History Film / Waterloo

The cast featured 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.

The cast featured Rod Steiger 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.

* BigBadassBattleSequence: The titular battle. Alongside Bondarchuk's ''Film/{{War and Peace|1966}}'', the Battle of Waterloo possibly features the largest number extras for an action sequence in film history.

* EpicTrackingShot: Quite a number of them. The overhead shot as Ney's cavalry ride into Wellington's infantry squares is one example - highlighting the military tactics of the time and the enormous scale of the battle/film.

* MagneticHero: Napoleon, although "hero" is up to the viewer's interpretation. After escaping Elba and marching towards Paris, he convinces every French soldier he comes across to join him - all without firing a single bullet.

* MagneticHero: Napoleon. After escaping Elba and marching towards Paris, he convinces every French soldier he comes across to join him - all without firing a single bullet.

* BigBadassBattleSequence: The titular battle. Alongside Bondarchuk's ''Film/{{War and Peace|1966}}'', the Battle of Waterloo possibly features the most extras for an action sequence of all time.

* BigBadassBattleSequence: The titular battle. Alongside Bondarchuk's 'Film/{{War and Peace}}', the Battle of Waterloo possibly features the most extras for an action sequence of all time.

* BigBadassBattleSequence: The titular battle.

-->'''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.

* FatherToHisMen: Napoleon, but to be expected considering his legacy and how he drastically reformed the army of France. Wellington has his moments but is generally more snarky and sardonic towards his troops.

* FatherToHisMen: Napoleon, but to be expected considering his legacy and how he drastically reformed the army of France. Wellington has his moments but is much snarkier and sardonic towards his troops.

* TheDreaded: Napoleon. Though the people of France rejoice when he returns to power, the rest of Europe can't help but watch and gather in trepidation. Reinforced when every newspaper (even French publications whilst under Bourbon control) call him "The Monster of Elba" and other prodigious sobriquets.

* TheDreaded: Napoleon. Though the people of France rejoice when he returns to power, the rest of Europe can't help but watch and gather in trepidation. Reinforced when every newspaper (even the French whilst under Bourbon control) call him "The Monster of Elba" and other prodigious sobriquets.

* Big Badass Battle Sequence: The titular battle.

--> '''Imperial Soldier 1''' (upon seeing the royal Fifth Regiment): "There's no way around."

* UndyingLoyalty: Represented by a number of French soldiers - particularly the Old Guard. Especially notable when Napoleon is still considered a fugitive.
--> '''French Soldier 1''' (upon seeing the royal Fifth Regiment): "There's no way around."
--> '''French Soldier 2''': "The way is forward."

* UndyingLoyalty: Represented by a number of French soldiers - particularly the First Guard. Especially notable when Napoleon is still considered a fugitive

--> French Soldier 1 (upon seeing the royal Fifth Regiment): "There's no way around."
--> French Soldier 2: "The way is forward."

--> Soldier: "There's no way around them."

* DeathSeeker: To a degree, Napoleon by the end of the film. He's badly ill, and wanting something more than to do die in exile, he tries to accompany the Old Guard on their last march. His doctors and generals talk him out of it.