War and Peace (1966)

War and Peace (1968) is an eight-hour epic film based on the eponymous book by Leo Tolstoy. Two main story-lines are complex and intertwined. One is the love story of young Countess Natasha Rostova and Count Pierre Bezukhov, who is unhappy in his marriage. Another is the "Great Patriotic War" of 1812 against the invading Napoleon's Armies. The people of Russia from all classes of society stand up united against the enemy. Napoleon's armies take Moscow only after Russians burned the entire city. Napoleon cannot spend the coldest winter in the old Russian capital, even in it's fortress - Kremlin. Russians besiege the invaders in Moscow by sealing all roads and cutting supplies. Napoleon's massive army becomes exhausted, and many of his troops are deserting to Russians for survival. Napoleon gets defeated after causing terrible losses to both sides. Peace comes at a very high price. Russian society is changed by the war. Pierre Bezukhov returns from the war a mature man. He separates from his manipulative wife Helene. Now he devotes his love to the beautiful and sincere Countess Natasha Rostova.