It was an era of epics as Hollywood utilised widescreen techniques to compete with the growing threat of television, and Tolstoy's 1869 literary masterpiece War and Peace was the ultimate epic, set against the Napoleonic invasion of Russia. The naïve, waif-like heroine Natasha Rostov could have been written for Audrey Hepburn - producers Carlo Ponti and Dino De Laurentis secured her for the role by shrewdly offering the part of love interest Prince Andrei to her husband Mel Ferrer, with Henry Fonda as hero Pierre and King Vidor to direct. The lavish production, shot at Rome's Cinecittà Studios, required eight scriptwriters, 15,000 Italian soldiers, 8,000 horses, 3,000 cannons, 5,000 rifles and 7,000 costumes. Although the resulting three hour spectacular received positive reviews overall, the $6 million production was not a financial success. The New York Herald Tribune declared Audrey's Natasha the best feminine performance of the year. Director Vidor agreed, insisting One thing is for certain, Audrey is Natasha. She is fresh out of the book. I know of no other actress who could have played that part.

These prints were likely used for hair and make up continuity reference. Alberto de Rossi was Audrey's make up artist on War and Peace and remained so throughout her career, with his wife Grazia as her hair stylist. In An Elegant Spirit, Sean Hepburn Ferrer revealed Alberto is really the one who created the legendary Hepburn eyes in a slow process of applying mascara and then separating each lash with a safety pin. Audrey herself once admitted ...all the credit belongs to Alberto.

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