Review of War and Peace (1956) by Ela T — 02 Jan 2009

Painful. Gross oversimplification is the primary sin committed here, and at nearly 4 hours, this is one literary adaptation that has no right to oversimplify. The dialogue is uniformly awful and all of the major casting is far off, Hepburn faring the best (although that's relative).

The costumes, cinematography, and sets are lovely, but the film is further sabotaged by atrocious sound. Skip it (and read the book if you've got time).