Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace

Tuesday 8/10/2004 10:00 PM ET, 3 hrs 30 min
TCM - Turner Classic Movies

(3 stars out of 4)

Tolstoy's sprawling classic about Tsarist Russia under attack by the
Napoleonic armies. Directed by King Vidor. Audrey Hepburn, Henry
Fonda, Mel Ferrer. Anatole: Vittorio Gassman. Platon: John Mills.
Helene: Anita Ekberg. Kutuzov: Oscar Homolka. Napoleon: Herbert Lom.
(1956)

Audrey Hepburn, Henry Fonda, Mel Ferrer, Vittorio Gassman

---

Catch this movie tonight if you can.

What's interesting about Napoleon's invasion of Russia is that this
was a crisis war for Napoleon and France, but it was a mid-cycle war
for Russia.

Napoleon was very aggressive, but Russia fought the war very
passively, eventually evacuating Moscow and letting Napoleon's army
take the city without a fight. This was Napoleon's undoing, however,
as his army gorged on Moscow, and lost all discipline. As Moscow
burned and the French retreated back to Europe, the Russians shot them
like fish in a barrel, destroying Napoleon's army.

The book War and Peace is considered by many to be the
greatest novel of all time. Hopefully the movie will convey some of
the mastery of the book.

Sincerely,

John

John J. Xenakis
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com


"In historic events, the so-called great men are labels giving
names to events, and like labels they have but the smallest
connection with the event itself."

-- Lev Tolstoy, in War and Peace

Originally Posted by John J. Xenakis

Napoleon was very aggressive, but Russia fought the war very passively, eventually evacuating Moscow and letting Napoleon's army take the city without a fight. This was Napoleon's undoing, however, as his army gorged on Moscow, and lost all discipline. As Moscow burned and the French retreated back to Europe, the Russians shot them like fish in a barrel, destroying Napoleon's army.

This is how Russians win. The country has way more space than people to sacrifice, and the locals tend to be much better equipped for the climate. Flying over, I was baffled as to how anyone could ever think they would conquer the place. Whole armies (to say nothing of partisans) could disappear into the woods scant miles away from the cities, and not only constantly harass the invading forces, but irreversably, and without much effort, sever supply lines. One loses a lot of respect for Napoleon as a commander, seeing what he charged his armies into.

And yet the Mongols did conquer Russia, so it's not impossible.

Did the Swedes, French, or Germans realize just how large the country is before invading?

Originally Posted by John J. Xenakis

Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace

Tuesday 8/10/2004 10:00 PM ET, 3 hrs 30 min
TCM - Turner Classic Movies

(3 stars out of 4)

Tolstoy's sprawling classic about Tsarist Russia under attack by the
Napoleonic armies. Directed by King Vidor. Audrey Hepburn, Henry
Fonda, Mel Ferrer. Anatole: Vittorio Gassman. Platon: John Mills.
Helene: Anita Ekberg. Kutuzov: Oscar Homolka. Napoleon: Herbert Lom.
(1956)

Audrey Hepburn, Henry Fonda, Mel Ferrer, Vittorio Gassman

---

Catch this movie tonight if you can.

What's interesting about Napoleon's invasion of Russia is that this
was a crisis war for Napoleon and France, but it was a mid-cycle war
for Russia.

Napoleon was very aggressive, but Russia fought the war very
passively, eventually evacuating Moscow and letting Napoleon's army
take the city without a fight. This was Napoleon's undoing, however,
as his army gorged on Moscow, and lost all discipline. As Moscow
burned and the French retreated back to Europe, the Russians shot them
like fish in a barrel, destroying Napoleon's army.

The book War and Peace is considered by many to be the
greatest novel of all time. Hopefully the movie will convey some of
the mastery of the book.

Sincerely,

John

John J. Xenakis
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com


"In historic events, the so-called great men are labels giving
names to events, and like labels they have but the smallest
connection with the event itself."

-- Lev Tolstoy, in War and Peace

Get the Rooskie version of this story on the 4 disc DVD director's cut "Vojna i mir" with English, Russian, or French. I saw this on two consecutive days in the late 1960's and the over 500 minute version now available gives dimension as to the size of the whole epic story. It would be great on a big screen at some art house if possible. The DVD may not be up to snuff say reviews at Amazon.