War And Peace
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3.7 • 13 Ratings
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- $7.99
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
A thirty-five strong cast including Leo McKern as Kutuzov, Simon Russell Beale as Pierre Bezuhov, Emily Mortimer as Natasha Rostov and Gerard Murphy as Andrei Bolkonsky, brings all the passion and turbulence of Tolstoy’s epic masterpiece to the airwaves in this unique BBC Radio 4 dramatisation. 'Nine hours of blood-and-thunder period drama on a single disc has to be the best bargain around' - Guardian ‘Excellent special effects and a haunting theme tune make it compulsive listening.’ - Independent
Customer Reviews
It’s Brits! Jolly good, say what?
To be clear, this is not a narration of Tolstoy’s book. It is a British radio drama adaptation of the book — emphasis on British and drama. Character dialogue often included very British and non-Russian phrases, such as, “I say, old chap…,” or, “Good heavens, dear boy.”
And the dramatic passages were voice-acted with zeal worthy of Greek tragedy. Characters didn’t just cry when they were sad; they wailed and sobbed in agony. When characters were angry the actors screamed and raged their lines. It may have fit with the time of release, but it seemed a little over the top for my taste.
Fun presentation
This version is perfect for those who already read War and Peace and looking to casually revisit the story. Thanks to the BBC and performers for putting this together.
If you haven’t read it, then it can still be worthwhile but you should have a list of characters printed out that you can refer to.