I only watched the first two episodes, compared my impressions when I read the novel, and said my general feeling.
First of all, I think the BBC's decision to tell the 1300+ page novel of war and peace in just six hours is a huge challenge. What was cut in these six hours? Which ones did you choose? How do modern people view these stories that happened 200 years ago to Russian aristocrats? That's my motivation for watching this drama.
1 Keep the main events, light character building and inner growth
Due to the limited space, the plot in the script is about one-sixth or less of the original book. So the choice of plot and how to present it becomes critical.
From the first two episodes, we can see that the script selected the most important plots in the novel (plots involving life and death, marriage, reunion, etc.). These plot points are still many, and it is difficult to carefully describe the scenes and characters in each scene. The behaviors of different characters shown in the events of the novel are very multifaceted, but the events themselves are trivial matters of life. The treatment of the script is to leave a big plot and insert the foreshadowing. Each scene has a very clear purpose: for example, it expresses a certain character of the character and lays the groundwork for a later plot. This treatment in itself will make the motivations of the characters in the story more clear, good and evil. It is almost inevitable that the characters in the original book will be changed, and even earth-shaking changes.
Take an example from the second episode: Princess Marya.
Marya is described quite in the book, she has a stern and irritable general father, who has been accusing her since childhood, slamming her for being stupid. Marya spends her days in trepidation and fear. The only refuge is religion, but even religious beliefs are ridiculed by her father and brother. However, such a long-suppressed, religiously mad, and extremely conservative girl has the kindness of an angel, and she is as simple as a blank sheet of paper. Seemingly unexpected, yet realistic, that's the subtlety of Toon's characters.
Due to space limitations, many images of marya have been omitted from the play. In the first two episodes, the actor's portrayal of a submissive girl with low self-esteem can be seen to be accurate, but it lacks the shape that the character has long grown up in repression and fear: thin, pale, and unmotivated. This is the appearance and demeanor of a person who has been under mental stress for a long time. Compared to Andre's wife's frail appearance, marya has a healthy wheat-colored complexion, and her muscles are round and powerful, reflecting a physical state of physical and mental health. This is where I think casting can be more accurate.
Regarding the plot, in the second episode, Count Varissy introduced his son Anato to Princess Marya. Anato was found to be having an affair with the "Miss France" in the princess' house. The princess found out, and then rejected Anato and the Count. In this incident, what was deleted from the original book was Princess Marya's motive for refusing: it was actually out of friendship with Miss France, thinking that the two of them truly loved each other, and did not want to break up their true love partners because of their engagement. This motive shows Princess marya's inferiority complex, indifference to the world and kindness with religious temperament. Of course, it would be difficult to translate this content into film and television, but this deletion has greatly changed the image of the characters, making it the "jealousy and resistance" of modern people.
Secondly, about Princess Marya's costume. Under the background of that time, the requirements for the nobility's clothing etiquette were very strict. It can be seen from the previous article that Marya was reprimanded by her father because of her "inappropriate" hairstyle. This section is also presented in the play. In the next few scenes, Marya has been wearing a similar dress to the maid. This kind of clothing can very intuitively show her desirelessness and extreme religiousness, but it is divorced from the fact of her class as a princess, which contradicts the previous condemnation.
There are many examples of clothing and scene modeling in the play.
2. The intuition of casting kimono and changing the way, out of the historical environment
In short, from the first two episodes, one of the core purposes of the creative team is to present an intuitive visualization of the character's character to the audience. In addition to changing the original character of the character, its image will also make the character detached from its social and historical background.
Take a few character settings as an example:
1. Pierre
Pierre's drifting with the crowd is vividly displayed in the play, especially emphasizing the side of love and infatuation, and even in the face of Helen's blatant betrayal, he reflects dullness.
In the book, his drifting with the crowd is brought about by wealth. As one of the richest men in Russia, he is full of ambitions, but he can't help himself in the social activities he is not good at, and gets lost in the countless "compliments" and pandering. His self-control is not strong, but he is not completely lacking in confidence and ideals. Marriage and high society social situations are prisons for him rather than enjoyment, and when he is deeply involved, he fails to recognize this. He is a very realistic and very universal character.
The performance in the play emphasizes his loss while downplaying the setting and atmosphere. His infatuation with Helen further downplayed the setting that he was lost among "a group of people". One of the most subversive is his confidence and confidence as a rich man.
