Waterloo (1970/I)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Sergei Bondarchuk

Writers:

H.A.L. Craig (story)
H.A.L. Craig (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

28 October 1970 (France)

Genre:

Action | Drama | History | War

Tagline:

Waterloo.The battle that changed the face of the world.

Plot:

After defeating France and imprisoning Napoleon on Elba, ending two decades of war, Europe is shocked...

Plot Keywords:

Napoleon | General | Waterloo | Fate | Prussian

Awards:

Won 2 BAFTA Film Awards. Another 1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Rod Steiger	...	Napoleon Bonaparte
Christopher Plummer	...	Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington
Orson Welles	...	King Louis XVIII
Jack Hawkins	...	Gen. Sir Thomas Picton
Virginia McKenna	...	Duchess of Richmond
Dan O'Herlihy	...	Marshal Michel Ney
Rupert Davies	...	Lord Gordon
Philippe Forquet	...	Le Bedoyere
Gianni Garko	...	Gen. Drouot
Ivo Garrani	...	Marshal Soult
Ian Ogilvy	...	William De Lancey
Michael Wilding	...	Sir William Ponsonby
Sergo Zaqariadze	...	Marshal Gebhard Blücher (as Serghej Zakhariadze)
Terence Alexander	...	Lord Uxbridge
Andrea Checchi	...	Sauret

Also Known As:

Ватерлоо (Soviet Union: Russian title)

Runtime:

Norway:134 min | UK:132 min | USA:123 min

Country:

Italy | Soviet Union

Language:

English | Russian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono | 70 mm 6-Track (Westrex Recording System) (70 mm prints)

Certification:

Ireland:G | UK:U | Singapore:PG | Iceland:12 | Finland:K-12 | Germany:12 | Norway:16 (1971) | USA:G

Filming Locations:

Dino De Laurentiis Cinematografica Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Dino de Laurentiis Cinematografica

Trivia:

This film was produced at the same time that Stanley Kubrick was preparing a film on the life of Napoleon. When this film failed at the boxoffice, Kubrick's backers bowed out and his film was never made.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The soldiers are seen using the wrong type of weapon. In 1815, only muzzle loading muskets and rifles were available, not the bolt-action rifles that the Red-Coats and French are seen using.

Quotes:

Napoleon Bonaparte: When I am dead and gone what will the world say of me?
Le Bedoyere: They'll say that you extended the limits of glory, sire.
Napoleon Bonaparte: The limits of glory'; is that all I have to leave to my son, the 'limits of glory'?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Lost Kubrick: The Unfinished Films of Stanley Kubrick (2007) (V)

Absorbing and accurate

The film version of Waterloo is almost totally historically accurate to the actual events of 1815; the events of that year make for a great story to tell, and it is translated extremely well to film. Even with some dramatization and poetic license thrown in we see what these men were really like and we get to understand what motivated Napoleon to take the course of action that he did. The costumes and sets are very well done, and you almost think you stepped out of a time machine when you see them. The film is a little longer than most, and being familiar with the actual events leading up to the battle helps to understand the film, so this movie may not appeal to everyone. Still, Waterloo is a great film, and while hard to find on video you should watch it if you ever get the chance.