Not only was the movie terrible but my cinema was freezing. At least I felt very immersed in the retreat from Moscow for the 20 seconds it was on screen
Amazing factoid. The senior officer here killed is William Ponsonby, allegedly for being unwilling to risk riding his best and fastest horse in the battle. Horses are precious indeed. Also, his kinsman Frederick Ponsonby also fought at Waterloo and famously was sabred, lanced, left for dead in the mud, used as a firing stoop and robbed of all his clothes and gear [like many others among the wounded] but did not die and lived for years afterward, rising to general. The Ponsonby family had a tough day.
@@Erpes2 His fate was used for the fate of a character in the 'Sharpe' novels too; Lord John Rossendale. Rossendale is an antagonist of the books, and his fate is not nearly so lucky as Fredericks was.
His name is Jan Hunyadi, his other name is Don Quixote he has taught his men to kiss the hands of ladies from horseback. Oh insane cavalry! Both foreground and background must be correct for the cavalry to attack, for colour and romance are their reserves. Gathering blueberries at sunset, then riding forth, against the gray steeds of Krupp, as though death were a lady, to kiss her hand - Gunther Grass, translated, paraphrased, and misremembered
Polish lancers were with Napoleon until the very end of the war. Polish cavalry very often won clashes with the enemy. Their long lances wreaked fear among the English cavalry .
@@Delogros But those Dutch lancers were earlier based on the Polish lancers, even wore the Polish style "rogatywka" shako. Though this is true, there were few Polish lancers left, I think about 300 by the time of the battle.
@@aleksandersokal5279 Sure but the OP specified polish lancers not Polish styled lancers... I'm not sure how many where at Waterloo as I am unsure of any losses sustained at Ligny. though I thought there where 180-225 at Waterloo
The scene is extremely beautiful and enjoyable. But historically It's rather weak. Look at this charge! Depicted as extremely costly and completely useless. Only one French soldier dies by a British handgun. In real this charge brought the big French infantry attack to a collapse. D'Erlons corps was destroyed. After this failed attack, Napoleon had no real idea how to win this battle. And: The devastating cavalry attack was one reason (apart from the threat of Prussian calvalry) that the final attack of the French guard was executed in squares as protection against another devastating cavalry attack. But we know how vulnerable infantry squares were against effective British line infantry fire or cannister.
What it doesnt show is the Union bridge smashing through D-erlons infantry division. They didn't see it coming, so didn't form squares, they were cut to pieces, and the division was no longer effective for the battle. It is said to be one of the most effective cavalry charges ever. However they carried on far too far, most of the cavalry did manage to get back to British lines, assisted by the light cavalry, but were mostly spent for the rest of the battle, though Napoleon didnt know this, he could still see them in reserve, so it effected his further decisions. .
@@philldavies7940 Exactly. The French infantry was so busy with attacking the Allied line and annihilating trapped units that they didn't notice the cavalry timely. But it's interesting that the cavalry charge is depicted so negatively here. Was this done to highlight Wellington's superiority even more? Because when Wellington gives a direct command (in the end with the order to Maitland's infantry), this is very effective in contrast to the actions of Picton and Ponsonby. Bad move by the writers/director then. And one correction here: The final French guard attack was executed in columns, a formation designed to break through the enemy's line and provide more protection against cavalry than line formation.
Poignant - I think you're meant to reflect on the loss of life. A very early example of such a scene - it's been copied many times but never bettered. I find this to be more touching than anything in Saving Private Ryan tbh.
One of the greatest war/battle movies of all time. The amount of extra's required to pull this off. The realism of all the extra's really makes this movie. imagine trying to do this today.. CGI just doesn't quite cut it.
the Scots greys were annilated at water loo as were the French lancers when they encountered the British firing squares you can imagine if heavy calibre machine guns were used the carnage .
There were also some English and Irish regiments in the two British brigades, such as the 27th Irish dragoon’s. Of which napoleon complimented and even Wellington said he wouldn’t have one the battle without!. Poland was also Frances ally but this cavalry charge was made up of mostly Scottish cavalry, and the counter charge was mostly polish lancers
@@tamik7168 Sorry, it was french lancers. There was only one squadron of polish lancers at Waterloo, 120 men, who had been with Napoleon at Elba and at Waterloo as a part of the Old Guard, and they fought well, but wasn't part of this counterattacke.
@@tamik7168 Yeah there was not much Poles in the guard by the time of Waterloo, so majority of the lancers were French and Dutch. Though their formation was inspired by the Polish lancers.
I would argue that Bondarchuk's War&Peace is much better although military historians have commended Waterloo for its historically accurate depiction of the battle
3:20 "You'll hurt yourself." Wellington realised he was rude to the soldier and corrected himself without having to admit a mistake. A proper Gentleman.
"STOP THAT USELESS NOISE! You'll hurt yourself" The Duke of Wellington was known for doing stuff and like that and even cried after the battle of waterloo after he discovered the death toll
as a child i loved seeing these huge battles but now as a 50 year old it only saddens me at the complete senseless loss of life to both men and those poor horses .
It's probably supposed to be a seld defence weapon as it seams a bit small for a pistol of those times but some calvary did carry pistols as far back as the English civil war.
