History Film / Waterloo

** On the same note (no pun intended), "Boney Was a Warrior" was (naturally) first recorded long after Waterloo. The British soldiers keep singing "Boney fought the Proossians" over and over because actually moving along with the lyrics would have Napoleon in St. Helena before Wellington even finished reviewing the troops.

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

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: Napoleon, in the sense that very little, if any, blame is laid on Napoleon himself for his defeat, with it instead being placed on the weather, the incompetence of his marshals, and even an unspecified illness. While the film may have been foreshadowing his eventual death from stomach cancer, there is no evidence that Napoleon was in great pain and had to leave the field to recover, leaving command in the hands of the less competent Ney. The film in general favors the French historical perspective, also depicting the "ravine of death" into which the French cavalry plunged to their doom: a myth invented by French author Victor Hugo. Perhaps the greatest blame for Napoleon's defeat is laid on Marshal Grouchy for failing to turn up at the battle (he is depicted lazily eating strawberries while refusing General Gérard's entreaties to march to Waterloo). In truth, Napoleon made numerous strategic and tactical mistakes. Not only was it Napoleon who dispatched Grouchy to follow Blücher in the first place, he sent him additional orders at 10:00am, barely an hour before the battle began, to march on Wavre. Grouchy was a generally competent but unimaginative commander who followed his orders to the letter, and Napoleon knew that about him before making him a marshal.

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: Napoleon, in the sense that very little, if any, blame is laid on Napoleon himself for his defeat, with it instead being placed on the weather, the incompetence of his marshals, and even an unspecified illness. While the film may have been foreshadowing his eventual death from stomach cancer, there is no evidence that Napoleon was in great pain and had to leave the field to recover, leaving command in the hands of the less competent Ney. The film in general favors the French historical perspective, also depicting the "ravine of death" into which the French cavalry plunged to their doom: a myth invented by French author Victor Hugo. Perhaps the greatest blame for Napoleon's defeat is laid on Marshal Grouchy for failing to turn up at the battle. In truth, Napoleon made numerous strategic and tactical mistakes. Not only was it Napoleon who dispatched Grouchy to follow Blücher in the first place, he sent him additional orders at 10:00am, barely an hour before the battle began, to march on Wavre. Grouchy was a generally competent but unimaginative commander who followed his orders to the letter, and Napoleon knew that about him before making him a marshal.

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: Napoleon, in the sense that very little, if any, blame is laid on Napoleon himself for his defeat, with it instead being placed on the weather, the incompetence of his marshals, and even an unspecified illness. While the film may have been foreshadowing his eventual death from stomach cancer, there is no evidence that Napoleon was in great pain and had to leave the field to recover, leaving command in the hands of the less competent Ney. The film in general favors the French historical perspective; it also depicts the "ravine of death" into which the French cavalry plunged to their doom, which is a myth invented by French author Victor Hugo. Perhaps the greatest blame for Napoleon's defeat is laid on Marshal Grouchy for failing to turn up at the battle. In truth, Napoleon made numerous strategic and tactical mistakes. Not only was it Napoleon who dispatched Grouchy to follow Blücher in the first place, he sent him additional orders at 10:00am, barely an hour before the battle began, to march on Wavre. Grouchy was a generally competent but unimaginative commander who followed his orders to the letter, and Napoleon knew that about him before making him a marshal.

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: Napoleon, in the sense that very little, if any, blame is laid on Napoleon himself for his defeat, with it instead being placed on the weather, the incompetence of his marshals, and even an unspecified illness. While the film may have been foreshadowing his eventual death from stomach cancer, there is no evidence that Napoleon was in great pain and had to leave the field to recover, leaving command in the hands of the less competent Ney. The film in general favors the French historical perspective; it also depicts the "ravine of death" into which the French cavalry plunged to their doom, which is a myth invented by French author Victor Hugo. Perhaps the greatest blame for Napoleon's defeat is laid on Marshal Grouchy for failing to turn up at the battle. In truth, Napoleon made numerous strategic and tactical mistakes. Not only was it Napoleon who dispatched Grouchy to follow Blücher in the first place, he sent him additional orders at 10:00am, barely an hour before the battle began, to march on Wavre. Grouchy as a commander was generally competent but unimaginative, and followed his orders to the letter, and Napoleon knew that.

