Overview
A sweeping tale of love and war amidst the chaos of Napoleon's invasion.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Moderate
- sweeping
- romantic
- earnest
- classic cinema night
- historical epic marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly admired the film’s immense scale, colorful spectacle, technical achievement, and Audrey Hepburn’s performance, while finding its compressed storytelling and characterization less successful.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The invasion of Russia, battlefield action, burning Moscow, and the winter retreat are presented through vast sets, costumes, and military formations.
Pierre, Natasha, Andrei, and their families pursue love, marriage, and personal survival amid Napoleon's invasion.
Natasha's relationships are constrained by age, family permission, inheritance, reputation, and aristocratic expectations.
Pierre's observation of battlefield carnage transforms his previously detached intellectual outlook and fuels his vow against Napoleon.
Films like War and Peace, and why
Doctor Zhivago
shared historical romance, aristocratic social world, and sweeping period spectacle
Gone with the Wind
shared literary adaptation, wartime upheaval, romantic melodrama, and large-scale historical production
The Last Emperor
shared Tolstoyan historical drama, doomed romance, and military grandeur
Movie Details
- Director
- King Vidor
- Release Date
- 1956-08-21
- Runtime
- 208 min
- Rating
- 6.6 / 10 (282)
Cast
- Audrey Hepburn
- Henry Fonda
- Mel Ferrer
- Vittorio Gassman
- Herbert Lom
- Oskar Homolka
- Anita Ekberg
- Barry Jones
- May Britt
- Jeremy Brett
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, Paramount+ Roku Premium Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is War and Peace about?
- An expansive Tolstoy adaptation follows love, inheritance, and moral awakening through Russia’s aristocracy and Napoleon’s catastrophic invasion.
- What is War and Peace like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of War and Peace as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is War and Peace violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in War and Peace as moderate.
- What did critics think of War and Peace?
- Critics broadly admired the film’s immense scale, colorful spectacle, technical achievement, and Audrey Hepburn’s performance, while finding its compressed storytelling and characterization less successful.
- Which films are like War and Peace?
- Films with a similar feel include Doctor Zhivago, Gone with the Wind, and The Last Emperor.
- How long is War and Peace?
- War and Peace runs 208 minutes.
- Where can I watch War and Peace?
- In United States, War and Peace streams on Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, Paramount+ Roku Premium Channel.