Beautifully filmed, but it is a sore shame the charge looks pointless in the movie; in reality they were used to charge D'Erlon's corps, who were in danger of breaking the Allied line. This they did succesfully, sending the French corps into a retreat, but got blood drunk and overextended. This itself is portrayed accurately (Hence Soult's 'worst lead' comment; British cavalry were well known for their 'charge and be damned' attitude) but not the entire reason they charged in the first place. Waterloo is a great movie, but it does miss stuff out. Also maybe someone can correct me if I am wrong, but i don't think British heavy cavalry carried pennants into battle in this period.
I’m glad you pointed that out. Having gone to such trouble to portray the charge in such detail, I can’t understand why they depicted it as apparently pointless and self destructive when it actually achieved an important objective, wreaking havoc amongst the French infantry, and capturing two eagles, of the 105th and 45th Ligne before riding on too far. It also misses another detail, that despite riding too far across the French lines and their horses being blown, the remainder of the depleted Union Brigade was saved thanks to the intervention of the Light Dragoons and of Dutch Belgian cavalry.
The one aspect of this scene that's not really shown from the battle is the huge number of French infantry the British heavy brigade slaughtered. It was possibly one of the best deployments of heavy cavalry of the era.
What is not shown here is in the process of moving forward to support Pack's Brigade which was beginning to break they totally trashed a French Column and after that being totally disorganized was still going to attack another French Column that was better prepared for them, but while focusing on the Scot's Greys opened up their flank to the 1st Royal Dragons which broke that column. Also one Sergeant Ewart captured a French Eagle (which was a very big deal) and was later promoted to Ensign. The Regiment took around 50% losses during this charge having suffered 104 dead and 97 wounded and lost 228 of the 416 horses. As for General Ponsonby he was actually captured initially but some Scot's Greys attempted to rescue him and the Lancer who had captured him then killed him and then used his lance to killed three of the rescuers. Now that is one individual who knew how to use a lance.
This is so beautiful in it's production and epic. It's taken me around 15 years since I first watched it to realise that the portrayal here of the Scots Greys charge is utterly pointless however - they literally charge blindly across the battlefield and then just before they reach anyone are recalled and killed. In reality they did great damage to the advancing French and caused a significant rout, capturing an eagle (with a second being captured by the 1st Dragoon Guards), before a smaller number lost control and charged too far into the French line to attack the cannons, and were then destroyed as they were on blown horses on the wrong side of the valley. Napoleon 2023 is unrealistic, but is consistently so - whereas this version of Waterloo feels like it had the ability and resources to make the Charge of the Scots Greys quite realistic, but chose not to - more happy to recreate the "Scotland Forever" painting, really! A great film regardless!
The charge of the Household and Union brigades, due to the nature of the ground; muddy, broken by farm tracks and hedges, probably kept the British cavalry from attaining more than a fast trot. It had the advantage of the slope, gradual as it was, and the advance was screened to a degree by the thick powder smoke that covered the field. Two of D'Erlon's divisions, which were already disordered, partially broke and the Cavalry's advance did carry into the French gun line. Most of the French gunners scampered off in the confusion, and were able to return to their pieces, though ammunition had become a problem and sniping from KGL Lights and the 95th did whittle away some of the French artillerymen. French cavalry from several different regiments did counter-charge the British brigades, who were now on blown, exhausted horses and the British cavalry lost about a third of it's men and more horses, rendering them hors de combat for the rest of the day.
I believe the British cavalry was still able to field 3 squadrons after the charge but this was used in a counter charge not long after their efforts to drive away D'Erlon's corps, I believe against dragoons. By the end the entire British heavy cavalry only had enough men and mounts to field a single squadron. Appalling casualties.
Master and commander has a similar feel to this film. In that a number of scenes look like they're straight out of a painting or could be a painting. That's film making, that's great. When the lancers @4:08 are riding down on Ponsonby, that moment could be a painting. Horsemen of Death charging in. Imagine an impression or abstract piece of that moment, riders coming in hard and fast for the kill, tools in hand. When you read descriptions of moments in battles and things sounds otherworldly in their descriptions, that's exactly what they're trying to convey. Trying to escape death, the thought of what happens if those guys get a hold of you. Other thing about the filming is there's nothing epic about how people get got, they got him and moved on. May not be gory but it's cold and brutal.
As beautiful as its inspiration: Scotland Forever! by Lady Elisabeth Butler, amazing painter. You can compare the painting and 0.16, 2.15, 2.30 or 2.36. Those horses, beauty I can hardly bear it.
It was the soldier's from 1 cavalry division led by Jacquinot who killed Ponsoby. It was 2 brigade 3 and 4 Regiment of Lancers and a little desciption. General's horse stucked in the mud, the french lancer shouted to him surrender, when he denied and a frenchman saw 5 soldiers running towards him: In a flash, the Frenchman killed the general and his major with 2 blows of his lance then charged the oncoming dragoons striking down 3 in less than a minute. The others abandoned the combat completely incapable of holding their own position"
From what I remember it wasn't so much that he refused as it was that he didn't understand what they were saying, so he kept trying to fight them until they gave up and killed him
@@jarosawsobieski2044 No, by this point there was only 100-300 Polish lancers in the Guard, majority of the lancers by this time were French and Dutch.
