I watched the film twice, first its old version, then the restored one and I have to say I can not describe it easily with few words. I found it rather boring and slow paced, which is hardly the best way to depict one of the most important periods in world history, dominated by the paramount figure of Napoleon.
I do not want to go into many details, so I shall limit myself with several remarks:
The Russian military uniforms are awful and incorrect in many ways, especially the uniforms of the cossacks, which really made me laugh...
There are too few extras to depict realistically such an important battle of the Napoleonic period. Several hundred infantrymen and cavalrymen simply can not achieve the effect, achieved for example by Sergei Bondarchuk in "War and peace", where he had 15 000 extras. The difference between the battle scenes in the two films is huge!
The emperors of Russia and Austria, Aleksandr I and Franz I, as well as the key figures among their respective staffs, including Mikhail Ilarionovich Kutuzov, are depicted in a rather grotesque and sneering way, which, I think, is not the right for a serious history movie.
The cast is good. Pierre Mondy does a solid job portraying Napoleon, Jean Marais is a truly convincing Carnot, Claudia Cardinale is marvelous as always and Jack Palance is a credible Weyrother.
As a conclusion: the film deserves to be watched once. After that everyone interested in the history of the Napoleonic wars should go on with "War and Peace' and "Waterloo".
