Rent Waterloo (1970)

Epic Historical War Film - Waterloo review by GI

An epic historical drama that boasts one of the biggest cinematic battles ever recreated for the big screen. In addition it has two powerhouse performances from Rod Steiger as Napoleon Bonaparte and Christopher Plummer as the Duke of Wellington. Naturally, as with all such films, one can debate and become bogged down in historical accuracy issues and some prior knowledge of the battle does help understand the course of events. But accuracy really doesn't matter as this is a masterpiece of war themed film and it's certainly a lot better than the more recent Napoleon (2023). Filmed in Russia, at a fraction of the cost for such a huge production, it's stirring stuff without having to resort to gratuitousness and it effectively recreats the horrors of the battle in the 19th century. Steiger as Napoleon gives an emotional and theatrical performance and the film gives us his inner thoughts and doubts whereas Plummer as Wellington is the cool aristocrat who only occasionally lets his emotional guard down usually when he witnesses the death of friends or the horrible aftermath of the slaughter. Both are excellent A film to discover if you've never seen it.