"Now Scots greys, now, those men on grey horses are terrifying, they are the noblest cavalry in Europe and the worst led, that may be, that may be, but we'll match them with our lancers"
In the movie, William Ponsonby, the man who led the scots greys, is having a conversation with the earl of uxbridge, the dude who later lost his leg. Ponsonby mentioned that his father had died after his horse had got stuck in a mud pile and was killed by the French. Ponsonby later got stuck in a mud pile and was stabbed by French lancers.
The duke knew EXACTLY what he was doing, he threw 2 brigades at the point of the french attack, a massed heavy brigade of scots greys, galloping downhill, and welsh and english dragoons with lances to back up the flanks of the scots, they captured 2 french eagles as a result, and is often reffered to as the turning point of the battle.
The whole damn field of battle was muddy. They never 'charged' like we see in the famous painting nor this movie. The Scots Greys never made it to a full gallop at any point in their actions that day.
@@FraserFir-sb4lk . They went back and forth through a French column at a moderate canter. Much slower than many people like to think a cavalry charge is.
The 92nd (Highland) Regiment of Foot charged with the Greys, the men holding on to the stirrups of the saddles. It is one of their greatest historical traditions. I suppose the filmmakers couldn't get enough stunt men to duplicate this.
@@proodjjuice-hz5sn Theres a number of disadvantages including a higher mortality rate in some battles and the cost of the horse which you would ahve to cover plus I think the sword, not an issue in the infantry.
Only Russian film director Sergei Bondarchuk can make such historical scenes with the real actors (the same was in War and Peace), now days it is only computer graphics. At that time it costs a lot, but it was great. I was told that for War and Peace Mr. Bondarchuk has to mobilize several Red Army regiments, and at that period the government kept only one cavalry brigade in the Army just for the filmmaking.
In the film, fifteen thousand Soviet soldiers were involved in crowd scenes, portraying infantry units. In 1967, on the initiative of Semyon Budyonny, the Eleventh Separate Cavalry Guards Cinematic Regiment was again created. Soldiers who served in the ranks of this regiment took part in the filming of battle scenes. They had to be able not only to ride a horse, but also to jump on it at full gallop, overcome obstacles, and perform various tricks. Naturally, those who trained in equestrian schools and participated in horse racing before serving had more skill in all this. Each squadron rode horses of a certain color, for example, the first squadron had brown horses, the second had dappled horses, the third had bay horses, etc. And, depending on the change in lighting, director Bondarchuk gave a command to the riders, which color should be performed at one time or another.
'Waterloo' the film was an epic production. Am I right in saying the lead officer that was surrounded in the mud and lanced to death was Lt. Col. James Hamilton? There are many memorable scenes in the film, one which I remember, I don't know why, is when Napoleon is taking breakfast, after a disturbed sleep. He looks at the dishes on offer and merely points and says, 'That One'.
Historically they'd use the straight 1796 Heavy Cavalry Sword which can even be seen in the painting about this charge, but in this movie they seem to have curved swords indicating that they are probably using the 1796 Light Cavalry Sabre here, or some other variation of curved sword.
@@boomstick617 I mean yes, heavy cavalry swords were a lot.. well.. heavier and stronger. They were more effective against massed infantry which the Greys fought and broke in their charge.
Having watched this scene many times, I can't decide wether the charge of the Heavy Brigade of the Scots Grey's was either incredibly brave ... ... or, once the Lancer's counter-charged, incredibly stupid ... One could say it was one of the few mistakes made by Wellington's side that day ...
What other choice did Wellington have, Napoleon was quite fond of his artillery and used it often, I believe it was a good choice to send in the Scots greys but then the Lancers offed em.
Well, the movie does not emphasize that they dispersed and decimated the advance of the Entire French I Corps, which was on the verge of breaking through the Allied line. They dispersed and demoralized about 25% of the French infantry, leaving Napoleon nothing but his own cavalry and the Guard to use in futile attempts to crush the British before the Prussian reinforcements arrived in force. This was an effective use of the British cavalry.
Amazing scene, but where is the part where the cavalry first obliterates the infantry, and captures 2 eagles?? That major part is totally glossed over? Am I right? Or did I miss something? Please feel free to comment
British Cavalry were the best trained with a sword and in individual horsemanship. Wellington considered a single company a match for two French companies. However, rarely could they be fielded in large enough numbers due to the increased difficulty in transporting enough horses. Also, they lacked the training in large field maneuvers in substantial numbers, so as the number of riders increased, Wellington believed that the advantage swung to the French, who were trained in large scale cavalry maneuvering.
I thinks Prussian or French cavalry were better, they had a better reputation and had better commanders like Murat, Ney or Davout. The french horse grenadiers guard and the polish lancers were the elite of the cavalry of their time and this scene prove it.
That five minutes was better than the entire 2.5 hours for the "Napoleon" film just released.
Not only was the movie terrible but my cinema was freezing. At least I felt very immersed in the retreat from Moscow for the 20 seconds it was on screen
yo yo chill lmao dont get your hopes high for historical movies nowadays
fact, this new 'Napoleon' is not the same as the 'Dynasty' series...
😂 thanks for the ‼️ warning!
Every scene in this movie is way better. It's like the real thing.
