Война и мир (1966-67)
aka War and Peace
Bondarchuk's adaptation of Tolstoy's massive novel is certainly epic. As a whole, I liked it, but it's not without its issues.
Part I is the weakest of the bunch. It's almost an hour longer than any other part, but it still fails to properly introduce the characters. The pacing is all over the place, and the result is quite confusing at times. Part II is much more focused. Despite being slow, its pacing works much better. It also doesn't hurt that it's centered around two of the best-acted characters, Andrei and Natasha.
Part III is the most epic of the individual films. It's also very tightly paced and has the least fluff of all the parts. The war sequences are a sight to behold. Part IV is more like an epilogue, concentrating on cities in flames and lives ruined. Again, the scenes in burning Moscow are hellishly beautiful. The way the Russians are portrayed gets a bit out of hand toward the end (almost a nation of saints).
Technically
War and Peace is surprisingly clunky at times (like the poorly made overhead tracking shot in the ball in Part II, I think), and at the same time, it does a marvelous job with its massive battles. Acting is uneven as well (I really didn't like Bondarchuk's work in front of the camera), but that's something I've come to expect from Russian cinema. Settings and costumes look great, and they help in making the film eye-candy too.
I haven't read the book, but I guess it's safe to assume that there have been changes to appease the Soviet authorities. There's nothing too bothersome, though. The specifics about the war campaign, especially in the last film, are left extremely vague and, at least to me, give a somewhat false impression of the events. Many of the philosophical narrations feel out of place. I think seven hours is too short, and many of the issues could have been fixed by adding a part or two.
Overall, a good film. Not going to make my foreign language ballot, though.