War and Peace can look intimidating on a library shelf, but this particular version is engaging, fresh and feels nothing like homework. An opportunity to see it in a theater like this doesn't come around often.

Alas, the human stories that Tolstoy told so significantly in the book are sketchy and inconsequential, despite the time devoted to them.

... the film is quite decent (although the script is fairly facile), mostly because the focus is largely on Natasha, and Hepburn brings a grace but also a sexiness to the role that she hadn't yet shown - especially with her scenes with Vittorio Gassman.

The film seems to me to be an acceptable approximation of a great novel -- one that will win thanks for King Vidor from a few hundred thousand new readers.