Amazing factoid. The senior officer here killed is William Ponsonby, allegedly for being unwilling to risk riding his best and fastest horse in the battle. Horses are precious indeed.
Also, his kinsman Frederick Ponsonby also fought at Waterloo and famously was sabred, lanced, left for dead in the mud, used as a firing stoop and robbed of all his clothes and gear [like many others among the wounded] but did not die and lived for years afterward, rising to general. The Ponsonby family had a tough day.
fascinating
I went to Frederick wiki page after that, really not a great couple of days for him lmao
@@Erpes2 His fate was used for the fate of a character in the 'Sharpe' novels too; Lord John Rossendale. Rossendale is an antagonist of the books, and his fate is not nearly so lucky as Fredericks was.
Ponsonby's from Tipperary in Ireland?
Fred lived to a ripe old age though, as memory serves.
There is something very beautiful about a mass cavalry charge
Deaaaaaaath!!!
His name is Jan Hunyadi, his other name is Don Quixote he has taught his men to kiss the hands of ladies from horseback. Oh insane cavalry! Both foreground and background must be correct for the cavalry to attack, for colour and romance are their reserves. Gathering blueberries at sunset, then riding forth, against the gray steeds of Krupp, as though death were a lady, to kiss her hand - Gunther Grass, translated, paraphrased, and misremembered
Imagine seeing this irl during the making of the movie. They didn’t have CGI in the 60s so these were all real people.
Not when your in the opposing force hahaha more like running away shitting yourself hahaha
Beautifully terrifying
“Send these to my son, save yourself”
That one polish lancer , waiting for this moment all his life:
3:15 “Stop that useless noise! You’ll hurt yourself.” So British lol
that line, and the way he said it, just perfection xD
British?
It’s just kindness.
Is your country not kind?
@@AR25326 to a certain extent but in America it would've been "shut the fuck up with that noise" both are pretty funny
It's more layered than that.
@@Grandmastergav86 how so?
2:16. The director must have used the painting ‘Scotland Forever!’ by Elizabeth Thompson as inspiration for this shot. Beautiful.
As inspiration , yes, but not for accuracy as they are traveling too fast and on a collision course.
I have this pic in my tv room, its fantastic.
Sergei Bondarchuk did a lot of research during the work on Waterloo. He was a great master of historical movies.
@@oxanareymers7521He didn't show the fact that the 'Greys' achieved their objective before they were cut down.
The first time I saw them being that painting to life was something special
Polish lancers were with Napoleon until the very end of the war. Polish cavalry very often won clashes with the enemy. Their long lances wreaked fear among the English cavalry .
Not really in this case given there where so few Poles they where put in a Dutch regiment for Waterloo
@@Delogros But those Dutch lancers were earlier based on the Polish lancers, even wore the Polish style "rogatywka" shako. Though this is true, there were few Polish lancers left, I think about 300 by the time of the battle.
@@aleksandersokal5279 Sure but the OP specified polish lancers not Polish styled lancers... I'm not sure how many where at Waterloo as I am unsure of any losses sustained at Ligny. though I thought there where 180-225 at Waterloo
@@Delogros I once heard there were as few as 160 Polish lancers at waterloo.
@@t.wcharles2171 I guess it is hard to say, because they were mixed in the formation of the Dutch Lancers.
This is the best historical film I've ever watched, and this scene is epic.
Gettysburg is really good too
The scene is extremely beautiful and enjoyable. But historically It's rather weak. Look at this charge! Depicted as extremely costly and completely useless. Only one French soldier dies by a British handgun.
In real this charge brought the big French infantry attack to a collapse. D'Erlons corps was destroyed. After this failed attack, Napoleon had no real idea how to win this battle.
And: The devastating cavalry attack was one reason (apart from the threat of Prussian calvalry) that the final attack of the French guard was executed in squares as protection against another devastating cavalry attack. But we know how vulnerable infantry squares were against effective British line infantry fire or cannister.
What it doesnt show is the Union bridge smashing through D-erlons infantry division. They didn't see it coming, so didn't form squares, they were cut to pieces, and the division was no longer effective for the battle. It is said to be one of the most effective cavalry charges ever. However they carried on far too far, most of the cavalry did manage to get back to British lines, assisted by the light cavalry, but were mostly spent for the rest of the battle, though Napoleon didnt know this, he could still see them in reserve, so it effected his further decisions. .
@@philldavies7940 Exactly. The French infantry was so busy with attacking the Allied line and annihilating trapped units that they didn't notice the cavalry timely.
But it's interesting that the cavalry charge is depicted so negatively here. Was this done to highlight Wellington's superiority even more?
Because when Wellington gives a direct command (in the end with the order to Maitland's infantry), this is very effective in contrast to the actions of Picton and Ponsonby. Bad move by the writers/director then.
And one correction here: The final French guard attack was executed in columns, a formation designed to break through the enemy's line and provide more protection against cavalry than line formation.
The slow motion scene starting at 1:50 is very.. I'm not sure how to describe it. It's beautiful, and majestic. The scene is extremely well made.
Scene stuck with me like no other
Poignant - I think you're meant to reflect on the loss of life. A very early example of such a scene - it's been copied many times but never bettered. I find this to be more touching than anything in Saving Private Ryan tbh.