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: Napoleon, in the sense that very little, if any, blame is laid on Napoleon himself for his defeat, with it instead being placed on the weather, the incompetence of his marshals, and even an unspecified illness. While the film may have been foreshadowing his eventual death from stomach cancer, there is no evidence that Napoleon was in great pain and had to leave the field to recover, leaving command in the hands of the less competent Ney. The film in general favors the French historical perspective; it also depicts the "ravine of death" into which the French cavalry plunged to their doom, which is a myth invented by French author Victor Hugo. Perhaps the greatest blame for his defeat is laid on Marshal Grouchy for failing to turn up at the battle. In truth, Napoleon made numerous strategic and tactical mistakes. Not only was it Napoleon who dispatched Grouchy to follow Blücher in the first place, he sent him additional orders at 10:00am, barely an hour before the battle began, to march on Wavre. Grouchy as a commander was generally competent but unimaginative, and followed his orders to the letter, and Napoleon knew that.

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: Napoleon, in the sense that very little, if any, blame is laid on Napoleon himself for his defeat, with it instead being placed on the weather, the incompetence of his marshals, and even an unspecified illness. While the film may have been foreshadowing his eventual death from stomach cancer, there is no evidence that Napoleon was in great pain and had to leave the field to recover, leaving command in the hands of the less competent Ney. The film in general favors the French historical perspective; it also depicts the "ravine of death" into which the French cavalry plunged to their doom, which is a myth invented by French author Victor Hugo. In truth, Napoleon made numerous strategic and tactical mistakes. Perhaps the greatest blame for his defeat is laid on Marshal Grouchy for failing to turn up at the battle. Not only was it Napoleon who dispatched him to follow Blücher in the first place, he sent him additional orders at 10:00am, barely an hour before the battle began, to march on Wavre. Grouchy as a commander was generally competent but unimaginative, and followed his orders to the letter, and Napoleon knew that.

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: Napoleon, to the extend that very little, if any, blame is laid on Napoleon himself for his defeat, with it instead being placed on the weather, the incompetence of his marshals, and even an unspecified illness. While the film may have been foreshadowing his eventual death from stomach cancer, there is no evidence that Napoleon was in great pain and had to leave the field to recover, leaving command in the hands of the less competent Ney. The film in general favors the French historical perspective; it also depicts the "ravine of death" into which the French cavalry plunged to their doom, which is a myth invented by French author Victor Hugo. In truth, Napoleon made numerous strategic and tactical mistakes. Perhaps the greatest blame for his defeat is laid on Marshal Grouchy for failing to turn up at the battle. Not only was it Napoleon who dispatched him to follow Blücher in the first place, he sent him additional orders at 10:00am, barely an hour before the battle began, to march on Wavre. Grouchy as a commander was generally competent but unimaginative, and followed his orders to the letter, and Napoleon knew that.

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: Napoleon, to the extend that very little, if any, blame is laid on Napoleon himself for his defeat, with it instead being placed on the weather, the incompetence of his marshals, and even an unspecified illness. While the film may have been foreshadowing his eventual death from stomach cancer, there is no evidence that Napoleon was in great pain and had to leave the field to recover, leaving command in the hands of the less competent Ney. The film in general favors the French historical perspective; it also depicts a "ravine of death" into which the French cavalry plunged to their doom, which is a myth conceived by French author Victor Hugo. In truth, Napoleon made numerous strategic and tactical mistakes. Perhaps the greatest blame for his defeat is laid on Marshal Grouchy for failing to turn up at the battle. Not only was it Napoleon who dispatched him to follow Blücher in the first place, he sent him additional orders at 10:00am, barely an hour before the battle began, to march on Wavre. Grouchy as a commander was generally competent but unimaginative, and followed his orders to the letter, and Napoleon knew that.

-->'''King Louis''': How they exaggerate all this, the soldiers. ''In an iron cage.'' Hrmph. Nobody asked for that.

-->'''King Louis''': How they exaggerate all this, the soldiers. 'In an iron cage'?!? Hrmph. Nobody asked for that.

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: ** Napoleon, to the extend that very little, if any, blame is laid on Napoleon himself for his defeat, with it instead being placed on the weather, the incompetence of his marshals, and even an unspecified illness. While the film may have been foreshadowing his eventual death from stomach cancer, there is no evidence that Napoleon was in great pain and had to leave the field to recover, leaving command in the hands of the less competent Ney. The film in general favors the French historical perspective; it also depicts a "ravine of death" into which the French cavalry plunged to their doom, which is a myth conceived by French author Victor Hugo. In truth, Napoleon made numerous strategic and tactical mistakes. Perhaps the greatest blame for his defeat is laid on Marshal Grouchy for failing to turn up at the battle. Not only was it Napoleon who dispatched him to follow Blücher in the first place, he sent him additional orders at 10:00am, barely an hour before the battle began, to march on Wavre. Grouchy as a commander was generally competent but unimaginative, and followed his orders to the letter, and Napoleon knew that.

** The film is generally favourable to the French point of view in depicting the batte. Very little, if any, blame is laid on Napoleon himself for his defeat, with it instead being placed on the weather, the incompetence of his marshals, and even an unspecified illness. While the film may have been foreshadowing his eventual death from stomach cancer, there is no evidence that Napoleon was in great pain and had to leave the field to recover, leaving command in the hands of the less competent Ney. The film also depicts a "ravine of death" into which the French cavalry plunged to their deaths. This is a myth propagated by the French author Victor Hugo. In truth, Napoleon made numerous strategic and tactical mistakes. Perhaps the greatest blame for his defeat is laid on Marshal Grouchy for failing to turn up at the battle. Not only was it Napoleon who dispatched him to follow Blücher in the first place, he sent him additional orders at 10:00am, barely an hour before the battle began, to march on Wavre. Grouchy as a commander was generally competent but unimaginative, and followed his orders to the letter, and Napoleon knew that.

** The film is generally favourable to the French point of view in depicting the batte. Very little, if any, blame is laid on Napoleon himself for his defeat, with it instead being placed on the weather, the incompetence of his marshals, and even an unspecified illness. While the film may have been foreshadowing his eventual death from stomach cancer, there is no evidence that Napoleon was in great pain and had to be carried from the field to recover, leaving command in the hands of the less competent Ney. The film also depicts a "ravine of death" into which the French cavalry plunged to their deaths. This is a myth propagated by the French author Victor Hugo. In truth, Napoleon made numerous strategic and tactical mistakes. Perhaps the greatest blame for his defeat is laid on Marshal Grouchy for failing to turn up at the battle. Not only was it Napoleon who dispatched him to follow Blücher in the first place, he sent him additional orders at 10:00am, barely an hour before the battle began, to march on Wavre. Grouchy as a commander was generally competent but unimaginative, and followed his orders to the letter, and Napoleon knew that.

** The film is generally favourable to the French point of view in depicting the batte. Very little, if any, blame is laid on Napoleon himself for his defeat, with it instead being placed on the weather, the incompetence of his marshals, and even an unspecified illness. While the film may have been foreshadowing his eventual death from stomach cancer, there is no evidence that Napoleon was in great pain and had to be carried from the field to recover, leaving command temporarily in the hands of the less competent Ney. The film also depicts a "ravine of death" into which the French cavalry plunged to their deaths. This is a myth propagated by the French author Victor Hugo. In truth, Napoleon made numerous strategic and tactical mistakes. Perhaps the greatest blame for his defeat is laid on Marshal Grouchy for failing to turn up at the battle. Not only was it Napoleon who dispatched him to follow Blücher in the first place, he sent him additional orders at 10:00am, barely an hour before the battle began, to march on Wavre. Grouchy as a commander was generally competent but unimaginative, and followed his orders to the letter, and Napoleon knew that.

** The film is generally favourable to the French point of view in depicting the batte. Very little, if any, blame is laid on Napoleon himself for his defeat, with it instead being placed on the weather, the incompetence of his marshals, or even an unspecified illness. While the film may have been foreshadowing his eventual death from stomach cancer, there is no evidence that Napoleon was in great pain and had to be carried from the field to recover, leaving command temporarily in the hands of the less competent Ney. The film also depicts a "ravine of death" into which the French cavalry plunged to their deaths. This is a myth propagated by the French author Victor Hugo. In truth, Napoleon made numerous strategic and tactical mistakes. Perhaps the greatest blame for his defeat is laid on Marshal Grouchy for failing to turn up at the battle. Not only was it Napoleon who dispatched him to follow Blücher in the first place, he sent him additional orders at 10:00am, barely an hour before the battle began, to march on Wavre. Grouchy as a commander was generally competent but unimaginative, and followed his orders to the letter, and Napoleon knew that.

** The film is generally favourable to the French point of view in depicting the batte. Very little, if any, blame is laid on Napoleon himself for his defeat, with it instead being placed on the weather, the incompetence of his marshals, or even an unspecified illness. While the film may have been foreshadowing his eventual death from stomach cancer, there is no evidence that Napoleon was in great pain and had to be carried from the field to recover, leaving command temporarily in the hands of the less competent Ney. The film also depicts a "ravine of death" into which the French cavalry plunged to their deaths. This is a myth propagated by the French author Victor Hugo. The Prussians with their black flags and forboding music are also as close to "villains" as you can get in this film. In truth, Napoleon made numerous strategic and tactical mistakes. Perhaps the greatest blame for his defeat is laid on Marshal Grouchy for failing to turn up at the battle. Not only was it Napoleon who dispatched him to follow Blücher in the first place, he sent him additional orders at 10:00am, barely an hour before the battle began, to march on Wavre. Grouchy as a commander was generally competent but unimaginative, and followed his orders to the letter, and Napoleon knew that.

* HeroicBSOD: Wellington and Napoleon are both in BSOD mode after Waterloo. "The only thing sadder than a battle won is a battle lost."

* MyGreatestFailure: When the Prussians show up, Napoleon says "I made one mistake in my life. I did not burn Berlin."

** The film is generally favourable to the French point of view in depicting the batte. Very little, if any, blame is laid on Napoleon himself for his defeat, with it instead being placed on the weather, the incompetence of his marshals, or even an unspecified illness. While the film may have been foreshadowing his eventual death from stomach cancer, there is no evidence that Napoleon was in great pain and had to be carried from the field to recover, leaving command temporarily in the hands of the less competent Ney. The film also depicts a "ravine of death" into which the French cavalry plunged to their deaths. This is a myth propagated by the French author Victor Hugo. The Prussians with their black flags and forboding music are also as close to "villains" as you can get in this film. In truth, Napoleon made numerous strategic and tactical mistakes. Perhaps the greatest blame for his defeat is laid on Marshal Grouchy for failing to turn up at the battle. Not only was it Napoleon who dispatched him to follow Blücher in the first place, he sent him additional orders at 10:00am, barely an hour before the battle began, to march on Wavre rather than hasten to join him at Waterloo. Grouchy as a commander was generally competent but unimaginative, and followed his orders to the letter, and Napoleon knew that.

** The film is generally favourable to the French point of view in depicting the batte. Very little, if any, blame is laid on Napoleon himself for his defeat, with it instead being placed on the weather, the incompetence of his marshals, or even an unspecified illness. While the film may have been foreshadowing his eventual death from stomach cancer, there is no evidence that Napoleon was in great pain and had to be carried from the field to recover, leaving command temporarily in the hands of the less competent Ney. The film also depicts a "ravine of death" into which the French cavalry plunged to their deaths. This is a myth propagated by the French author Victor Hugo. The Prussians with their black flags and forboding music are also as close to "villains" as you can get in this film. In truth, Napoleon made numerous strategic and tactical mistakes. Perhaps the greatest blame for his defeat is laid on Marshal Grouchy for failing to turn up at the battle. Not only was it Napoleon who dispatched him to follow Blucher in the first place, he sent him additional orders at 10:00am, barely an hour before the battle began, to march on Wavre rather than hasten to join him at Waterloo. Grouchy as a commander was generally competent but unimaginative, and followed his orders to the letter, and Napoleon knew that.

** The film is generally favourable to the French point of view in depicting the batte. Very little, if any, blame is laid on Napoleon himself for his defeat, with blame being placed on the weather, the incompetence of his marshals, or even an unspecified illness. While the film may have been foreshadowing his eventual death from stomach cancer, there is no evidence that Napoleon was in great pain and had to be carried from the field to recover, leaving command temporarily in the hands of the less competent Ney. The film also depicts a "ravine of death" into which the French cavalry plunged to their deaths. This is a myth propagated by the French author Victor Hugo. The Prussians with their black flags and forboding music are also as close to "villains" as you can get in this film. In truth, Napoleon made numerous strategic and tactical mistakes. Perhaps the greatest blame for his defeat is laid on Marshal Grouchy for failing to turn up at the battle. Not only was it Napoleon who dispatched him to follow Blucher in the first place, he sent him additional orders at 10:00am, barely an hour before the battle began, to march on Wavre rather than hasten to join him at Waterloo. Grouchy as a commander was generally competent but unimaginative, and followed his orders to the letter, and Napoleon knew that.

* TheCavalry: As in real life, Prussians arrive in the nick of time to rescue Wellington's army, which the film dramatizes into a one giant charge lead by Blücher in person.

* LastStand: A couple of battalions of Napoleon's Guard attempt to make one, but they are too few and find themselves in a wide plain with no obstacles, so they cannot seriously impede the Allied pursuit. When they refuse to surrender, [[TearJerker Wellington has no choice but to let the cannons open fire on them with cannister shot]].

The cast featured Rod Steiger as UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte, Creator/ChristopherPlummer as UsefulNotes/TheDukeOfWellington, and Dan O'Herlihy 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.

* EverythingsLouderWithBagpipes: The Gordon Highlanders' advanced is marked by bagpipes that cut through the noise of the battlefield.