Line #13 Series/WarAndPeace2016


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7	->''"We must live. You know, we must love. And we must believe that there's more to it all than our lives on this scrap of earth."''
8	-->-- '''Pierre Bezukhov'''
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10	The 2016 miniseries adaptation of Creator/LeoTolstoy's ''Literature/WarAndPeace'' by Creator/TheBBC. This is the network's second television adaptation of the novel, following [[Series/WarAndPeace1972 one in 1972]]. It was written by Andrew Davies and directed by Tom Harper.
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12	Like the novel, the series follows a group of interconnected Russian nobles at the time of UsefulNotes/TheNapoleonicWars. Pierre Bezukhov (Creator/PaulDano), the illegitimate son of Russia's richest man who inherits his old man's wealth, wants to change the world for the better. Andrei Bolkonsky (Creator/JamesNorton) feels trapped by high society and searches for higher purpose. Natasha Rostova (Creator/LilyJames) yearns for true love. Natasha's brother Nikolai (Creator/JackLowden) signs up for the army, leaving his childhood sweetheart and cousin Sonya (Aisling Loftus). Andrei also joins the military, bidding goodbye to his lonely sister Marya (Creator/JessieBuckley), who is caring for their ailing father (Creator/JimBroadbent). Meanwhile, Pierre marries the beautiful yet mercurial Hélène Kuragina (Creator/TuppenceMiddleton), and finds himself unhappy; Hélène's rakish older brother Anatole (Creator/CallumTurner) sets his sights on Natasha. And UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte is slowly advancing towards Russia, threatening political and social instability...
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15	!!In addition to tropes inherited from the novel, this show exhibits examples of:
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17	* AdaptationDyeJob: Natasha, Nikolai, and Lise are described as dark-haired, but are blonde in this adaptation. Conversely, Anatole, Boris, and Dolokhov go from blonde in the novel to dark-haired here.
18	* AdaptationalAttractiveness: Princess Marya, described in the book as plain but played by the pretty Jessie Buckley.
19	* AdaptedOut: Some characters (such as Marya Dmitriyevna Akhrosimova, aunt to the Rostovs) and minor subplots (such as Andrei meeting Napoleon) are cut out.
20	* AnachronismStew: Several of the [[GorgeousPeriodDress gorgeous period dresses]] shown in the film are historically inaccurate to the time period.
21	* AlasPoorVillain: Despite all that she's done, the viewer still feels deeply for Helene when she becomes pregnant thanks to an extra-marital affair, is utterly shunned by St. Petersburg society, [[spoiler: and either mistakenly takes too much abortifacient or deliberately commits suicide.]] Upon learning of this, Pierre acknowledges the [[spoiler: tragedy of her dying alone]].
22	* BabiesEverAfter: In the happy FoodEnd set some time after the horrors of 1812, [[spoiler:Pierre/Natasha and Nikolai/Marya]] are loving parents to their young children, and [[spoiler:Natasha is holding her and Pierre's baby]].
23	* BrotherSisterIncest: Flat-out shown in this version, where Anatole comes in to wake Helene up, then climbs into bed with her.
24	-->'''Helene''': "Oh, that feels nice, do that again."
25	* DanceOfRomance: Andrei and Natasha participate in a dance at a ball, which confirms their attraction and is in fact intercut with scenes of their future courtship.
26	* DidntThinkThisThrough: Helene desperately pretends that nothing is wrong, even though she's pregnant with a baby that she can't even ''try'' to claim was fathered by Pierre, and she's clearly starting to show. This is only exacerbated by the fact she's frantically trying to get her marriage to Pierre annulled and marry one of her other lovers. So, ''what'' does she wear to Anna Pavlovna's party? A practically see-through dress, which lets everyone spot her baby bump. She's snubbed and ridiculed by the other guests -- even including Boris Drubetskoy, her former lover -- and Anna naturally tells her to leave straight away, asking why she even came.
27	* DiesWideOpen: [[spoiler: Andrei]] dies with eyes open. Natasha closes them.
28	* EtherealWhiteDress: Just before [[spoiler:she commits suicide, Helene]] walks through a hallway wearing a sheer-ish white gown. [[spoiler:She kills herself by overdosing on an abortifacient, so the red blood around her legs stands out against the white of her sheets and dress.]]
29	* ExpositoryHairstyleChange: To show Natasha going from teenagerhood to adulthood: she has ChildishBangs that she grows out as an adult.
30	* FoodEnd: The brief DistantEpilogue shown has Pierre, Natasha, Marya, and Nikolai enjoy a picnic with their households (including Sonya) and children.
31	* HalfTheManHeUsedToBe: The soldier who accompanies Pierre to the ammunition cart at Borodino is promptly blown up, resulting in Pierre crying over the top half of his body.
32	* IRejectYourReality: Helen is evidently pregnant with a child that she can't even ''try'' to claim was fathered by Pierre and which she's trying to abort -- but in her determination to pretend nothing's wrong, she turns up to a social gathering wearing a sheer dress that allows everyone to see her baby bump. She's snubbed and ridiculed by the other guests (including Boris Drubetskoy, her former lover) and Anna Pavlovna naturally tells her to leave straight away, asking why she even came.
33	* TheQueensLatin: It's a British production, so everyone speaks The Queen's Russian.
34	* ReallyDeadMontage: As [[spoiler:Andrei dies]] we get a montage of him and his loved ones before cutting back to his corpse.
35	* SceneryPorn: Moscow and St. Petersburg are shot beautifully, as are the many scenes in the Russian countryside.
36	* TimeshiftedActor: A different actor plays Petya Rostov as a child and as a teen. Same for Andrei's son Nikolai in the series proper and in the epilogue.
37	* WarIsHell: Pierre is a firsthand witness to the Battle of Borodino and the French occupation of Moscow in the aftermath -- he seens a lot of gore, torture, and needless death.
38	* WinterWarfare: Other Russian military figures want to fight back against the French after they take Moscow, but Kutuzov is adamant on doing nothing -- he correctly predicts that the harsh winter will drive them out. Pierre is one of the prisoners of war forced to walk through the snow in the aftermath, but [[spoiler:he is rescued by his frenemy Dolokhov.]]

Context Series / WarAndPeace2016