@@Grandmastergav86 I took it to be a reference to the painting
@@guilty_mulburry5903 yeah I assumed it was attempting to recreate the painting "Scotland Forever!"
@@notaname8140 no charge of the Scots Greys looks exactly like that shot, its a beautiful painting
I have this as a big picture in my tv room.
I saw this as a small child and have never got over this scene, its amazing piece of film
One of the greatest war/battle movies of all time. The amount of extra's required to pull this off. The realism of all the extra's really makes this movie. imagine trying to do this today.. CGI just doesn't quite cut it.
Not to mention the extras are Russian soldiers irl
@@dragonstormdipro1013yep, 15-20 thousand Soviet soldiers and not to mention all the work put into recreating the battlefield itself
I seriously couldn't imagine being a soldier and seeing all of those horses thundering towards you. It would make you just want to turn and run
They'd still get you!
actually if you stay and fight you have a better chance of surviving, especially if you have a gun and a bayonete
if you run away
the scots grey will smash you with their lancers with a union jack on it
or the horse will just charge at you and smash your bones
@@gutsjoestar7450 Vive les Ecossais!
@@rogueriderhood1862 ce sont des britannique donc ennemi du peuple
Beautiful scene, it just shows how brave the men are as they ride towards their possible deaths. I salute all the men at Waterloo for their duty.❤
😂😂😂
Where s that bravery !!???
@@DaniDanielo2000 it’s clear isn’t it? It takes a strong amount of courage to ride towards the enemy who are hundreds of deadly lances.
But in the film, for some reason, the faces of these cavalrymen are Russian...😁
the Scots greys were annilated at water loo as were the French lancers when they encountered the British firing squares you can imagine if heavy calibre machine guns were used the carnage .
This movie is just insane. Well done.
“Those men on gray horses look terrifiying “ so true
Watching Scottish and Polish cavalry fight in Belgium is something out of a weird total war campaign
There were also some English and Irish regiments in the two British brigades, such as the 27th Irish dragoon’s. Of which napoleon complimented and even Wellington said he wouldn’t have one the battle without!. Poland was also Frances ally but this cavalry charge was made up of mostly Scottish cavalry, and the counter charge was mostly polish lancers
In reality, it was a french lancier regiment who fought with scottish cavalry.
@@didierpaya9069it was't french lancier, only polish.
@@tamik7168 Sorry, it was french lancers. There was only one squadron of polish lancers at Waterloo, 120 men, who had been with Napoleon at Elba and at Waterloo as a part of the Old Guard, and they fought well, but wasn't part of this counterattacke.
@@tamik7168 Yeah there was not much Poles in the guard by the time of Waterloo, so majority of the lancers were French and Dutch. Though their formation was inspired by the Polish lancers.
“Waterloo” is the Soviet Union’s “Gone with the Wind.” There will be no movie that can outmatch “Waterloo.”
Except Waterloo is actually good
I would argue that Bondarchuk's War&Peace is much better although military historians have commended Waterloo for its historically accurate depiction of the battle
War and Peace?
Gettysburg I’d say at least deserves to be mentioned
Good film but doesn't quite get the scale of Waterloo or War and Peace...or the high stakes@@grug6682
3:20 "You'll hurt yourself." Wellington realised he was rude to the soldier and corrected himself without having to admit a mistake. A proper Gentleman.
"STOP THAT USELESS NOISE! You'll hurt yourself"
The Duke of Wellington was known for doing stuff and like that and even cried after the battle of waterloo after he discovered the death toll
"STOP THAT USELESS NOISE!"
"...you'll hurt yourself"
Whenever I feel my courage failing - I think of the Scots Greys at Waterloo and replay that heroic bugle call in my head.
directed by Sergei Bondarchuk, a great Soviet filmmaker and actor
as a child i loved seeing these huge battles but now as a 50 year old it only saddens me at the complete senseless loss of life to both men and those poor horses .
I feel so too.
How is it senseless? There is purpose behind it, yes it’s tragic, but there are important things at stake
@rhysnichols8608
Purpose: Some guy escaped from an island and an entire continent declares a war on him while he tries to conquer it
@@rhysnichols8608lol you're so stupid
Because of those ..".magnificient " generals of the time...
History is funny. Scotish vs. Polish cavalry clashed in Belgium
Whilst enlisted in the British and French armies, respectively.
Yes but Scots are British
then the winged hussars arrive
Were the Polish Legions present in Waterloo?
@@hexa3389 1.14 lancers
3:44
On the left you can see a time traveling cavalryman pulled out his Glock and waste that lancer .
It's probably supposed to be a seld defence weapon as it seams a bit small for a pistol of those times but some calvary did carry pistols as far back as the English civil war.
Good lad, the Scots don’t mess around
You say that but I bet you love Superspiderantwonderwoman in all it's CGI bullshittery.
They'll even go back in time to have a brawl
Also a waste of a perfectly good lance
Beautifully filmed, but it is a sore shame the charge looks pointless in the movie; in reality they were used to charge D'Erlon's corps, who were in danger of breaking the Allied line. This they did succesfully, sending the French corps into a retreat, but got blood drunk and overextended. This itself is portrayed accurately (Hence Soult's 'worst lead' comment; British cavalry were well known for their 'charge and be damned' attitude) but not the entire reason they charged in the first place. Waterloo is a great movie, but it does miss stuff out.
Also maybe someone can correct me if I am wrong, but i don't think British heavy cavalry carried pennants into battle in this period.
British cavalry did indeed bear their regimental colours in battle
Completely agree! Missed the capturing of an Eagle too.
Been to the pub on the royal mile in Edinburgh, the ensign Ewart who took the eagle
Excellent point, well said.
I’m glad you pointed that out. Having gone to such trouble to portray the charge in such detail, I can’t understand why they depicted it as apparently pointless and self destructive when it actually achieved an important objective, wreaking havoc amongst the French infantry, and capturing two eagles, of the 105th and 45th Ligne before riding on too far. It also misses another detail, that despite riding too far across the French lines and their horses being blown, the remainder of the depleted Union Brigade was saved thanks to the intervention of the Light Dragoons and of Dutch Belgian cavalry.
-“Sir, the scots are coming”
-“There’s nothing we can do” 😔
i mean they lost here
Well the Scots Grey's destroyed by frenchies lancer
@@rantitikritis8265 mostly polish lancers
@@michakisielewicz6685 no mostly French, only 100~ Polish Lancers in waterloo
@@rantitikritis8265I don't think they got destroyed since they took the frenchies standard back to Edinburgh.
Gordon Highlanders charged behind them yelling to the greys “go at them the greys, Scotland forever!”
I wonder how many horses were killed in filming this masterpiece
none (unless you’re joking about cameras in the 1800s)
The one aspect of this scene that's not really shown from the battle is the huge number of French infantry the British heavy brigade slaughtered. It was possibly one of the best deployments of heavy cavalry of the era.
Kocham te sceny o POLSKICH UŁANACH.
Niech żyje Polska ! 💪🇲🇫🤝🇵🇱💪
These 5 minutes had everything a decent historical movie has: Action, Drama, and a little bit of comedy
This movie is just insane. Well done.. 3:15 “Stop that useless noise! You’ll hurt yourself.” So British lol.
Polska kawaleria w roli głównej.
The whole sequence starting at 1:50 is amazing. One of my favorite shots in all of Cinema
What is not shown here is in the process of moving forward to support Pack's Brigade which was beginning to break they totally trashed a French Column and after that being totally disorganized was still going to attack another French Column that was better prepared for them, but while focusing on the Scot's Greys opened up their flank to the 1st Royal Dragons which broke that column. Also one Sergeant Ewart captured a French Eagle (which was a very big deal) and was later promoted to Ensign. The Regiment took around 50% losses during this charge having suffered 104 dead and 97 wounded and lost 228 of the 416 horses.
As for General Ponsonby he was actually captured initially but some Scot's Greys attempted to rescue him and the Lancer who had captured him then killed him and then used his lance to killed three of the rescuers. Now that is one individual who knew how to use a lance.
Очень жаль, что Стенли Кубрик, в своё время, не снял фильм о Наполеоне Бонапарте. Очень жаль. Уверен, это был бы лучший фильм.
this film is legendary, insane how they put it together.
Now, my boys, Scotland forever!
Humans can choose whether to risk their lives. When I see something like this I think of horses screaming in pain, not knowing why this is going on.
Its an entertaining movie! enjoyed watching it.
This is so beautiful in it's production and epic. It's taken me around 15 years since I first watched it to realise that the portrayal here of the Scots Greys charge is utterly pointless however - they literally charge blindly across the battlefield and then just before they reach anyone are recalled and killed. In reality they did great damage to the advancing French and caused a significant rout, capturing an eagle (with a second being captured by the 1st Dragoon Guards), before a smaller number lost control and charged too far into the French line to attack the cannons, and were then destroyed as they were on blown horses on the wrong side of the valley.
Napoleon 2023 is unrealistic, but is consistently so - whereas this version of Waterloo feels like it had the ability and resources to make the Charge of the Scots Greys quite realistic, but chose not to - more happy to recreate the "Scotland Forever" painting, really!
A great film regardless!
Amazing cut from the amazing movie
Give me 1080p. Or give me Blücher....
Stale Baguette 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Scotland Forever!!!
The charge of the Household and Union brigades, due to the nature of the ground; muddy, broken by farm tracks and hedges, probably kept the British cavalry from attaining more than a fast trot. It had the advantage of the slope, gradual as it was, and the advance was screened to a degree by the thick powder smoke that covered the field. Two of D'Erlon's divisions, which were already disordered, partially broke and the Cavalry's advance did carry into the French gun line. Most of the French gunners scampered off in the confusion, and were able to return to their pieces, though ammunition had become a problem and sniping from KGL Lights and the 95th did whittle away some of the French artillerymen. French cavalry from several different regiments did counter-charge the British brigades, who were now on blown, exhausted horses and the British cavalry lost about a third of it's men and more horses, rendering them hors de combat for the rest of the day.
Nie Francuzi kontratakowali tylko POLSCY lansjerzy.
@@jarosawsobieski2044 był tam tylko niewielki oddział polskich ułanów, byli to Francuzi
I believe the British cavalry was still able to field 3 squadrons after the charge but this was used in a counter charge not long after their efforts to drive away D'Erlon's corps, I believe against dragoons. By the end the entire British heavy cavalry only had enough men and mounts to field a single squadron. Appalling casualties.