2. Helen
The charm of Helen in the book lies not only in her beauty, but also in her strong social skills. Especially after getting a lot of wealth after marriage, she further became the most dazzling hostess in various social occasions. She is surrounded by the most wise men in Russia; at her banquets, the most influential celebrities from all walks of life in Russia are often gathered. It can be seen that Helen's wisdom is not owned by ordinary people. And this mass of social life is Pierre's siege, and the estrangement between husband and wife speaks for itself. Helen's betrayal is not clearly pointed out in the book, but the frequent presence of visitors and the setting of the general environment make the betrayal have a certain basis for speculation.
In order to emphasize Helen's infatuation, the play does not hesitate to add explicit plots. At the dinner table she wore a Victoria's Secret-style cut-out top, as well as a series of flirtatious words and actions, which was startling. Pierre is repeatedly publicly humiliated by the cheaters, making his character even weaker. Even Princess Marya would have left the table angrily the first time she saw them flirting at the dinner table.
In addition, in the plot of the gathering of people, Pierre in the book experienced a long period of unrepentant suspicion and thinking, and preemptively provoked a rival in love. Is this guess true? Did Helen cheat? Is this duel stupid? are all suspicious. In the play, the rival in love publicly provoked Pierre in front of everyone, which was embarrassing.
modern and classic background
I think the setting of the characters' behavior in the play is more in line with the behavior and language habits of modern people, especially the common people. There are the following differences:
1. Etiquette, Traditions and Restraints
The description of the aristocratic life in the book is "boring but vivid", and the boring lies in its complicated and cumbersome etiquette, various social occasions and various clothing (fashion) carefully selected. Singing, listening to operas, talking at parties, talking about marriage after the daughter is of age, and talking about the consideration of the other's family wealth when getting married. It's not the "wicked" who get married for money, and a big, kind family that is on the verge of bankruptcy will also consider choosing a rich man's son-in-law. Pierre was initially rejected by the upper class precisely because of his "ignorance of etiquette", but this problem was solved by a huge inheritance.
This big environment is not fully represented in the series.
However, even in such a restrictive, traditional setting, everyone still has vivid joy, sorrow, resistance and break free. There are still people (Pierre) who don't care about money, there are still people (Sonya) who are willing to rebel against their parents to pursue love... People still have their own pursuits. This is the preciousness of humanistic spirit.
2. Reputation
In the book, the princes and nobles attach importance to reputation and "decency", which cannot be seen in many people in the play.
3. Rhythm
The pace of the adaptation is interesting. Spend a lot of time rendering emotions from the perspective of the parties at a certain moment, and go very quickly when it comes to the development of the plot. When it comes to life and death matters, there is a sense of running accounts.
In terms of films that reflect a similar era, I think Kubrick's Barry Lyndon has a good pacing. He used three hours to talk about most of a person's life experience. In the part of aristocratic life, he rendered his ritual atmosphere and "slow" life rhythm, and even from the current perspective, the unaccustomed "slow" .
3. Plot selection and its impact on character relationships
Regarding Andre's war, his doubts about the war and his thoughts about his wife are mentioned in the play, which can be seen as a preparation for the regret of his wife's death later. Strictly speaking, this is not inaccurate, but the character relationships and psychological activities it expresses are different from those in the book.
In the book, after sending the letter, he chose to risk his return to the battlefield regardless of the retention of his diplomats and friends, and he was always on the front line when he returned to the army. When he fell next to the flag, he saw the incomparably beautiful and deep sky, out of the satisfaction of completing the mission, which was emphasized again in the period when he was deeply depressed and lost his ideals. In the book, there are more than one descriptions of "the sky seen by the soldiers after they were hit and fell to the ground", as well as Nicholas's nostalgia for life in the barracks. One has to wonder whether the pure ideals on the battlefield, the oath of allegiance to the Tsar, are more satisfying from a human point of view than the peaceful dance and endless socializing in Moscow.
At last
Since I read the book first, I have a specific imagination of the characters and their world, so watching the show is harsh. This article is not to criticize the failure of the BBC's adaptation, nor to deny the efforts of the crew and creators. From the production point of view, this is a film and television work that is very smooth and good at evoking the emotions of the audience. The selection of the original lines is also subtle. In the face of such a grand novel, it is very difficult to tell everything well, especially in only 6 hours. If the comments are too radical, I hope netizens point out.
The purpose of sharing these thoughts is that I want to share the content of the novel. Under such huge cuts and changes, the series still tells an extremely complex and moving story, which shows the complexity of the world in the novel.
If you are interested, I am also willing to update and share more comparisons of novels and episodes to help you understand this great story.
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