#97: 10 Reasons to watch the BBC War & Peace

Hello readers,

For those of you in the US, I hope you had a happy Thanksgiving!

I read War and Peace with The Big Read last year and had a memorable experience reading the daily chapter and weekly email. I was in awe of Tolstoy’s ability to scale from intimate scenes between characters to epic battle scenes. Since I’m always thinking about how literature will translate to the screen, I wondered if an adaptation could possibly capture the magic of the novel.

Well, I’m here to tell you that the 2016 BBC series does! I loved it. Below are ten reasons why I think the series is worth your time.

1. It’s affordable and available

If you don’t mind ads, you can watch free on Amazon Prime. I purchased all eight episodes for only $7 and have not regretted it. If you prefer renting, you can do so for $3. Either way, the bang exceeds the buck.

2. It feels like a classic British drama

If you’re a fan of British period pieces such as The Crown or a Jane Austen adaptation, you’ll love this. The lead actors are all British except for Paul Dano, who gamely adopts a British accent. As a BBC production, this was to be expected. There are subtle Russian influences in the music and dance scenes, but most scenes are Brits in a room talking.¹

3. Clocks in at a lean 6 hour, 20 minute runtime

For those of you who spent all year reading the book, this will feel like a blip in time. Each episode is well-paced and ended on a dramatic moment that had me pressing “Play” on the next episode. The eight episodes flew by and I wanted more.

4. Writer Andrew Davies

Davies expertly adapted the 1,000+ pages into a 6-hour series. With decades in the business, he's a rock star of British dramas and adaptations.² His dialogue felt natural — never too stuffy nor too modern.

Director Tom Harper, cinematographer George Steel, and the production, set, and costume design crews brought everything to life. This show had stunning shots and a contemporary sheen while remaining grounded in its 19th century time and place.

5. TV-14 depiction of war

The scenes of war are epic and convey its senseless insanity without over-the-top violence. You could show this to middle or high school students without reservation.

6. Lily James as Natasha

She captured the joy, innocence, vulnerability, and even whininess of Natasha perfectly. She stole every scene she was in and made it easy to believe that Andrei could fall in love at first sight. Pierre calls Natasha “a treasure” and that applies to the actress as well.

7. Paul Dano as Pierre

Another scene stealer, I can’t think of a more perfect casting choice for Pierre. He portrays the early fuddy duddy nature of Pierre almost too perfectly and then mastered the almost imperceptible growth of the character over each episode. He was magnificent.

8. Pronunciations

Want to know if you’ve been mispronouncing names like Bezukhov and Kutuzov in your head all year? Watch the show! Add subtitles to go the extra mile.

9. The music!

The music was, hands down, my favorite part of the experience. I had never heard of Martin Phipps, but he’s been doing music for The Crown since season 3. His soundtrack utilized the Latvian Radio Choir, which to my untrained ear sounded very Russian. It was evocative and did what great music always does: delivered the emotional punch. Natasha and Andrei’s dance in Episode 4 was an especially stand-out scene.

10. You’ll appreciate the novel all over again

I came away from this series with a renewed appreciation for the book. It’s an exceedingly human story that is big and expansive, but at the same time small and intimate.

If you’ve read the novel, you know Tolstoy often steps away from the characters to deliver a bit of philosophy or discuss war theories. The TV series cut all that, but still allowed some of Tolstoy’s ideas to “emerge through the characters,” as Davies explains in this fun interview from 2016.

Non-readers who watch the series will understand what War and Peace is about and hopefully want to read it!

Let me know what you think of the BBC version or if you’ve seen any other War and Peace adaptation, I’d love to hear your thoughts.³

Thanks for reading,

Kyle

1. Please don’t misunderstand: I’m not saying it’s good because it doesn’t feel Russian. I’d be happy to watch a more Russian adaptation, like the one directed by Sergei Bondarchuk.

2. His writing credits include the beloved 1995 Pride & Prejudice and 2001’s Bridget Jones’ Diary.

3. I learned too late that Sergei Bondarchuk’s version is streaming on HBO Max. It’s 7 hours and, according to this Vox article, well worth the watch.