DRIAINCLARK Reviews

Waterloo (I) (1970)

The real thing

[12 September 2013]

The miracle of modern CGI is wonderful to watch, but in any scene here, with however many thousands of real extras filmed from helicopter or plane, the local chaos of battle lends credibility to this film. The shot of the French Cavalry invading the field of British Squares is formidable, and the slow disappearance of the view behind clouds does indeed represent the fog of war. Gunpowder is a particularly dirty propellant and on the day itself I doubt much could be seen at all, but then shooting scenes composed mostly of gun smoke would not be terribly helpful or interesting.

I am slightly surprised by some IMDb commentators references to the true quotations appearing in the film attributed to the Duke of Wellington and others, and how they seem to "fit in". If the heroic character portrayed in the film actually said them, then they cannot be out of place! If you look up Wellington's quotations in any dictionary or internet site, his comment about nothing being worse than a battle lost than a battle won appears in several slight variations, in letters, quoted conversations etcetera.

Rather like Zulu, thank goodness this film was made when the focus was the battle and the generals, without endless diversions into moralising and personal stories. Waterloo was a battle between an alliance and a dictator, never mind the small print. This film deserves far greater credit than it was given. See it.

Zulu (1964)

A portrayal of bravery. Almost an historic document

[16 April 2002]

The opening village scene set in the Zulu capital engages one immediately, and Zulu is one of the first major commercial films to portray an African tribe as a magnificent and powerful society in its own right. As a portrayal of a sophisticated disciplined and warlike nation, it sets the scene for the very rapid build up of tension at Rorke's Drift; the Zulus had wiped out a huge British contingent at Islandwala, and were heading for the small outpost where the unsuspecting company of Welsh engineers and hospital in-mates are later to defend themselves against what appear to be overwhelming odds as 3000 Zulus attack them. The subsequent battle is now a set piece study of defensive strategy in many a military academy.

The swift crescendo of tension and fear anticipates the fast moving action films of later years, but one of the films virtues is that it was well advised. It was made when many people who had lived at the height of the British Empire were still alive, and so the portrayal of the army and its officers is free of our modern prejudice and bias; the officers in charge at Rorke's drift were probably even more unready for such a battle than those portrayed by Stanley Baker and Michael Caine, but the British Empire could never have been built and run by a bunch of pratts, and the current fashion for portraying the Victorian upper class as a set of wets and fops is very wide of the mark. My only slight criticism of the film is the casting of Michael Caine as one of these officers. Michael Caine is an outstanding actor, but can never quite conceal his Cockney roots, and just misses the arrogant and disdainful self confidence of the aristocratic officer class of the time.

The soundtrack is a real contribution to this film. The score contributes to the tension; the wonderful tribal music and dance would have been some of the first to be heard in the Western world, and the defenders of Rorke's Drift being Welsh, there are restrained hints of their vocal skills throughout the film until they are released in the full rendition of 'Men of Harlech' before the final assault, singing it to raise their spirits against the increasingly bellicose war song of the Zulus; it is one of Cinema's most memorable moments.

Such was the slaughter in the battle that one is reminded of Sellar and Yateman's comments under 'Attempts to amuse Queen Victoria' in their history spoof "1066 And All That" which reads: 'The Zulu War. Cause: The Zulus. The Zulus exterminated. Peace with the Zulus" But while the British won this battle and the war, the film is a testament to the discipline and fearlessness of the Zulus as well as the Welsh engineers, and as the Zulus retreat in the evening sun, one is left with a real admiration for the bravery and courage shown by both sides. And it does give a strong flavour of the Empire over which the sun never set. This is a timeless film and rewards repeated viewing.

Amadeus (1984)

Ravishing in sound and vision

[1 April 2002]

The unseen star of this film is the Academy of St Martin's in the Field, London. Buy the soundtrack and you will be rewarded with some of the most stunning music you can hear. Mozart's music excells with brilliant treatment and dies with a bad performance. And that, after all, is what the film is about. Without his music, Mozart would be lost in time, a fate that the narrator of the story, the composer Salieri, saw as his own. Ironically, while Salieri has indeed been completely overshadowed by Mozart, his music still survives and has its followers.

But beyond the music this is an outstanding film. Set in the prettiest and most flamboyant century of the last millennium, it is visually stunning and the writer's portrayal of jealousy is perceptive. The casting of the Austrian King and courtiers, (indeed all the actors in this film) that Mozart needed to impress capture the gentility and courtesy of the time, and also subtly shows their growing indignation and impatience at Mozart's personality and behaviour; the presentation of Mozart as punk musician is probably the only failing in the film. As a theatrical device to show that genius can come in disastrous packages it succeeds well, but anyone with any historic sense of social ettiquette or manners will know that Mozart's sill y behaviour would be well wide of the truth, as might, perhaps, be the concept of Salieri as murderer-in-chief. Only in the final scenes is Mozart's brilliance as a composer truly explored in what amounts to a deconstruction of his final composition - his moving, uncompleted and poignant Requiem mass.

Another unintended star in this film are the candle lit sets and theatres of the 18th Century; their operas and drama ooze a magic that is lacking in the present world and which modern producers might well try to reintroduce; so lovely are these buildings with their flickering lights and theatrical techniques that one is left desperate to to seek out these rare theatres to experience them.

This film leaves one breathless from its visual beauty, its magnificent score and the choreography, indeed, of the two together. Mozart's life had the air of tragedy, and his undoubted genius speaks to us now and forever. This film is a monument to the skills of the writer, maker, performers and, of course, Mozart's music. If you have not yet done so, see it.