Waterloo (1970 film)

(Ватерлоо)
Directed by Sergei Bondarchuk
Produced by Dino De Laurentiis
Written by
H. A. L. Craig
Sergei Bondarchuk
Vittorio Bonicelli
Starring
Rod Steiger
Christopher Plummer
Orson Welles
Jack Hawkins
Virginia McKenna
Dan O'Herlihy
Serghej Zakhariadze
Ian Ogilvy
Music by
Nino Rota
Wilfred Josephs
Cinematography Armando Nannuzzi
Production
company
Mosfilm
Dino de Laurentiis Cinematografica
Distributed by
Columbia Pictures (non-USA)
Paramount Pictures (USA)
Release date(s)
1970
Running time 134 / 123 min.
Country Italy
Soviet Union
Language Russian
English
Budget app. 35,000,000 USD
Waterloo (Russian: Ватерлоо) is a 1970 Soviet-Italian film directed by Sergei Bondarchuk and produced by Dino De Laurentiis. It depicts the story of the preliminary events and the Battle of Waterloo, and is famous for its lavish battle scenes.
It stars Rod Steiger (portraying Napoleon Bonaparte) and Christopher Plummer (portraying the Duke of Wellington) with a cameo by Orson Welles (Louis XVIII of France). Other stars include Jack Hawkins as General Thomas Picton, Virginia McKenna as the Duchess of Richmond and Dan O'Herlihy as Marshal Ney.
The film includes some 15,000 Soviet foot soldiers and 2,000 cavalrymen as extras—it was said that, during its making, director Sergei Bondarchuk was in command of the seventh largest army in the world.[1] Fifty circus stunt riders were used to perform the dangerous horse falls. These numbers brought an epic quality to the battle scenes.