For King Vidor"s 1956 filming of Tolstoy"s epic, Nino Rota, already revered for his work on the films of Federico Fellini and who would go on to compose the Oscar-winning music for the first two parts of The Godfather trilogy, provides a suitably dramatic and romantic score that pays homage to the music of Tchaikovsky. The film is a truly sumptuous spectacle, thanks to the radiance of the young Audrey Hepburn (who plays Natasha) and the contribution of veteran cinematographer Jack Cardiff - widely hailed as a genius in the field after his work on the Powell and Pressburger masterpieces A Matter of Life and Death, Black Narcissus and The Red Shoes. Nino Rota"s score is long deleted in digital form and much sought after by the composer"s acolytes in America, Japan and Italy especially. El. 2008.