War and Peace is a television dramatization of the Leo Tolstoy

Leo Tolstoy

Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy was a Russian writer who primarily wrote novels and short stories. Later in life, he also wrote plays and essays. His two most famous works, the novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, are acknowledged as two of the greatest novels of all time and a pinnacle of realist...

 novel of War and Peace

War and Peace

War and Peace is a novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy, first published in 1869. The work is epic in scale and is regarded as one of the most important works of world literature...

. This 20 episode series began on September 28, 1972.

The BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 dramatisation of Tolstoy's epic story of love and loss set against the backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars. Anthony Hopkins

Anthony Hopkins

Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins, KBE , best known as Anthony Hopkins, is a Welsh actor of film, stage and television...

 heads the cast as the soul-searching Pierre Bezukhov, Morag Hood

Morag Hood

Morag Hood was a Scottish actress described by many commentators as "a celebrated beauty," who featured in numerous British programmes, stage productions, and audio presentations from the 1960s up to the late 1990s....

 is the impulsive and beautiful Natasha Rostova, Alan Dobie

Alan Dobie

Alan Russell Dobie , is a British actor.Dobie was born in Wombwell, Yorkshire, England, to George Russell and Sarah Kate Dobie. His father was a mining engineer and his mother's family were farmers. He was married to actress Rachel Roberts from 1955-61 then married Maureen Scott in 1963...

 is the dour, heroic Andrei Bolkonsky and David Swift is Napoleon, whose decision to invade Russia in 1812

French invasion of Russia

The French invasion of Russia of 1812 was a turning point in the Napoleonic Wars. It reduced the French and allied invasion forces to a tiny fraction of their initial strength and triggered a major shift in European politics as it dramatically weakened French hegemony in Europe...

 has far-reaching consequences for Pierre and the Rostov and Bolkonsky families.

The twenty-part serial was produced by David Conroy. His aim was to transfer the characters and plot from Tolstoy's magnum opus to television drama to run for 15 hours (actually closer to 17). Scripted by Jack Pulman

Jack Pulman

Jack Pulman was an award-winning British television screenwriter, most famous for the critically acclaimed 1976 BBC television series, I, Claudius, based on the novel of the same name by Robert Graves....

 and directed by John Davies, Conroy's War and Peace had superb cast, design, and battle sequences, which were filmed in Yugoslavia.

This dramatization differs from previous ones in that it preserves many of Tolstoy's "minor" characters — notably Platon Karataev, played by Harry Locke

Harry Locke

Harry Locke was a British character actor.He was born and died in London. He was a familiar face in three decades of British cinema, with appearances including Passport to Pimlico , Reach for the Sky , Carry On Nurse , The Devil-Ship Pirates and The Family Way .In 1969 he appeared in Randall...

.

DVD release

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.

Cast List

• Anthony Hopkins
  Anthony Hopkins
  Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins, KBE , best known as Anthony Hopkins, is a Welsh actor of film, stage and television...
  
  —Pierre Bezukhov
  Pierre Bezukhov
  Count Pyotr "Pierre" Kirillovich Bezukhov is a central fictional character in Leo Tolstoy's novel War and Peace. He is the favourite of several illegitimate sons of the wealthy nobleman Count Kirill Vladimirovich Bezukhov.-Description:...
  
  
• Alan Dobie
  Alan Dobie
  Alan Russell Dobie , is a British actor.Dobie was born in Wombwell, Yorkshire, England, to George Russell and Sarah Kate Dobie. His father was a mining engineer and his mother's family were farmers. He was married to actress Rachel Roberts from 1955-61 then married Maureen Scott in 1963...
  
  —Andrey Nikolayevich Bolkonsky
  Andrey Nikolayevich Bolkonsky
  Prince Andrei Nikolaevich Bolkonsky is a fictional character in Leo Tolstoy's novel War and Peace....
  
  
• Morag Hood
  Morag Hood
  Morag Hood was a Scottish actress described by many commentators as "a celebrated beauty," who featured in numerous British programmes, stage productions, and audio presentations from the 1960s up to the late 1990s....
  
