"We missed Waterloo’s 50th Anniversary!" Topic

No not the one in June 1865, the one that was on the 26th October 2020!

The 50th Anniversary of the release of the one and only "Waterloo" the movie!

Full of splendour and inaccuracy at the same time but still number one in a class of one!

I cannot get my head round the fact I saw it on the big screen when I was twenty! Time surely does fly!

I was eight when I saw it at my local cinema – awesome for a young kid

since i was 4 months old, i don't remember when it came out, although i watch it several times a year now!

Got it on dvd as a gift a couple of years ago. Doesn't seem like 50 years. Loved it then and now.

John

Get it on Bluray (worth it).

There is a chap from Nigeria who told me, via the Internet, that he had the mythical four hour version and would sell it to me for a reasonable fee. All he needed was my bank details for a money transfer.

It was an economic disaster at the time, mainly because the punters felt a lack of big name stars. Had they actually gone to see it, there were many other flaws and we must forgive old Sergei B, as director.

Dino de L et al had no choice if they were to film in the USSR, with thousands of Soviet troops as extras, at relatively low cost.

It has great moments. (The Tuilleries with the attention to detail of Louis and his Household, marching down the hill to Hgmt, the whole French cavalry charge, the Garde Imp attack). But so much wasted. Insane speeded up sequences of cavalry charging, helicopter views (loved by Sergei B), no explanation of Hgmt or LHS, not a mention of Allied troops (other than Dan O'H and that "bouillabaisse etc").

I try to only watch it every few months (seriously, as I am addicted of course) but do know what we missed with better direction and the facilities granted. Bondarachuk was awful and grossly overrated (see W and P or Quiet Flows the Don…but esp the latter)

Watched it last night (on Sony Movies Action channel), and its on again tomorrow so I will watch it again.

Loved the film, and still trying to find out where all those French infantry went to that the Scots Greys were charging.

With no help from Royals or Inniskillings. They never captured even one eagle. No gates were shut at Hgmt. No KGL were down to their last rounds at LHS. No Prussians struggled miles through mud to be there. They just appeared, speeded up, because "Blucher is in the woods". All the dramatic stories of the day are lost completely. It is so awfully wonderful in the end. But directors in the late 60s were incredibly self indulgent. Lean, Kubrick, Zannuck would have been little better. Different, not better.

One of the 2015 200th events I attended was a talk by Richard Heffer (who played Mercer). He had quite exceptional recall (unlike me, unfortunately) and there were many fascinating anecdotes. He was convinced that the mythical 4 hour version was just that – never existed. Christopher Plummer's autobiography also has a good section on the film – the Brits clustered around Jack Hawkins' transistor listening to the Apollo 11 Landing!

Like many here, I love the film but can't help being irked by certain aspects. The two features which offend me most are the fireball explosions, which look as if they're straight out of Apocalypse Now, and the grandfather figures who fill the ranks of the Imperial Guard.

deadhead: I'll try to get it on Bluray if I can. Thanks for the advice. I can live with the inaccuracies just for the entertainment of it. I liked Dan O'H as Ney the best but I'm probably the only here or anywhere else who does.

John

I love that movie, and I don't play Napoleonic games! It's a bombastic hoot. Gettysburg is still my favorite horse and musket movie. But Rod S just chews up the scenery like no other can.

BTW just do a search on YouTube for Waterloo full movie and watch it for free. Waterloo is not available on Blu-Ray. There is a DVD version from Russia, and that is it. IIRC lots of legal wrangling so no western releases? I'd have to ask my oldest son; he's a classic film historian and explained it to me once long ago.

As discussed in other threads, there's a recently released Blu-ray version from [imprint]. It's excellent.

I find that the first half of the movie is really, really well done. The scenes of Napoleon's abdication, his being carried up the staircase in triumph, the short scene when he says that all Europe has declared war against him. Great acoustics, locations and acting.

And then the battle scenes start. Oh dear.

Not a patch on Bondarchuk's Borodino.

There is a Blu-ray widely available, in Europe anyway. Amazon have it for example. Do not be put off by the German script on the cover. It is 100% the original in English with various subtitles if needed. I have it and find it better than the BBC HD version recently broadcast (and saved!)

It was a good time.. that film and the Airfix releases, AND the first issue of Military Modelling
I still have the cinema souvenir programme.

Yerp, out with the VHS again… ;-}

As a german i am really wondering, who always make these silly titels on english/american films.

"Napoleons destroying bloody end at Waterloo. The battle, that changed the face of the earth" – Come on. :(

It is obvious surely, as it is so bad

It is Google translate.

Ever tried "Cuirassier" translated to English? Try it and laugh.

Just been listening to a History Hack podcast that featured Gavan O'Herlihy (son of Dan who played Ney). When asked about "Waterloo", his first response was that his father loathed Steiger – perhaps some of their fiery exchanges weren't just Method Acting?