Waterloo was released in 1970. It was directed by Sergei Bondarchuk. It stars Rod Stieger and Christopher Plummer as Napoleon and the Duke of Wellington respectively. Though it flopped at the box office it received positive reviews from critics.
The film opens by showing Napoleon's initial abdication and exile to Elba. On his return King Louis XVIII sends Marshall Ney to capture him. In a suspenseful sequence Ney and the French army confront Napoleon and his 1000 loyal followers. Napoleon refuses to surrender and Ney's men will not open fire on him but instead join him, giving Napoleon control of France. Napoleon attempts to sue for peace but the other European nations declare war so he decides to invade Belgium. The British send Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington to stop him. At a ball the night before the battle Wellington is informed that Napoleon has crossed the border, cutting him off from his Prussian allies. He decides to make a stand at Quatre-Bras but is defeated and withdraws to Waterloo. Prussian Field Marshal Blücher moves his men north in order to maintain contact with Wellington. Napoleon sends Grouchy with 30,000 men to keep Blücher from reinforcing Wellington. Grouchy fails to do this and Napoleon sees the Prussians approaching in the distance on the morning of the battle. He opts to ignore it and sends his forces attack the British outpost at Hougoumont hoping to draw out Wellington's reserves. Meanwhile the French artillery start a bombardment of the center of the British line supporting an attack by the French infantry on La Haye Sainte. When this attack is beaten back, the British cavalry under Uxbridge charge forward to support a counter attack by the infantry. Ignoring a recall order the cavalry attempt to attack the French grande batterie. Napoleon counter attacks with his own cavalry, resulting in heavy losses for the British. Later Wellington decides to reorganize some of his troops in the center of his line. French Marshal Ney, mistaking this for a retreat, orders his cavalry forward. The British form squares (hollow box-formations four ranks deep) to repel this attack and Ney is beaten back with heavy losses. Napoleon, returning to the Battlefield after recovering from a bout of stomach pain, berates his marshals for allowing Ney to attack without Infantry support. Around the same time French infantry resume their attack on La Haye Sainte and recapture it. Napoleon orders his Imperial guard forward to exploit this new weakness. This advance is met with a volley from Maitland's infantry, hiding in the grass until the French are in point blank range. The French assault begins to disintegrate and the arrival of the Prussian army dashes any hope of French victory. The film ends by showing Wellington riding through the body-strewn battlefield and Napoleon returning to Paris.
The film opens by showing Napoleon's initial abdication and exile to Elba. On his return King Louis XVIII sends Marshall Ney to capture him. In a suspenseful sequence Ney and the French army confront Napoleon and his 1000 loyal followers. Napoleon refuses to surrender and Ney's men will not open fire on him but instead join him, giving Napoleon control of France. Napoleon attempts to sue for peace but the other European nations declare war so he decides to invade Belgium. The British send Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington to stop him. At a ball the night before the battle Wellington is informed that Napoleon has crossed the border, cutting him off from his Prussian allies. He decides to make a stand at Quatre-Bras but is defeated and withdraws to Waterloo. Prussian Field Marshal Blücher moves his men north in order to maintain contact with Wellington. Napoleon sends Grouchy with 30,000 men to keep Blücher from reinforcing Wellington. Grouchy fails to do this and Napoleon sees the Prussians approaching in the distance on the morning of the battle. He opts to ignore it and sends his forces attack the British outpost at Hougoumont hoping to draw out Wellington's reserves. Meanwhile the French artillery start a bombardment of the center of the British line supporting an attack by the French infantry on La Haye Sainte. When this attack is beaten back, the British cavalry under Uxbridge charge forward to support a counter attack by the infantry. Ignoring a recall order the cavalry attempt to attack the French grande batterie. Napoleon counter attacks with his own cavalry, resulting in heavy losses for the British. Later Wellington decides to reorganize some of his troops in the center of his line. French Marshal Ney, mistaking this for a retreat, orders his cavalry forward. The British form squares (hollow box-formations four ranks deep) to repel this attack and Ney is beaten back with heavy losses. Napoleon, returning to the Battlefield after recovering from a bout of stomach pain, berates his marshals for allowing Ney to attack without Infantry support. Around the same time French infantry resume their attack on La Haye Sainte and recapture it. Napoleon orders his Imperial guard forward to exploit this new weakness. This advance is met with a volley from Maitland's infantry, hiding in the grass until the French are in point blank range. The French assault begins to disintegrate and the arrival of the Prussian army dashes any hope of French victory. The film ends by showing Wellington riding through the body-strewn battlefield and Napoleon returning to Paris.  |
| English infantry squares repel Ney's Cavalry |
Like Ben-Hur, which I reviewed last week, Waterloo is a massive film utilizing 15,000 Soviet foot soldiers and 2,000 cavalrymen as extras. The visuals are a sight to behold. The tactics, uniforms, and weapons used, to my knowledge, are quite authentic to the real battle. The way the battle plays ought is also fairly close to real life, the biggest departure being the portrayal of Blucher's Prussians. In the real battle the Prussians fought a hard battle with the French at Plancenoit, finally breaking through to relieve the British near the end of the battle. In the film the Prussians arrive unopposed. The acting, for the most part, is excellent. Steiger really conveys Napoleon's eccentricity and helps we as an audience to understand why he was a legend while at the same time giving us a glimpse of his humanity. Plummer, though perhaps more jovial than the stoic Wellington of reality, brings out his practicality, seemingly condescending attitude and his love for his men (despite referring to them as beggars and scoundrels). He also brings a wry sense of humor to what would otherwise be a rather joyless affair. The writing and the direction also help bring out the best in both of them. The supporting cast is fine for the most part, but a few of the British troops are occasionally overwrought, particularly one who, in the middle of the charge of Ney's cavalry shouts out: "We've never seen each other! How can we kill one another? How can we? How can we?"
The biggest flaw in the film is the editing. There are alot of jarring cuts and, at just over 2 hours, the film feels really rushed for much of it's running time. The attacks on Hougoumont and La Haye Sainte are glazed over and you don't really have time to appreciate them. This is a really big problem when it comes to 'Sainte considering how important that it was to the actual battle. Apparently there is a longer (4 1/2 to 6 1/2) cut which was only released in Russia. According to IMDB this was a rough cut that was never actually released but some insist that they remember seeing it in theaters. In any case it seems doubtful that this extra material will ever see the light of day which is a shame. An extra hour or so could do this film wonders.
Overall, though it has many flaws, Waterloo is an exciting, and very historically accurate war film. It's really a must-see for all history buffs and more casual fans of the genre should still enjoy it, despite some of the issues I have with it.
Score: 8/10
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