  —Natasha Rostova
  Natasha Rostova
  Countess Natalya "Natasha" Ilyinichna Rostova is a central fictional character in Leo Tolstoy's novel War and Peace.-Biography:...
  
  
• Angela Down—Maria Bolkonskaya
• Faith Brook
  Faith Brook
  Faith Brook is an English actress who has appeared on stage, in films and on television.Her father was the actor Clive Brook, and her brother Lyndon Brook was also an actor. Her first credited film appearance was The Jungle Book in 1942...
  
  —Countess Rostova
• David Swift—Napoleon Bonaparte
  Napoleon I
  Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
  
  
• Frank Middlemass
  Frank Middlemass
  Francis George Middlemass was an English actor, who even in his early career played older roles. He is best remembered for his television roles as Rocky Hardcastle in As Time Goes By, Algy Herries in To Serve Them All My Days and Dr. Alex Ferrenby in Heartbeat...
  
  —Mikhail Kutuzov
• Sylvester Morand
  Sylvester Morand
  Sylvester Morand is a British actor, best known for his role as Nikolai Rostov in the BBC's 1973 dramatisation of War and Peace. He lives in West Hampstead, London, his brother, Timothy Morand lives nearby and is also an actor. He is also a stage actor....
  
  —Nikolai Rostov
  Nikolai Rostov
  Count Nikolai Ilyitch Rostov is a character in Leo Tolstoy's novel War and Peace.-Brief background:...
  
  
• Joanna David
  Joanna David
  Joanna David is a British actress, best known for her television work.She was born in Lancaster, England. Her first major television role was as Elinor Dashwood in the BBC's 1971 dramatisation of Sense and Sensibility followed a year later in War and Peace, in which she played Sonya...
  
  —Sonya Rostova
  Sonya Rostova
  Sonya Rostova is a character in Leo Tolstoy's 1869 novel War and Peace, and in Sergey Prokofiev's 1955 opera War and Peace based on it. She is the orphaned niece of Count and Countess Rostov....
  
  
• Harry Locke
  Harry Locke
  Harry Locke was a British character actor.He was born and died in London. He was a familiar face in three decades of British cinema, with appearances including Passport to Pimlico , Reach for the Sky , Carry On Nurse , The Devil-Ship Pirates and The Family Way .In 1969 he appeared in Randall...
  
  —Platon Karataev
• Donald Douglas
  Donald Douglas (actor)
  Donald Douglas is a Scottish actor who has appeared in films and many well known television shows including Doctor Who, Blake's 7, and The Avengers....
  
  -Tsar Alexander I of Russia
• John Cazabon
  John Cazabon
  John F Cazabon was an Australian actor born in Hertford, England.His parents were Albert Cazabon , a noted violinist and from 1927–36 musical director of Prince Edward Theatre orchestra and Mrs Albert Cazabon , a professional actor born in Australia, who became active again with Pickwick Theatre...
  
  —Barclay de Tolly
  Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly
  Prince Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly , was a Russian Field Marshal and Minister of War during Napoleon's invasion in 1812 and War of the Sixth Coalition.-Early life:...
  
  
• Fiona Gaunt
  Fiona Gaunt
  Fiona Gaunt is an English actress, and the mother of child actress Genevieve Gaunt. -Personal life:...
  
  —Helene Kuragin
  Helene Kuragin
  Elena "Hélène" Vasilyevna Kuragina is a fictional character in Leo Tolstoy's novel War and Peace and its various cinematic adaptations.-Biography:...
  
  , married to Pierre Bezukhov
• Anthony Jacobs—Prince Nikolay Bolkonsky, father of Andrey Bolkonsky
• Athene Fielding—Mademoiselle Bourienne
• Barnaby Shaw and Rufus Frampton—Petya Rostov
  Petya Rostov
  Count Pyotr "Petya" Ilyich Rostov is a character in Leo Tolstoy's novel War and Peace. The youngest member of the Rostov family, Petya is initially a minor character, however towards the end of the novel Petya's importance to the plot increases as he joins the Russian army in their defence...
  
