry of excellently staged battle scenes as the retreat of Moscow , the crossing of the Beresina , among others.
Special mention for the final part , developing the very well shot battle of river Berezina : it took place 26 and 29 November 1812, between the French army of Napoleon Bonaparte, in retreat after his invasion of Russia, and the Russian armies led by Mikhail Kutuzov, Peter Wittgenstein, and Admiral Pavel Chichagov. After their failed attempt to conquer the Russian Empire, which lasted until the beginning of the winter of 1812, the surviving force of the Grande Armée, prey to cold and hunger, began their retreat to the west, while the counterattack of the Army Imperial Russian was approaching them. The French had suffered a defeat just two weeks earlier, during the Battle of Krasnoi. However, the reinforcements that had been stationed near the Berezina during Napoleon's initial advance through Russia brought the numerical strength of the Grande Armée back up to some 30,000 to 40,000 able-bodied soldiers, as well as 40,000 unfit. Fighters. The Russians had approximately 61,000 troops near the Berezina, with another 54,000 under Mikhail Kutuzov just 40 miles to the east approaching the river. The crossing of the Berezina River near Borisov, present-day Belarus, was vital for the French armies, and the battle ended with an uncertain outcome. The French suffered heavy losses but managed to cross the river and avoid being caught and annihilated. Since then, the term "Bérézina" has been used in French as a synonym for "disaster". Despite the fact that Napoleon Bonaparte and his main generals managed to cross the river and get to safety, the rout of a large part of the French troops caused a monumental massacre among their soldiers. In their attempt to reach the bridge, hundreds of them fell into the icy waters of the river, perishing from hypothermia, others were crushed by their own companions and others hit by enemy fire. To ensure the withdrawal of the contingent that had managed to cross the bridge, the French high command decided to blow it up to delay its crossing by the Russian armies, leaving the rest (men, horses and weapons) on the other side at the mercy of the enemy. At noon of the day 28 the feared Cossack cavalry appeared, annihilating all those who had remained there. An estimated 30,000 Grande Armée soldiers lost their lives there. Some decided to flee north, but their hopes of survival were slim. The crossing of the Berezina River was the final catastrophe of the French campaign in Russia, decimating Napoleon's army and marking a turning point in the course of the Napoleonic Wars. In the weeks that followed, the Grande Armée continued its painful retreat, and on December 14, 1812, it left Russian territory. Popular legend states that only 22,000 of Napoleon's men survived the Russian campaign. In addition, some sources claim that more than 380,000 soldiers lost their lives 8 and about 100,000 Frenchmen were captured by the Russians.
Special mention for the final part , developing the very well shot battle of river Berezina : it took place 26 and 29 November 1812, between the French army of Napoleon Bonaparte, in retreat after his invasion of Russia, and the Russian armies led by Mikhail Kutuzov, Peter Wittgenstein, and Admiral Pavel Chichagov. After their failed attempt to conquer the Russian Empire, which lasted until the beginning of the winter of 1812, the surviving force of the Grande Armée, prey to cold and hunger, began their retreat to the west, while the counterattack of the Army Imperial Russian was approaching them. The French had suffered a defeat just two weeks earlier, during the Battle of Krasnoi. However, the reinforcements that had been stationed near the Berezina during Napoleon's initial advance through Russia brought the numerical strength of the Grande Armée back up to some 30,000 to 40,000 able-bodied soldiers, as well as 40,000 unfit. Fighters. The Russians had approximately 61,000 troops near the Berezina, with another 54,000 under Mikhail Kutuzov just 40 miles to the east approaching the river. The crossing of the Berezina River near Borisov, present-day Belarus, was vital for the French armies, and the battle ended with an uncertain outcome. The French suffered heavy losses but managed to cross the river and avoid being caught and annihilated. Since then, the term "Bérézina" has been used in French as a synonym for "disaster". Despite the fact that Napoleon Bonaparte and his main generals managed to cross the river and get to safety, the rout of a large part of the French troops caused a monumental massacre among their soldiers. In their attempt to reach the bridge, hundreds of them fell into the icy waters of the river, perishing from hypothermia, others were crushed by their own companions and others hit by enemy fire. To ensure the withdrawal of the contingent that had managed to cross the bridge, the French high command decided to blow it up to delay its crossing by the Russian armies, leaving the rest (men, horses and weapons) on the other side at the mercy of the enemy. At noon of the day 28 the feared Cossack cavalry appeared, annihilating all those who had remained there. An estimated 30,000 Grande Armée soldiers lost their lives there. Some decided to flee north, but their hopes of survival were slim. The crossing of the Berezina River was the final catastrophe of the French campaign in Russia, decimating Napoleon's army and marking a turning point in the course of the Napoleonic Wars. In the weeks that followed, the Grande Armée continued its painful retreat, and on December 14, 1812, it left Russian territory. Popular legend states that only 22,000 of Napoleon's men survived the Russian campaign. In addition, some sources claim that more than 380,000 soldiers lost their lives 8 and about 100,000 Frenchmen were captured by the Russians.