The bbc's lavish adaptation of the classic novel by leo tolstoy, set in russia in 1805. Starring paul dano, lily james, james norton, jim broadbent, tom burke et al. Adapted by andrew davies and directed by tom harper. The story begins in 1805. Pierre paul dano, natasha lily james, and andrei james norton are all part of st petersburg’s glittering elite, but are still fired up with youthful ambition to find meaning in their lives. Kind hearted but awkward pierre, the illegitimate son of russia’s richest man, wants to change the world for the better. Handsome and gallant andrei, frustrated with the superficiality of his life, seeks a purpose, while the beautiful and spirited natasha is searching for true love. At the same time napoleon’s army edges ever closer to russia’s borders. As everything they thought they knew is questioned, pierre, andrei and natasha find themselves in a time when russian society is about to change forever. Also starring jim broadbent, gillian anderson, stephen rea, brian cox, kenneth cranham, ken stott, aneurin barnard, jessie buckley, tom burke, adrian edmonson, rebecca front, matthieu kassovirz, aisling loftus, jack lowden, tuppence middleton, greta scacchi and callum turner.   what the press said “andrew davies’ reworking of the tolstoy classic was smart storytelling on a truly epic scale” – telegraph “we are living in a new age of the clever costume drama, that’s not only challenging viewers but hooking them in” – telegraph “risqué take on tolstoy looks like being a winner”– independent “this war and peace has everything we need to get us through the winter” – guardian   running time 370 minutes region region 2 subtitles english release date 8 feb. 2016