Guerra e Paz - Pierre Bezukhov

War and Peace Part IV, Pierre Bezukhov, might as well be called the "Fire and Ice Edition" given the prominence of the depiction of the great Fire of Moscow as well as some great (but unfortunately brief) shots of "General Winter." Like Part III, the spectacle is grand and sweeping: According to The Criterion Collection, the fire scene had to be planned for 10 months and shot with helicopters and six ground-level cameras. If no one got killed making that scene, that's an achievement.

Aside from the sheer elaborateness of the production, director Sergei Bondarchuk once again justifies this with artistic vision: Even the shots of Napoleon looking over his conquered Moscow (pre-fire) are impressive and inspiring. The shot of Napoleon riding out of Russia are dynamic but moody and convey that sense of despair and defeat. The end cinematography of the Russian landscape is great, though it's a direct callback from Part I. Andrei's dream sequences are also artistically masterful.

Part IV is short by itself while covering a lot, but it still wraps things up a satisfying note. It captures that homecoming feeling after a war; Pierre seeing the grown Natasha (with flashbacks to their memories of each other), has that "V-J Day in Times Square" kissing sailor image written all over it. The full seven-hour experience can leave any viewer feeling exhausted but mightily impressed.