Waterloo (1970 film)

Waterloo
Italian theatrical poster
Directed bySergei Bondarchuk
Screenplay by
Story byH. A. L. Craig
Produced byDino De Laurentiis
Starring
CinematographyArmando Nannuzzi
Edited byRichard C. Meyer
Music by
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release date
  • 26 October 1970 (1970-10-26)
Running time
128 minutes
Countries
  • Italy
  • Soviet Union
  • United States
LanguageEnglish
Budget£12 million[3] ($25 million[4])

Waterloo (Russian: Ватерлоо) is a 1970 English-language epic historical war film about the Battle of Waterloo. A co-production between Italy and the Soviet Union, it was directed by Sergei Bondarchuk and produced by Dino De Laurentiis.[5][6] It stars Rod Steiger as Napoleon Bonaparte and Christopher Plummer as the Duke of Wellington with a cameo by Orson Welles as Louis XVIII of France.[7] Other stars include Jack Hawkins as General Sir Thomas Picton, Virginia McKenna as the Duchess of Richmond and Dan O'Herlihy as Marshal Ney.

Steiger and Plummer often narrate sections in voice-over, presenting thoughts of Napoleon and Wellington.[8] The film takes a largely neutral stance and portrays many individual leaders and soldiers on each side, rather than simply focusing on Wellington and Napoleon. It creates a generally accurate chronology of the events of the battle, the extreme heroism on each side, and the loss of life suffered by all the armies which took part.

The film is most famous for its lavish battle scenes,[9] shot on-location in Uzhhorod, Ukraine.[10] Its 15,000 authentically dressed extras, recreating battle scenes with true numbers and without special effects, remain the largest body of costumed extras in any film.[11] Despite mixed critical reviews, it won several awards, including BAFTAs for Best Costume Design and Best Art Direction, and the 1971 David di Donatello for Best Film.

  1. ^ "Obituary: Mario Soldati". The Independent. 1999-06-22. Retrieved 2018-01-26.
  2. ^ AlloCine. "Mario Soldati". AlloCiné. Retrieved 2018-01-26.
  3. ^ "'Shadows on the wall'". The Observer. 25 October 1970. p. 4.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference italy was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Waterloo (1970), retrieved 2018-01-26
  6. ^ Ebert, Roger. "Waterloo Movie Review & Film Summary (1971) | Roger Ebert". www.rogerebert.com. Retrieved 2018-01-26.
  7. ^ "A Battle Fought Strictly for the Camera:Bondarchuk Directs Craig's 'Waterloo' Rod Steiger Portrays Ill-Fated Napoleon". www.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2018-01-26.
  8. ^ "WATERLOO (1971)". AFI CATALOG OF FEATURE FILMS. Retrieved 2021-07-31.
  9. ^ Plunkett, Luke. "Screw CGI, This War Movie Used 15,000 Real Soldiers". Kotaku. Retrieved 2018-01-26.
  10. ^ Pitogo, Heziel (2015-06-18). "Waterloo: The Movie That Used 15,000 Real Soldiers as Extras". WAR HISTORY ONLINE. Retrieved 2018-01-26.
  11. ^ Pitogo, Heziel (2015-06-18). "Waterloo: The Movie That Used 15,000 Real Soldiers as Extras". WAR HISTORY ONLINE. Retrieved 2021-06-18.