War and Peace (1972 TV series)

War and Peace
DVD cover
Created by	David Conroy
Starring	Anthony Hopkins Alan Dobie Morag Hood Angela Down
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of episodes	20
Production
Running time	15 hours
Release
Original network	BBC2
Original release	30 September 1972 – 8 February 1973

War and Peace is a television dramatisation of the Leo Tolstoy novel of War and Peace. This 20 episode series began on 28 September 1972.

The BBC dramatisation of Tolstoy's epic story of love and loss set against the backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars. Anthony Hopkins heads the cast as the soul-searching Pierre Bezukhov, Morag Hood is the impulsive and beautiful Natasha Rostova, Alan Dobie is the dour, heroic Andrei Bolkonsky and David Swift is Napoleon, whose decision to invade Russia in 1812 has far-reaching consequences for Pierre and the Rostov and Bolkonsky families.

The twenty-part serial was produced by David Conroy and directed by John Davies. Conroy's aim was to transfer the characters and plot from Tolstoy's magnum opus to television drama to run for a duration of 15 hours (actually closer to 17). Scripted by Jack Pulman, this version of War and Peace contained battle sequences, which were filmed in Yugoslavia. The production designer Don Homfray won a BAFTA for his work on the series.

This dramatisation differs from earlier adaptations in that it preserves many of Tolstoy's "minor" characters — such as Platon Karataev, played by Harry Locke.

The series was released in a Region 2 4-DVD boxset by DD Home Entertainment in 2005. The set is accompanied by an illustrated booklet, written by Andy Priestner, which provides a detailed account of how the series was made.

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