The battle of waterloo simply boils down to the two leads going head to head epic about that fateful day of 15th June, 1815 when the armies of France, led by the recently returned Napoleon Bonaparte (Rod Steiger), Great Britain, led by the revered Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington (Christopher Plummer), Napoleon returned to France a broken man, Wellington returned to Britain a hero. Waterloo was the final and decisive action of the Napoleonic Wars, that effectively ended French domination of the European continent and brought about drastic changes in the political boundaries and the power balance of Europe. Fought on June 18, 1815, near Waterloo, in what is now Belgium, the battle ranks as a great turning point in modern history.
There are four major points to remember – First it was of short duration, Second it was foughtover a very small area, Third it marked the end of twenty-five years warfare, and proved thefinal overthrow of Napoleon BonaparteThe film Waterloo is intelligently acted, well scripted, a massive recreation of an epic battle. Sergei Bondarchuk materfully portrays the two rivals as they prepare for battle and execute their plans. It condenses Napoleon’s exile, return to France, and his defeat at Waterloo. Napoleon’s last stand at Waterloo where his french army was defeated by the combined forces of Britain, Austria, Prussia, and Russia, in March 1815. Although Napoleon set out to liberalize the “his” France, in which the notion that the state as ‘personality’ has specific rights and freedoms, interests and assets, Napoleon continuously flies into unrestrained rages and his autocratic ambitions seem to create mere confusion among and un-eazyness amongst his followers.
He also seems a little too angst ridden and mentally challenged. It was hard to tell who was bordering a nervous breakdown, Steiger or Bonapart. The was scenes, like many similar war movies contained lots of gunfire and confusion and not too much sense. But on the whole, a worthy historical portrayal of one of the turning points of the 19th century.
The film gives a good sense of what is going on in the field. The action scenes are some of the greatest filmed, especially the cavalry charges. Bibliography:
