Ignore the old style film: the lead performers honor the spirit of Tolstoy. Anthony Hopkins is a perfect Pierre, simultaneously profound and foolish. Alan Dobie's Prince André is precise-Byronic yet pragmatic. Sylvester Morand is superb as Nikolai, temperamental, noble, proud. Angela Down is an exceptional Maria, faithful, beaten down, homely until she falls in love and becomes beautiful. The character actors playing secondary characters, namely family members, flesh out the family dynamics. A few critics panned Morag Hood, but she does what Natasha does: mature into the role. You'll long remember the characters and their impact on each other, their times, and you.
Review of War & Peace