Master and commander has a similar feel to this film. In that a number of scenes look like they're straight out of a painting or could be a painting. That's film making, that's great. When the lancers @4:08 are riding down on Ponsonby, that moment could be a painting. Horsemen of Death charging in. Imagine an impression or abstract piece of that moment, riders coming in hard and fast for the kill, tools in hand. When you read descriptions of moments in battles and things sounds otherworldly in their descriptions, that's exactly what they're trying to convey. Trying to escape death, the thought of what happens if those guys get a hold of you. Other thing about the filming is there's nothing epic about how people get got, they got him and moved on. May not be gory but it's cold and brutal.
Magnifique documentaire
As beautiful as its inspiration: Scotland Forever! by Lady Elisabeth Butler, amazing painter. You can compare the painting and 0.16, 2.15, 2.30 or 2.36.
Those horses, beauty I can hardly bear it.
I love Wellington's "Stop that useless noise!... You'll hurt yourself."
XD
Moment of slow motion is this part of cinema which completely lack nowadays.
Fantástica película .
Waterloo Esta magnífica producción la ví en la década de los 80's siendo yo aún un adolescente
*años 70
It was the soldier's from 1 cavalry division led by Jacquinot who killed Ponsoby. It was 2 brigade 3 and 4 Regiment of Lancers and a little desciption. General's horse stucked in the mud, the french lancer shouted to him surrender, when he denied and a frenchman saw 5 soldiers running towards him:
In a flash, the Frenchman killed the general and his major with 2 blows of his lance then charged the oncoming dragoons striking down 3 in less than a minute. The others abandoned the combat completely incapable of holding their own position"
From what I remember it wasn't so much that he refused as it was that he didn't understand what they were saying, so he kept trying to fight them until they gave up and killed him
No french lance only POLISH
@@jarosawsobieski2044 No, by this point there was only 100-300 Polish lancers in the Guard, majority of the lancers by this time were French and Dutch.
"Now Scots greys, now, those men on grey horses are terrifying, they are the noblest cavalry in Europe and the worst led, that may be, that may be, but we'll match them with our lancers"
I would be so pissed if I was trained ready and ran into battle to have my horse stumble early
Great film that 👌
honestly this is my favorite movie but im still rooting for the french even if i know that grouchy cant hold back the prussians.
WHERE IS GROUCHY
In the movie, William Ponsonby, the man who led the scots greys, is having a conversation with the earl of uxbridge, the dude who later lost his leg. Ponsonby mentioned that his father had died after his horse had got stuck in a mud pile and was killed by the French. Ponsonby later got stuck in a mud pile and was stabbed by French lancers.
It is brilliant how Napoleon respects his enemies even when he is losing
He was winning at this point. He wasnt losing until Blucher arrived.
@@ravnen25 debatable
@@blackkray8351 He really was winning actually, but not a big lead tbh
Like 2 hours after this blucher arrived
He wasn't winning...and besides had no idea that Wellington had arranged for Blucher to be on the field that day.@@ravnen25
The duke knew EXACTLY what he was doing, he threw 2 brigades at the point of the french attack, a massed heavy brigade of scots greys, galloping downhill, and welsh and english dragoons with lances to back up the flanks of the scots, they captured 2 french eagles as a result, and is often reffered to as the turning point of the battle.
The whole damn field of battle was muddy. They never 'charged' like we see in the famous painting nor this movie. The Scots Greys never made it to a full gallop at any point in their actions that day.
@@FraserFir-sb4lk . They went back and forth through a French column at a moderate canter. Much slower than many people like to think a cavalry charge is.
No animals weren't harmed in the making of this film
😂 en serio ??? 😂
The 92nd (Highland) Regiment of Foot charged with the Greys, the men holding on to the stirrups of the saddles. It is one of their greatest historical traditions. I suppose the filmmakers couldn't get enough stunt men to duplicate this.
3:12 little scenes like these add so much to the film
1:26 that AAAAEHHH had me rolling to the floor💀
I love when it goes all Terence Malik in the middle!
Nie ma jak Polscy Lancierzy :D CHWAŁA WIELKIEJ POLSCE
Its a shame it misses out them absolutely obliterating the French infantry assault and the taking of the first eagle
I See the light Brigade has a proud Tradition...
I approve the slow mo on that cav charge
Spectacular, and no computer enhancement!
Have you ever scene the movie, The Duel with Harvey Keitel. Its truly beautiful scenery. Many scenes were like a painting.
Now that's a cavalry charge.
Ridley Scott should take notes...
Being in a cavalry charge of that scale must have been such a thrill of a lifetime.
Literally, because most of them were totally butchered during it.
@@Blisterdude123 I suspect he means the extras for the film not the real charge :)
Yes, although frequently a terminal one!
I'd rather be cavalryman than be in lines tbh
@@proodjjuice-hz5sn Theres a number of disadvantages including a higher mortality rate in some battles and the cost of the horse which you would ahve to cover plus I think the sword, not an issue in the infantry.
