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

Colour:

Colour (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:

When filming Napoleon's abdication speech producer 'Dino De Laurentiis' ordered the cameraman not to load a new reel of film in order to save costs. The film ran out before Rod Steiger had finished delivering this highly emotional speech. The actor was not pleased.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: As the French attack begins, British soldiers are seen receiving a gin ration. This is poured into white enamel mugs (possibly WWI era); enamel wasn't invented until the 1860's!

Quotes:

Michel Ney: [as elite French soldiers retreat in disorder] Are you France? Are you the Guard?

Movie Connections:

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

A timeless classic

There can be no denying that this is a great film to watch.

Pure historians may dispair at some inaccuracies, although in a previous review I notice that a reviewer has made a few mistakes of his own! Air burst shells were quite the norm in fact the RHA were firing over the heads of the British troops at Hugomont the shells exploding over the French, these balls were hollow in nature and fused, in addition to this (although not seen in the film) were the RHA's rockets, which although forbidden by Wellington, were also fired of lierally. A feature I like which is included but wrong are the cannons shown in infantry squares firing at the advancing French cavalry and the troops then closing rank again to fend of the attackers. At the time of making it was still widely believed this happened.

A fair chunk of the story derives from Victor Hugo's descriptions of the battle which in turn were wrong. Bottom line is that I was a much younger man when the movie first came out and it fostered a great interest in finding out more. I feel it is a timeless 'film of its time'. Naturally a re-make would be a wonderful thing in todays modern world but the original does convey some of the depth, noise and smoke of the day.