War and Peace was a made for television dramatization of the Leo Tolstoy novel of the same name. This 20 episode series began airing on September 28, 1972.

The classic BBC dramatisation of Tolstoy's epic story of love and loss set against the backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars. Oscar-winning actor Anthony Hopkins heads the cast as the soul-searching Pierre Bezuhov (a role for which he won the 1972 Best Actor BAFTA); Morag Hood is the impulsive and beautiful Natasha Rostova; Alan Dobie is the dour but heroic Andrei Bolkonsky; and David Swift is Napoleon, whose decision to invade Russia in 1812 has far-reaching consequences for Pierre and the Rostov and Bolkonsky families.

This twenty-part serial was the vision of its producer David Conroy. His aim was to transfer the characters and plot from Tolstoy's magnum opus to television drama to run for fifteen hours. Scripted by Jack Pulman and directed by John Davies, Conroy's WAR AND PEACE boasts superb acting, award-winning design (1972 Best Design BAFTA) and battle sequences which were filmed in the former Yugoslavia.

Partial Cast List

• Producer: David Conroy
• Director: John Davies
• Writer: Jack Pulman
• Actors:
  • Anthony Hopkins – Pierre Bezuhov
  • Alan Dobie – Andrei Bolkonsky
  • Morag Hood – Natasha Rostova
  • Angela Down – Maria Bolkonskaya
  • Faith Brook – Countess Rostova
  • David Swift – Napoleon Bonaparte
  • Frank Middlemass – Mikhail Kutuzov
  • Joanna David – Sonya

See also

• War and Peace for the novel this series was based on

Period piece TV series | Drama television series | BBC television dramas