  
• Peter Bathurst—Pfuhl
• Morris Perry
  Morris Perry
  Morris Perry is an English actor, best known for his roles on television.Perry was born in Bromley, Kent, England. Credits include: The Avengers, Z-Cars, Champion House, The Champions, The Persuaders!, Doctor Who , Special Branch, The Sweeney, Survivors, The Professionals, Secret Army,...
  
  —Joseph Fouché
  Joseph Fouché
  Joseph Fouché, 1st Duc d'Otrante was a French statesman and Minister of Police under Napoleon Bonaparte. In English texts his title is often translated as Duke of Otranto.-Youth:Fouché was born in Le Pellerin, a small village near Nantes...
  
  
• Geoffrey Morris—Napoleon's secretary
• Michael Gover
  Michael Gover
  Michael Gover is an English actor, born in 1918 in Denmark, now living in Dorset, England, he is best known for his portrayal of Arthur Russell in the BBC television series Survivors....
  
  —General Balashev
• Toby Bridge—young Nikolenka Bolkonski
• Neil Stacy—Boris Drubetskoy
• Anne Blake—Princess Drubetskoya
• Gary Watson
  Gary Watson
  Gary Watson is a retired British television actor who started out as a stage actor most notably acting in Friedrich Hebbel's 1962 play Judith at Her Majesty's Theatre in London, England with Sean Connery...
  
  —Denisov
• Donald Burton
  Donald Burton
  Donald Burton was an English theatre and television actor. Burton was the husband of actress Carroll Baker....
  
  —Dolokhov
• Tony Steedman
  Tony Steedman
  Tony Steedman was an English character actor, perhaps best known for his role as Socrates in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure....
  
  —Marshal Davout
• Joseph Wise
  Joseph Wise
  Joseph Wise was a farmer and political figure in Prince Edward Island. He represented 2nd Queens in the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island from 1886 to 1890 and from 1893 to 1900 as a Liberal member....
  
  —Russian officer
• Colin Baker
  Colin Baker
  Colin Baker is a British actor who is known for playing Paul Merroney in The Brothers from 1974 to 1976 and as the sixth incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running science fiction television series Doctor Who, from 1984 to 1986.- Background:Colin Baker was born in London, but moved north to...
  
  —Anatole Kuragin
  Anatole Vassilitch Kuragin
  Anatole Vassilitch Kuragin is a fictional character in Leo Tolstoy's novel War and Peace, its various cinematic adaptations, and an operatic adaptation as well. Anatole is Helene Kuragin's brother and a wild-living soldier. It is rumoured that he has had an incestuous affair with his sister, and...
  
  
• Basil Henson
  Basil Henson
  Basil Henson was a British actor. Henson had a lengthy career on stage and television. His stage performances included a number of parts in Shakespeare productions, including once opposite Dustin Hoffman...
  
  —Prince Vasili Kuragin
• Josie Kidd—Katishe
• James Appleby—German adjutant
• Gerard Hely—Prince Murat
  Joachim Murat
  Joachim-Napoléon Murat , Marshal of France and Grand Admiral or Admiral of France, 1st Prince Murat, was Grand Duke of Berg from 1806 to 1808 and then King of Naples from 1808 to 1815...
  
  
• Michael Billington
  Michael Billington (actor)
  Michael Billington was a popular British film and television actor....
  
  —Lt. Berg
• Will Leighton—Tikhon
• Patricia Shakesby
  Patricia Shakesby
  Patricia Shakesby is an English actress, best known for her role as Polly Urquhart in Howards' Way....
  
  —Vera Rostova, married to Berg
• Alison Frazer—Princess Lisa Bolkonskya
• Richard Hurndall
  Richard Hurndall
  Richard Gibbon Hurndall was an English actor.-BBC radio:Hurndall was born in Darlington and he attended Claremont Preparatory School, Darlington and Scarborough College, before training as an actor at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. He then appeared in several plays at Stratford-upon-Avon...
  
