History Film / Waterloo

* MajorInjuryUnderreaction: Towards the end of the battle, Wellington and [[NumberTwo Uxbridge]] seem to survive a near miss from a cannon shot intact, when suddenly Uxbridge looks down...

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: Napoleon, in the sense that very little, if any, blame is laid on Napoleon himself for his defeat, with him being portrayed more as a victim of fate and the blame instead being placed on the weather, the incompetence of his marshals, and even an unspecified illness. See the analysis page for more.

The cast includes Creator/RodSteiger as UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte, Creator/ChristopherPlummer as UsefulNotes/TheDukeOfWellington, and Creator/DanOHerlihy as Marshal Michel Ney. Creator/OrsonWelles had a cameo as Louis XVIII, the Bourbon monarch Napoleon overthrows. Director Bondarchuk recruited thousands of Soviet soldiers as extras and reshaped a large area of UsefulNotes/{{Ukrain|e}}ian countryside to match the topography of the Waterloo battlefield. Music/NinoRota composed the soundtrack.

The cast includes Creator/RodSteiger as UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte, Creator/ChristopherPlummer as UsefulNotes/TheDukeOfWellington, and Creator/DanOHerlihy as Marshal Michel Ney. Creator/OrsonWelles had a cameo as Louis XVIII, the Bourbon monarch Napoleon overthrows. Director Bondarchuk recruited thousands of Soviet soldiers as extras and reshaped a large area of Russian countryside to match the topography of the Waterloo battlefield. Music/NinoRota composed the soundtrack.

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mv5bngqxyzm1zwutyjdlms00m2eyltg1mmutntfmzte3ngvkmtgyxkeyxkfqcgdeqxvyntayodkwoq_v1.jpg]]

-->'''Napoleon''': (dictating a letter) To my dear Prince Alexis... I did not "usurp" the crown. I found it in the gutter and I, I picked it up with my sword, and it was the people, Alexis, the people who put it on my head.

* HeroicSelfDeprecation: With Napoleon as the hero: hearing from Marshall Soult that the Prussian and British armies in Belgium have separated, Napoleon remarks that the stage is set for another single, campaign winning battle as at Marengo. But after Soult leaves, Napoleon thinks to himself that Marengo was 15 years ago and he was a lot younger and more active then.

* HeroicBSOD: Wellington and Napoleon are both in BSOD mode after Waterloo. "Next to a battle lost, the saddest thing is a battle won."

* MyGreatestFailure: When the Prussians show up, Napoleon says "I made one mistake in my life. I should have burnt Berlin."

* AnyoneCanDie: Several officers, particularly on the British side, die almost as soon as they are introduced.
** General Sir Thomas Picton (Jack Hawkins) being the most notable.

''Waterloo'' is a 1970 historical war film produced by Dino De Laurentiis and directed by Creator/SergeiBondarchuk that told the story of the events leading up to the climactic battle of UsefulNotes/TheNapoleonicWars and the [[BattleEpic battle itself]]. One of the most expensive films ever made up to that time, it was a box office failure of legendary proportions but has since gained substantially more respect as an exemplar of old-fashioned EpicMovie.

The cast includes Creator/RodSteiger as UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte, Creator/ChristopherPlummer as UsefulNotes/TheDukeOfWellington, and Creator/DanOHerlihy as Marshal Michel Ney. Creator/OrsonWelles had a well-paid cameo as Louis XVIII, the Bourbon monarch Napoleon overthrows. Director Creator/SergeiBondarchuk recruited thousands of Soviet soldiers as extras and reshaped a large area of Russian countryside to match the topography of the Waterloo battlefield. Music/NinoRota composed the soundtrack.

* PoorCommunicationKills: Napoleon detaches Grouchy's corps and orders him to pursue the Prussians. He fails to specify that his job is to interpose his corps between the British and Prussian armies and ensure they don't combine; Grouchy interprets this to mean that he must pursue the Prussians relentlessly, with the effect of driving their army towards Wellington's, and ignoring his own subordinates excellent advice to march to Waterloo and link up with Napoleon.[[note]]TruthInTelevision, and Marshall Soult's written orders made the confusion worse, specifying that Grouchy was to link up with the main French army as soon as possible, yet at the same time focus his march on Wavre, where the Prussian rearguard was established.[[/note]]

''Waterloo'' is a 1970 film produced by Dino De Laurentiis and directed by Creator/SergeiBondarchuk that told the story of the events leading up to the climactic battle of UsefulNotes/TheNapoleonicWars. One of the most expensive films ever made up to that time, it was a box office failure of legendary proportions but has since gained substantially more respect as an exemplar of old-fashioned epic-style film-making.

[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/45217_6707.jpg]]

''Waterloo'' is a 1970 film produced by Dino De Laurentiis that told the story of the events leading up to the climactic battle of UsefulNotes/TheNapoleonicWars. One of the most expensive films ever made up to that time, it was a box office failure of legendary proportions but has since gained substantially more respect as an exemplar of old-fashioned epic-style film-making.

Not to be confused with the song by Music/{{ABBA}} or the eponymous album.

The cast includes Creator/RodSteiger as UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte, Creator/ChristopherPlummer as UsefulNotes/TheDukeOfWellington, and Creator/DanOHerlihy as Marshal Michel Ney. Creator/OrsonWelles had a well-paid cameo as Louis XVIII, the Bourbon monarch Napoleon overthrows. Director Creator/SergeiBondarchuk recruited thousands of Soviet soldiers as extras and reshaped a large area of Russian countryside to match the topography of the Waterloo battlefield.

* LeaveNoSurvivors: Blücher gives this order when he arrives on the field. A case of HistoricalVillainUpgrade - in actual fact Blücher merely ordered his men to pursue the French until their (the Prussians') last breath, and most weren't in the mood for taking prisoners. What Blücher says in the movie comes very close to what General Roguet of the Old Guard according to French sources said at Ligny, two days earlier.

''Waterloo'' was a 1970 film produced by Dino De Laurentiis that told the story of the events leading up to the climactic battle of UsefulNotes/TheNapoleonicWars. One of the most expensive films ever made up to that time, it was a box office failure of legendary proportions but has since gained substantially more respect as an exemplar of old-fashioned epic-style film-making.

* BadassBoast: Napoleon has one during the battle.