War & Peace starring Lily James, Paul Dano & James Norton: Not your grandmother’s period drama

If despite this poster you were expecting a stuffy period drama, this teaser trailer for Tolstoy’s War and Peace seems to be saying you’re on the wrong channel. 

We are the truth

We are forever

We are the youth

We are together

Those are the words of Raury’s “War Pt. 1”, the song that’s pounding in the background of the trailer as provocative images flash by. The words Love, Wealth, Power, repeating on screen and finally, the only dialogue we hear, a voiceover from James Norton’s Prince Andrei as we see him flat on his back in the snow “Everything’s gone wrong and there are a thousand reasons why.”

Aren’t there always?

We get it. This isn’t your grandmother’s period drama! The story of three young aristocrats in 19th century Russia, during the Napoleonic wars, written by Leo Tolstoy in 1869, weighing in at almost 1300 pages, War and Peace is downright modern. 

The four part series, scripted by Andrew Davies (Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice) and directed by Tom Harper, stars Lily James as Natasha, James Norton as Andrei and Paul Dano as Pierre, is set to air on Lifetime, A&E and the History channel on January 18th.

I’ll be watching. You?