  —Count Rostopchin
• John Breslin—Marshal Berthier
  Louis Alexandre Berthier
  Louis Alexandre Berthier, 1st Prince de Wagram, 1st Duc de Valangin, 1st Sovereign Prince de Neuchâtel , was a Marshal of France, Vice-Constable of France beginning in 1808, and Chief of Staff under Napoleon.-Early life:Alexandre was born at Versailles to Lieutenant-Colonel Jean Baptiste Berthier ,...
  
  
• Pat Gorman
  Pat Gorman
  This article is about the British actor. For the American actor, see Patrick Gorman.Pat Gorman is a British actor who, despite never appearing in a starring role, appeared in minor roles in a large number of films and television productions, including The Elephant Man and I, Claudius.He appeared in...
  
  —French Sergeant
• Philip Lowrie
  Philip Lowrie
  Colin Philip Lowrie is an English television actor. He played Dennis Tanner, the son of Elsie Tanner in Coronation Street, from 1960 until 1968. On 25 January 2011, it was announced that he would return to the role, reappearing on screen later in the year...
  
  —French Captain
• Edmund Bailey—Prokofy
• Hugh Cross—Mitenka
• Richard Poore—French messenger
• Barbara Young
  Barbara Young (actor)
  Barbara Young is an English actress. She is probably best known for her role as the future Emperor Nero's mother, Agrippinilla, in the landmark 1976 BBC serial I, Claudius....
  
  —Anna Scherer
• Karin MacCarthy—Julie Karagin
• Maurice Quick—Pavel
• Roy Spencer
  Roy Spencer (actor)
  Roy Spencer is a British actor and special effects technician who was born in Heanor, Derbyshire, but grew up in Eastwood, Nottinghamshire.Spencer has appeared in several films and TV shows, including two roles in Doctor Who, as Manyak in The Ark and as Frank Harris in Fury from the Deep.He also...
  
  —Timohin
• Hubert Cross—Gen. Rapp
• Geoffrey Denton—Host
• Tenniel Evans
  Tenniel Evans
  -Family:Walter Tenniel Evans was born in Nairobi, Kenya. His middle name derived from the illustrator Sir John Tenniel, a distant relation. His daughter, Serena Evans, is an actress, and his son, Matthew, is a television director....
  
  —Prince Bagration
• Gordon Faith—Galitsyn
• John Lawrence—Anna's guest
• Judith Pollard—Olga
• Edith Sharpe—Madame Scherer
• Tony Caunter
  Tony Caunter
  Anthony Peter "Tony" Caunter is a British actor best known for his role as Jack Shepherd in the Yorkshire TV sitcom Queenie's Castle and also his portrayal of Roy Evans in EastEnders from 1994-2003....
  
  —French Corporal
• Erik Chitty
  Erik Chitty
  Erik Chitty , was an English film and television actor.-Early life:Chitty was the son of a flour miller. He attended Dover College and Jesus College, Cambridge where he was one of the founders of the Cambridge University Mummers, before training at RADA and becoming a professional actor...
  
  —Gerasim

See also

• War and Peace (1956 film)
  War and Peace (1956 film)
  War and Peace is the first English-language film version of the novel War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. It is an American/Italian version, directed by King Vidor and produced by Dino De Laurentiis and Carlo Ponti. The music score was by Nino Rota and the cinematography by Jack Cardiff...
  
  , version directed by King Vidor
  King Vidor
  King Wallis Vidor was an American film director, film producer, and screenwriter whose career spanned nearly seven decades...
  
  
• War and Peace (1968 film)
  War and Peace (1968 film)
  War and Peace is a Soviet-produced film adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's novel War and Peace. Sergei Bondarchuk directed the film, co-wrote the screenplay and also acted in the lead role of Pierre. It was produced over a seven year period and released in four parts between 1965 and...
  
  , Soviet-produced version, directed by Sergei Bondarchuk
  Sergei Bondarchuk
  Sergei Fedorovich Bondarchuk was a Soviet film director, screenwriter, and actor.- Biography :Born in Belozerka, in the Kherson Governorate, Sergei Bondarchuk spent his childhood in the cities of Yeysk and Taganrog, graduating from the Taganrog School Number 4 in 1938. His first performance as an...