Napoleon: How Ridley Scott filmed the Battle of Waterloo

23 years after Ridley Scott played the tyrant Commodus in his Gladiator, Joaquin Phoenix now wears the bicorne of a prominent figure in our history, Napoleon.

French historians and critics may criticize his film and criticize the (big) liberties the cinematographer took with the character and events he chose, but Scott brushes them aside.

It’s hard to make a movie like that because it’s a historical movie and you shouldn’t make it a history lesson. Scott comments.

If Napoleon led dozens of famous battles, such as Jena, Wagram, Friedland or Moscow (otherwise known as Borodino), it was logically impossible for the director to show too much in a 2h40 feature film, which forced him to make a drastic choice.

And they’re quite clever in that aspect, as he chose to focus on two iconic battles. Austerlitz, December 2, 1805, representing the pinnacle of Napoleon’s military art. and Waterloo, the Emperor’s last battle, on June 18, 1815, which would bring about the fall of the Empire.

square formation

In fact, Napoleon fielded 74,000 troops at the Battle of Waterloo against 68,000 British infantry and 12,600 cavalry from the United Netherlands, supported by 50,000 Prussian reinforcements.

If Scott used a generous budget to make his film, it is long past time to squander the resources that Sergei Bundarchuk managed to do on his Waterloo, which can call upon – indeed – 70,000 men on loan from the Moscow authorities for battlefield maneuvers. .

An absolutely incredible and very impressive result. And we’re not talking about his epic film War and Peace…

In order to find the perfect terrain for the fight, Scott’s team traveled to dozens of locations across Britain and muddy locations. Finally landed on a farm in Berkshire.

In Brentford, a suburb of London, the production team set up a “war room” where there was a 3D representation of the given terrain.

Paul Biddis, Scott’s military adviser, then recruited 500 men, whom he trained in barracks located in Hounslow (a suburb of London). Buildings that also date back to the Napoleonic era.

At the end of this first selection, he finally selected 300, according to him the best and most suitable, to send them to the location where the battle was filmed. The magic of CGI has passed: thanks to special effects, the hundreds of people who played soldiers have become thousands.

Since the scenes were shot on multiple cameras simultaneously, up to 11, it was impossible to fake the action or hide it in the background… because there simply wasn’t a background.

“Everybody had to know how to maneuver, how to load a musket, how to advance on foot and get from point A to point B like a Napoleonic soldier. Comments by Biddiss.

Who will add: “Napoleonic wars were wars, there were massacres among soldiers. They were all to express it by their games, as if they were preparing to die in the face of cannon, grape, and musket fire.

It also highlights the different ways in which British and French soldiers reloaded their guns.

Utrinque Paratus: “Ready for anything”

“When you’re shooting with Ridley Scott, you have to be prepared for any eventuality. If we get on set and Ridley says, ‘The extras have to come out and make a infantry pitch,’ I can tell them, ‘En. Position towards the Cavalry!” and they immediately deploy on the field, then take up the required position. I always use the motto of my regiment: Utrinque Paratus, ready for anything”.

Scott spins fast, very fast. If the Battle of Austerlitz was filmed in only three and a half days out of the planned six, the Battle of Waterloo would take five days. Suffice it to say that everyone in such an organization has an interest in knowing exactly what to do, how to do it, and when to do it.

Enough to make a few Paul Biddis sweat. “The most difficult maneuver was the formation of human squares with bayonets outside – the infantry formation that the British used to scare the French horses. I spent sleepless nights wanting to make sure that these guys made this square perfectly.” he says.

On the appointed day, the maneuver was executed perfectly, much to the satisfaction of Scott, who called Bidis on his walkie-talkie: “Buy these guys a pint!”