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Waterloo [1970]
from Uca
starring Rod Steiger, Christopher Plummer, Orson Welles, Jack Hawkins, Virginia McKenna
directed by Sergei Bondarchuk

Features:

• PAL
• Subtitled
• Widescreen

Editorial Review:

"A film that will never be equalled for its spectacle and dramatic power" says the stirring trailer on this otherwise sparsely featured DVD. Taking the story of the Napoleonic Wars to Bonaparte's final defeat, Waterloo is an unofficial continuation to director Sergei Bondarchuk's own 70mm super-epic War and Peace (1968). The climactic battle of Waterloo is shown in the second half of the film and re-enacted with such stunning realism by a cast of around 20,000 extras that it looks like documentary footage from history itself (some 20 years later, Gettysburg, 1993, did the same for the American Civil War). Those who hailed the groundbreaking impact of Saving Private Ryan should see Bondarchuk's films, as for sheer scale and intensity--if not bloodiness--they make Spielberg's hit look like an amateur video. Without ever attempting a French accent, Rod Steiger makes a commanding Napoleon, Christopher Plummer a worthy adversary as Wellington, while the supporting cast led by Orson Welles, Jack Hawkins and Virginia McKenna is excellent. The DVD transfer is richly detailed and clear, though the print itself could have done with just a little restoration. Though dated, Abel Glance's Napoleon (1928) remains definitive for many, perhaps explaining why Stanley Kubrick eventually abandoned his planned Napoleon film, instead making the 18th Century period epic Barry Lyndon (1974). --Gary S.Dalkin

Customer Reviews:

• Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0

• Wellington and Waterloo
  There are problems with this film. Firstly, it has an inadequate score. What it needs is a grand theme tune which recurs throughout, but it doesn't have one. Secondly, it has been clumsily edited together by what seems to have been a passing butcher. Both the editing and the lack of a decent soundtrack suggest that little attention was paid to artistic or aesthetic considerations once the actual filming had been completed. I would also say the quality of the acting is patchy, at best. Rod Steiger is... more info

• One of Rod Steiger's most overlooked underappreciated performances....
  In the tradition of the cinematic epics like Kubrick's "Spartacus" and Mann's "Fall of the Roman Empire," Bondarchuk's "Waterloo" succeeds in depicting Napoleon's desperate and final bid for power and glory. Steiger, no stranger to roles that have consistently challenged his acting ability, is quite good as the deposed French emperor who narrowly lost his final battle. Orson Welles' appearance as Louis XVIII, is far too brief but most welcome, and Plummer as Lord Wellington is a casting director's dream.... more info

• A Great Spetical of a movie
  This film shows the battle of Waterloo to a fair extent if a little inaccuratly, but on a scale little scene even in these days of CGI. This film is the best potrayal of a Napoleonic battle ever filmed. Filled with some of the best lines in movie history this is a great film even if it's not 100% historcaly accurate.

• Well Worth Watching
  Though this is not as good that other epic film about a famous battle-Zulu, the sheer scope of it is magnificent. The battle scenes and costumes are second to none. What lets this movie down is the script and characterisation. You don't feel for the characters like you do in the fore mentioned Zulu. Though Rod Steiger stands out as Napoleon. Still well worth watching.

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