The Book
I'm just finishing up the book, I was wondering what are your thoughts on it and how it compares to the movie. I'm also interested to know how old you were when you read it.
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I was 16 when I first saw this film, and I asked for the book that Christmas and read it in two weeks. The book is magnificent, the film hardly less so. (I only lament the poor quality of the film stock and the resulting effect on the colour)
I'm glad mr shoub mentioned Prince Andrei. I fell madly in love with the actor and his portrayal; I feel the film was spot-on.
The wolf-hunt is truely Homeric and the ballscene beyond compare.
If you liked the ball scene here, you should check out Il Gattopardo (with Burt Lancaster).
On a side note, given the quality of Bondarchuck's achievement, I'm surprised at how hard it is to get a hold of his work on DVD (films such as "Waterloo").
That's interesting I fell madly in love with Prince Andrei in this film at the age of 17 too, and have intermittently revived the feeling ever since. I do feel he gets a very raw deal in the book and in most readers' responses to it; most critics seem to think that just because he's 'the one who has to die' he somehow deserves to die and leave Natasha for the better man, when I think the exact opposite is true, Tolstoy is tugging our heartstrings like the enotional manipulator any good writer, however highbrow, has to be.
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