Waterloo

"One incredible afternoon Napoleon met Wellington . . . at Waterloo."

1970 2h 14m EN

👍

7.1

SOLID

★7.1TMDB · 235

HistoryDramaWar

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

After defeating France and imprisoning Napoleon on Elba, ending two decades of war, Europe is shocked to find Napoleon has escaped and has caused the French Army to defect from the King back to him. The best of the British generals, the Duke of Wellington, beat Napolean's best generals in Spain and Portugal, but now must beat Napoleon himself with an Anglo Allied army.

“One incredible afternoon Napoleon met Wellington . . . at Waterloo.”

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Cast

Rod Steiger
Napoleon Bonaparte
Christopher Plummer
Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington
Orson Welles
Louis XVIII
Jack Hawkins
General Sir Thomas Picton
Virginia McKenna
Duchess of Richmond
Dan O'Herlihy
Marshal Michel Ney
Rupert Davies
Gordon
Philippe Forquet
La Bedoyere

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Sergei Bondarchuk
Writers: H.A.L. Craig, Sergei Bondarchuk, Vittorio Bonicelli
Languages: English
Countries: Italy, Soviet Union

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 12% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

56 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Italy, Soviet Union.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Sergei Bondarchuk, shot by Armando Nannuzzi. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Nino Rota. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Richard C. Meyer shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Rod Steiger and Christopher Plummer and Orson Welles carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "One incredible afternoon Napoleon met Wellington . . . at Waterloo.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Sergei Bondarchuk directs. Armando Nannuzzi behind the camera. Nino Rota scores. Richard C. Meyer cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in Italy, Soviet Union. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 12% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
256 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3International production across 2 countries: Italy, Soviet Union.
4Directed by Sergei Bondarchuk, shot by Armando Nannuzzi. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Nino Rota. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Richard C. Meyer shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Rod Steiger and Christopher Plummer and Orson Welles carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "One incredible afternoon Napoleon met Wellington . . . at Waterloo.".
9IMDB entry: tt0066549 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Armando Nannuzzi
Original score: Nino Rota
Editing: Richard C. Meyer
Production design: Mario Garbuglia
Costume design: Maria De Matteis
Makeup / hair: Paolo Borselli
Stunt coordinator: Franco Fantasia
Runtime: 134 min · 2h 14m
Status: Released
Budget: $25,000,000
Box office: $3,052,000
Return: 12% of budget
Original language: EN
IMDB: Waterloo (1970)

Awards

David di Donatello for Best Film

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Sergei Bondarchuk

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

SWITCH.2020-06-01
★ 8/10
'Waterloo' is a film that, while technically impressive, feels emotionally distant. Bondarchuk and cinematographer Armando Nannuzzi never hide the influence of Napoleonic paintings on the visual language of the film, but that's essentially what 'Waterloo' becomes - a piece of history told at arm's length from the distance of time. As difficult as it is to emotionally engage with, 'Waterloo' is still an impressive production, all the more so as a demonstration of Sergei Bondarchuk's remarkable ability for balancing the inner world of his characters and the spiritual horror of war with the ultimate expression of the epic in cinema. For those reasons alone, 'Waterloo' is certainly a film that deserves attention. Read Daniel's full article... https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/article/review-waterloo-an-epic-recreation-of-the-legendary-battle
CinemaSerf2023-06-03
★ 7/10
Sergei Bondarchuk ought to be commended for his really rather sterling effort at re-creating some of the one hundred days of Napoleon's campaign following his escape from exile on Elba in 1815. Rod Steiger is superbly cast and imperious as the maniacal but genius French Emperor who very nearly conquered the mainland continent of Europe, despite the comprehensive alliance lined up against him - and led, at the denouement, but his nemesis the Duke of Wellington (Christopher Plummer). Some considerable effort has gone into designing and delivering this whole spectacle of a film - from the grand palatial settings, the costumes, intricate uniforms - and the battle scenes are as authentic as I've seen since that other Napoleonic epic "Austerlitz" (1960). Steiger portrays the Emperor in a characterful and personal fashion; he is full of the megalomaniac but also the portrayal indicates a little more of what made the great man tick (or not). Having read somewhat more about Wellington (I'm a Brit), I was somewhat disappointed by the slightly smug - almost foppish - portrayal of the "Grand Old" Duke by Plummer. He looked the part, but somehow his efforts were always outshone onscreen - by the fleeting appearances of Jack Hawkins, the glamorous Virginia McKenna - even by a squealing piglet. That said, though - this is a film about a battle and the action scenes are superb. They look and sound genuine engendering no end of sympathy for the soldiers who served as little more than cannon/bullet/bayonet fodder as they marched around (and fell) in the mud. The narrative is quite tight; we don't get distracted by too many romantic interludes or other daft diversions, and once it gets up steam it is an effective depiction of a pretty gruesome conflagration that history (for the winners, at any rate) has successfully sanitised. Bit long, we could do with less of the preamble, but once it gets going it presents a convincing effort from Steiger and is well worth watching as an example of large scale epic cinema before the computer took over the role of the extras, the sets, the story....