Sunday, September 23, 2012

War and Peace - Russian Resurrection Film Festival

I have just come home from seeing the 1960s Mosfilm War and Peace, all seven or so hours of it, at Cinema Paradiso as part of the Russian Resurrection film festival. I went to see Two Days on Thursday and am planning on Siberia Mon Amour tomorrow, and was going to do a joint blog post of my foray into Russian cinema, but it would be impossible not to dedicate a post to the centrepiece of the festival. The film was made in several parts between 1961 and 1967 partly as a response to King Vidor's 1956 War and Peace. It is an exquisite spectacle, the most expensive Soviet film ever produced (hardly surprising, seeing as it is, in effect, four films).