A Bit More on the Upcoming “Napoleon” Movie & Another Movie "Waterloo" From 1970

This was a picture I took of the sign (in Czech) showing that we were either at or near the site of the famous site of the Battle of Austerlitz, back in late August of 2019, during a brief afternoon driving through eastern Czechia. It seemed appropriate to add it here, since the discussion includes a little bit about Austerlitz. 

Yesterday, I shared a video on this blog from a professor who spoke about the historical accuracy of the movie trailer for the upcoming film "Napoleon," which stars Joachim Phoenix in the title role. The movie is set for release in November. Among the things that he questioned - and which I had my own doubts of as soon as I saw it - included the part where Napoleon's army causes damage to the Great Pyramid by firing cannons on it. Also, he expressed doubts about the legend (which this film seems to take as the truth) of Napoleon trapping  enemy soldiers by luring them onto a frozen lake at Austerlitz, and then using cannon fire to blow holes into the ice and have many of the enemy soldiers fall and either drown and/or freeze to death as a result.

Accurate or not, the professor suggested that, historically speaking, films based on real events in history traditionally do not do so well. And this, I imagine, probably is accurate. The only really huge movie that comes to mind based on an actual historical event would be "Titanic." Otherwise, none come immediately to mind, with the possible exception of "Saving Private Ryan," although this feels more like a cult favorite, rather than a blockbuster. I remember a lot of talk about the shock value of the movie, but not about it smashing records or doing exceptionally well at the box office.

In any case, the professor recommended some prep materials, if you will, if you want to be literate about the events of the movie before it comes out. One recommendation was a book: "Napoleon: A Concise Biography Book by David Bell." The other was a movie, simply called "Waterloo," which came out back in 1970. He said that a full version of it is available on Youtube, and I found it, and thought it might be worth sharing here.

Enjoy!

Waterloo (1970) | Starring Rod Steiger & Christopher Plummer | Sergei Bondarchuk | Remastered HD