Hi Just Call Me Nathan ...
I can't exactly answer your questions, because I haven't seen Waterloo; but I can certainly tell you that the battle scenes in War and Peace are massive. There are two major battles in the film - but that can be a little misleading because the battles are often intermingled amongst the rest of the drama and, in any event, noth are very long, very gripping, and very epic. Thousands of extras, co-opted from the Soviet Army, were used, and the results are really stunning. There are some shots where it is hard to believe that it was all done without CGI. There are massive panoramic shots of battles, and of the consequences of battle - frightening shots of masses of slaughtered soldiers. And, of course, there is also Bondarchuk's wonderful use of the camera - showing us not only the epic scale of war, but also the horror and fear and madness in the eye of a single man. Here, Bondarchuk is helped by Tolstoy,who told the human, personal story of war alongside the huge, global story. Tolstoy and Bondarchuk, I believe, tell both with equal eloquence.
And, yes, there is plenty of drama to go with it - zillions of characters, developed with the sort of humanity that Tolstoy is famous for, and which Bondarchuk replicated so very well. Some of the characters are also part of the drama of the battles, others are not. Part of the story is the way that the rest of the world seemed to go on, unaffected and unaware, of the horrors of the war.
I imagine that the film could be a little confusing if you haven't read the book. There are so many characters and, as most Russians would have read War and Peace and would know it very well, I think Bondarchuk assumes a degree of familiarity with the book. That would be my only caveat.
But, if you find the film hard to follow, there is an easy answer - just read the book!! It is, after all, one of the greatest achievements of modern art; and Bondarchuk's film is as faithful a representation of it as you could possibly hope for.
If I were you, I wouldn't hesitate to buy it. It's my favourite film, of my favourite book.
I hope this is of some help.
cheers,
Ian
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