“Don’t Shoot I’m Polish.”-A Polish Lancer
just had a moment like Ponsoby's death in bannerlord
RIP to you
Great Bratin
I wish it was still the 1800’s using good tactics and have beautiful uniforms with better regiments
The reason why this movie was so historically accurate and super well done is because it was just 1 big reenactment
Only Russian film director Sergei Bondarchuk can make such historical scenes with the real actors (the same was in War and Peace), now days it is only computer graphics. At that time it costs a lot, but it was great. I was told that for War and Peace Mr. Bondarchuk has to mobilize several Red Army regiments, and at that period the government kept only one cavalry brigade in the Army just for the filmmaking.
i recommend to watch History Buff's Waterloo movie review
In the film, fifteen thousand Soviet soldiers were involved in crowd scenes, portraying infantry units. In 1967, on the initiative of Semyon Budyonny, the Eleventh Separate Cavalry Guards Cinematic Regiment was again created. Soldiers who served in the ranks of this regiment took part in the filming of battle scenes. They had to be able not only to ride a horse, but also to jump on it at full gallop, overcome obstacles, and perform various tricks. Naturally, those who trained in equestrian schools and participated in horse racing before serving had more skill in all this. Each squadron rode horses of a certain color, for example, the first squadron had brown horses, the second had dappled horses, the third had bay horses, etc. And, depending on the change in lighting, director Bondarchuk gave a command to the riders, which color should be performed at one time or another.
20,000 Red Army extras for Waterloo
This 1970 film co-production with the Soviet Red Army and big USSR film studio from 53 years ago is more immersive than the new Napoleon 2023 movie.
Du sagst es.
I still wonder how they managed to let the horses fall/lay on the ground being in the middle of full Galopp
funny how main actors pretend they ride on horses :D but still no CGI stun effects impressive
'Waterloo' the film was an epic production. Am I right in saying the lead officer that was surrounded in the mud and lanced to death was Lt. Col. James Hamilton? There are many memorable scenes in the film, one which I remember, I don't know why, is when Napoleon is taking breakfast, after a disturbed sleep. He looks at the dishes on offer and merely points and says, 'That One'.
no thats Major General William Ponsonby!
R.I.P Horseback Rider Redcoat Troops.
⛪➕✝️⚰️😢💐👑🇬🇧⚔️
I can't get a look at the Scots Grey swords. Are they the 1796 Light Cavalry Sabre or the 1796 Heavy Cavalry Sword?
Historically they'd use the straight 1796 Heavy Cavalry Sword which can even be seen in the painting about this charge, but in this movie they seem to have curved swords indicating that they are probably using the 1796 Light Cavalry Sabre here, or some other variation of curved sword.
Is the pedantry really necessary?
Of course it is. I’m a history buff, being pedantic is literally my profession.
Oh thank God, I thought I was the only one who've noticed (and was going insane).
@@boomstick617 I mean yes, heavy cavalry swords were a lot.. well.. heavier and stronger. They were more effective against massed infantry which the Greys fought and broke in their charge.
Having watched this scene many times, I can't decide wether the charge of the Heavy Brigade of the Scots Grey's was either incredibly brave ...
... or, once the Lancer's counter-charged, incredibly stupid ...
One could say it was one of the few mistakes made by Wellington's side that day ...
What other choice did Wellington have, Napoleon was quite fond of his artillery and used it often, I believe it was a good choice to send in the Scots greys but then the Lancers offed em.
Yhey actually charged too far by mistake, presumably got carried away.
Well, the movie does not emphasize that they dispersed and decimated the advance of the Entire French I Corps, which was on the verge of breaking through the Allied line. They dispersed and demoralized about 25% of the French infantry, leaving Napoleon nothing but his own cavalry and the Guard to use in futile attempts to crush the British before the Prussian reinforcements arrived in force. This was an effective use of the British cavalry.
Didnt they take out at least some artillery crew?
@@stvdagger8074 Yes, it's a shame they got carried away and charged the French gun line. Wellington always said that his cavalry got him into trouble.
I was thinking the same thing
3:16 - thank you Sir Wellington!!
OMG I LOVE THIS MOVIE.
Amazing scene, but where is the part where the cavalry first obliterates the infantry, and captures 2 eagles?? That major part is totally glossed over? Am I right? Or did I miss something? Please feel free to comment
You did not miss anything, they just didn't include d'Erlons corps getting charged, it's really stupid that they just ignored that.
there's probably dozens of hours of footage they had to cut, including that scene. The editing in this film is kind of weird
1:16 Polska Walczy !
2:14 🤯 SHOCK!!!
naouw!
poor horses.. poor horses....
good horses though
Most beautiful moment in the movie 1:54 :,)
British Cavalry were the best trained with a sword and in individual horsemanship. Wellington considered a single company a match for two French companies. However, rarely could they be fielded in large enough numbers due to the increased difficulty in transporting enough horses. Also, they lacked the training in large field maneuvers in substantial numbers, so as the number of riders increased, Wellington believed that the advantage swung to the French, who were trained in large scale cavalry maneuvering.
I thinks Prussian or French cavalry were better, they had a better reputation and had better commanders like Murat, Ney or Davout. The french horse grenadiers guard and the polish lancers were the elite of the cavalry of their time and this scene prove it.
2:12 iconic
"Terrifying" "noblest cavalry in Europe" "Oh, no! Long pointy sticks"
I really like this movie. Felt bad about the horses falling though.
When the nicest teacher comes in: