Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- grandiose
- serious
- dramatic
- historical film night
- classic cinema viewing
What critics said
Critics recognize the film's historical scale and ambition but generally find its execution uneven.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The film presents Napoleon's campaign and the Battle of Austerlitz through expansive epic reconstruction.
Napoleon Bonaparte's leadership and greatest victory are the organizing concerns of the story.
The plot specifically reconstructs Napoleon's victory over Russian forces at Austerlitz.
Napoleon, Joséphine, Pauline, Pope Pius VII, and the Bonaparte family appear within an epic portrait of French power.
Films like The Battle of Austerlitz, and why
Waterloo
historical epic treatment of Napoleonic ambition and military strategy
The Duellists
large-scale historical war drama centered on a charismatic military leader
Napoleon
stylized historical epic focused on power, conquest, and political theater
Movie Details
- Director
- Abel Gance
- Release Date
- 1960-06-17
- Runtime
- 166 min
- Rating
- 6.6 / 10 (42)
Cast
- Pierre Mondy
- Martine Carol
- Claudia Cardinale
- Leslie Caron
- Vittorio De Sica
- Elvira Popescu
- Jean Marais
- Michel Simon
- Orson Welles
- Georges Marchal
Common questions
- What is The Battle of Austerlitz about?
- Abel Gance stages Napoleon Bonaparte’s decisive victory at Austerlitz as a grand, politically charged reconstruction of military genius and imperial ambition.
- What is The Battle of Austerlitz like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Battle of Austerlitz as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Battle of Austerlitz violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in The Battle of Austerlitz as graphic.
- What did critics think of The Battle of Austerlitz?
- Critics recognize the film's historical scale and ambition but generally find its execution uneven.
- Which films are like The Battle of Austerlitz?
- Films with a similar feel include Waterloo, The Duellists, and Napoleon.
- How long is The Battle of Austerlitz?
- The Battle of Austerlitz runs 166 minutes.
