This Russian version of Tolstoys War and peace is more faithful to the novel than the 1956 Hollywood version. More than this it is also the most expensive movie ever made and every rubel shows on screen! With more than 10 000 extras and 300 speaking parts director Sergei Bondarchuk recreates every aspect of Tolstoys classic. Most noticeable are the scenes of Natashas first ball, the battle of Borodino and the burning of Moscow. Bondarchuk rendition is on such a grand scale that you actually believe that the scenes takes place before your eyes in reality. The photography is stunning -we get to follow the action through the camera which moves is such ways that you feel as you are part of the whole thing. Bondarchuks experimenting is evident throughout the picture and is by most parts a success. Some subliminal messages are distracting, but the cutting and movements of the camera is mostly fascinating. Bondarchuks influence from Abel Gance's fantastic silent "Napoléon" (1927) is evident.