Austerlitz (1960)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Abel Gance

Writers:

Abel Gance (writer)
Nelly Kaplan (writer)

Release Date:

1960 (Yugoslavia)

Genre:

Drama | History

Plot:

Another of Napoleon's adventures in this epic reconstruction of the battle of Austerlitz, where he had the greatest victory of his career...

Plot Keywords:

Battle | French Soldier | Warfare | One Word Title | Battlefield

Cast

Pierre Mondy	...	Napoléon Bonaparte
Martine Carol	...	Joséphine de Beauharnais
Claudia Cardinale	...	Pauline Bonaparte
Leslie Caron	...	Mlle de Vaudey
Vittorio De Sica	...	Pope Pius VII
Elvire Popesco	...	Laetitia Bonaparte
Jean Marais	...	Carnot
Michel Simon	...	Alboise
Orson Welles	...	Robert Fulton
Georges Marchal	...	Le maréchal Jean Lannes
Jack Palance	...	General Weirother
Jean-Louis Trintignant	...	Ségur fils
Rossano Brazzi	...	Lucien Bonaparte
Jean Mercure	...	Talleyrand
Anna-Maria Ferrero	...	Elisa Bonaparte

Also Known As:

La battaglia di Austerlitz (Italy)
Napoleone ad Austerlitz (Italy)
The Battle of Austerlitz (USA)

Runtime:

France:166 min | USA:122 min | Argentina:166 min

Country:

France | Italy | Yugoslavia | Liechtenstein

Language:

French

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:16 | Finland:K-16 | Iceland:L

Company:

Compagnie Internationale de Productions Cinématographiques (CIPRA)

Trivia:

In the 1920s, Abel Gance had written a six-part movie biography of Napoleon. He shot the first part (Napoléon (1927)), which turned out to be a financial disaster. He sold the sixth part to Lupu Pick who shot Napoleon auf St. Helena (1929). Wanting to make a come back at the end of the fifties, he rewrote the third part to make it "Austerlitz".

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the scene in William Pitt's office in London which is set in the early 1800's, you can see in the background through the window the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, 60 years before they were built.

A wonderful work from a masterful artist

My review of this film can be summed up in five words a brilliant work of art.As described in the previous description the film itself is long and sometimes tedious.What it fails to mention is that it was created by the same Director that brought us the Silent film about Napoleon Abel Gance.The film is in colour and is very faithful to the feel of Napoleon and the time he ruled Europe.It is primarily about the greatest victory Napoleon achieved in his career,however it also touches on many of the events in his life leading up to that moment including his coronation as Emperor of France.If you are a student of Napoleon or French history or this time period you will enjoy this picture.Shot all throughout Europe in the fifties in many languages it remains in my opinion as the greatest picture chronicling Napoleon and his life.The film not only tells a story from his perspective but many others as well.It is difficult to find and even more expensive to own but I definitely recommend you see it at least once for yourself.