"Waterloo the movie;the lost sequences" Topic

So many folk do recollect seeing a longer version than the 128 minutes we now get. They cannot all be wrong, although some may be confusing with War and Peace by the same awful director.

No one has ever been able to turn up a single scene though, just the occasional stills like these. Mosfilm do say everything is destroyed. They did not store in those days. Could Columbia still have something?

Cannot imagine they are too interested, if they have not bothered to do a BluRay for 2015! Just think though….most of us who have a DVD would fork out again for a BluRay. If they can redo 55 Days at Peking for example………..

Daft question but any idea why the chaps holding the bridles in the picture on the first post are all bare headed?

Even if a longer version exists, we do not know the quality of the print. It would probably need cleaning up.

Take the case of a much better know film, Lawrence of Arabia:

in70mm.com/news/2008/lawrence

Would a studio spend the needed funds on a film which was hardly a financial success?

Would I like a longer version? Of course!

Not a daft question at all. The very atypical for 1815 shaved heads suggests they are USSR army staff, they did provide mounted troops and these would have to be experienced horse handlers. Still does not explain lack of hats though.

L of A is classic example of a film that could take an extended version, is you are watching it at home. LOTR makes no sense at all in the usual cut version, now extended properly. Saving P R lost many good sequences and the continuity shows it sometimes…….

I thought the same thing as marshallken regarding the modern looking heads and like deadhead came to the conclusion that they are modern cavalry handlers.

Regarding the hats, and what initially struck me was the fact that it would be highly unlikely that lesser ranks would be in the presence of the great leader and a Marshall or two in an incomplete uniform until you look at the composition of the shot and the focus on Steiger, and to my eye, two hussar busies and a bicorne might just clutter that part of the view.

As so many of us want the longer version, why not all of us e mail Mosfilm
Use sebestain Palmers e mail address (copied below) and what about a campaign on facebook?

referent@mosfilm.ru

Ive sent my e mail already

I'm with teper1961: let's try and campaign for the film to be found and restored!

Having said that, here's the reply (typo and all) I got from Mosfilm:

Dear Sebastian Palmer,

Please be advised that Mosfilm holds the right to the film WATERLOO, 1969,
director Sergey Bondarchuk, for Eater Europe territories. I should inform
you that there is only one version of this film of 2 hours 17 minutes.

Best regards,

Elena Orel

… Hmmm!? Not very encouraging, eh!? Still, I don't think that this is necessarily the end of the trail. As an occasional music journalist I have often found that large record record labels have no idea whatsoever about some of their back catalogue. Who knows… perhaps Mosfilm are in the same position re this movie?

Bondarchuk's son Fyodor (sometimes Fedor) is an actor/director… Perhaps we can track him down somehow? He might know if there was ever a longer version…

Seb

No offense to anyone, but I often wonder if the "remembered" extra scenes from Waterloo forty years ago are the same as when I "remember" seeing the scene in Star Wars where Luke watches the Star Destroyer battle with his macrobinoculars.

I'd love for it to be true and see a real print, but I tend to think this is an urban legend built on production stills and wishful thinking.

Should cause no offence. I know exactly what you mean, we all have false memories….human nature, when we want to believe.

I do not believe there was ever a longer film. I do wonder if there could just be cans of film slowly rotting away in an archive with some lost sequences, never used?

There were similar beliefs about the 1968 "Charge of the Light Brigade" film, as there were certainly stills that appeared to show the charge of the Heavy Brigade in the brochure/programme of the film.

There was a huge investment in turning them out in the correct rig. You see the Heavies in brass helmets in the current version to this day.

But only in the background…….for a few seconds. they must have been meant to be used.

A scene usually cut is where Nolan and his mate from 17th……skull split open but survived….wossisname….? Morris..Morris!!!

They pinch the fried eggs from the outpost and ride on, leaving the two troopers to comment that they are no gentlemen

And the scene where a Hussar is flogged for being asleep on watch. And the scene where the Hussar picket shoots at Raglan. But at least they were in the released film, but the Heavies charging and fighting Russians scenes must have been filmed, based on the stills.

Breaking News! Guys, I just found out how long the movie was from an article in New York Times dated in 1971 with the release of Waterloo in the states Cinema. It was written by a film critic on the release of Waterloo in 1971 Cinema.

Here is the link
link

I immediately went to the bottom to see the running time of this Cinema release and was shocked at the running time. See for yourself.
It took some soul searching to find this too.

That review is fascinating, although very very critical. I have to say I thought Steiger was reasonably good and Bondarachuk should have been shot. The 123 minutes noted in the review is now 128 minutes on DVDs……

I seriously doubt we will ever see any more sequences now……..Oh what might have been, with such facilities to hand.

I so agree with you deadhead as I was hoping for the longer version for a long time too. I too found the cinema critic very critical as well..but in another discussion forum they said a longer version was shown in Russian cinemas. Hmmmm

Still hunting down images that never appeared in the film we now have, indeed may never have been shown anywhere. One surprise today was finding that someone has posted the contents of the souvenir programme from the first showing;

link

Several unique images. Heartbreaking frankly. What might have been……….maybe was?

Do take a look at the Scottish square. I always heard the tale of the bolt action rifles, but could never find any, until now. The other story I do recall from 1970 was someone wearing a wristwatch.

Note how some pics have been reversed eg DoW next to a RHA gun. Surprising how often such errors are seen in prints from the film eg DoW next to Uxbridge.

The Attack of the Imperial Guard (the image with four tricolour flags across the screen) and look who is behind, backing them up, to pad out the numbers. British Infantry in overcoats! (Follow the link above and magnify this. Very high quality scans.)

Or just for fun. You've all seen this a thousand times. "Soldiers of the Fifth etc"….but what is different? How do we know this was never used?

Hes not wearing his greatcoat;)

Nice one….Well done, first in, to respond.

Makes you think…what else are we missing?

I admit this. It may not matter to anyone else, but, if I could find a 15 second sequence missing from that fillum, (an Irish saying), it would be worth a lot.

I know that it was probably best deleted anyway…Bondarachuk's Waterloo was like that…..but give me another 15 seconds.

All my life I have heard that………maybe 45 seconds they said….

Thanks for sharing the link, deadhead! Those are wonderful images. Great stuff!

That was the booklet!
I'm assuming it's in my Dads loft.

I remember (?) a scene when he has just returned to Paris, and some of his staff discover that fleur de lys were sewn over imperial bees in the carpet and start ripping them up. I hope this isn't a false memory from knowing the story. And I also have a memory of the Heavy Brigade chage in the Gielgud movie.