Waterloo (1970)
Director: Sergei Bondarchuk
Starring: Rod Steiger, Chirstopher Plummer, Orson Welles
Synopsis:
Following his return to the throne, Napoleon leads his army eastward for the decisive battle with his rival the Duke of Wellington at Waterloo.
Impressions:
I'd heard the praises heaped on this film, especially in light of Ridley Scott's disastrous foray last year, so I finally found the time to check this out, and I'm happy to say that it fully lives up to the hype. I feel like I should dig deeper into the story of how Dino de Laurentis was able to get away with a big joint production with the Soviets right in the middle of the Cold War, but there probably wasn't another partner that would pour the same resources into the picture, to include 17,000 troops as extras to bring the battle to life in a way that will probably never be repeated. The sheer scale of the film fully justifies the label of "epic", but there's more to it than that. I like the way Napoleon and Wellington are set off each other. While Christopher Plummer is fairly restrained as Wellington, as you would expect of a proper English gentleman warrior, Rod Steiger gives a much more bombastic performance as Napoleon. It can be a bit stagey at times, which didn't earn him much praise from some critics at the time, but I think the theatricality befits a figure like Napoleon. This is a viewing experience I was quite happy to have and definitely recommend adding this to your collection.
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