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Austerlitz (1960 film)

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Austerlitz
Directed by Abel Gance
Written by Abel Gance
Nelly Kaplan
Roger Richebé
Produced by Antoinette Coty
Alexander Salkind
Starring Pierre Mondy
Martine Carol
Claudia Cardinale
Leslie Caron
Cinematography Henri Alekan
Robert Juillard
Edited by Léonide Azar
Yvonne Martin
Music by Jean Ledrut
Release date 1960
Running time 122 minute
Countries France
Italy
Yugoslavia
Language French
Box office 3,460,070 admissions (France)[1]

Austerlitz is a 1960 French historical drama film directed by Abel Gance and starring Jean Marais, Rossano Brazzi, Martine Carol, Jack Palance, Claudia Cardinale, Vittorio De Sica, Orson Welles, Leslie Caron and Jean-Louis Trintignant. Pierre Mondy portrays Napoleon in this film about his victory at the Battle of Austerlitz. Leslie Caron plays the role of his mistress Élisabeth Le Michaud d'Arçon.[2]

Plot

The first half of this film covers Napoleon's coronation as Emperor and political manoeuvrings while the second half covers the actual battle, where he beat both Austrian and Russian forces in his drive eastward.

Cast

Noteworthy

Composer Jean Ledrut claimed that "La Marche d'Austerlitz" from his score had been plagiarised by producer/composer Joe Meek in the 1962 pop hit "Telstar". The case was eventually dismissed, but the lawsuit prevented Meek from receiving royalties from the record during his lifetime, and the issue was not resolved in Meek's favour until three weeks after his suicide in 1967. Austerlitz was not released in the UK until 1965, and Meek was unaware of the film when the lawsuit was filed in March 1963.[4][5]

Versions

The original French version runs longer than the English dubbed international version. The French version contains extra scenes including ones with Napoleon visiting his mistress and of Jean Louis Trintignant imagining the coronation for the palace staff.

DVD

A French DVD was released including interviews with star Pierre Mondy and other participants.

References

  1. Back to citation "Box Office Figures for Jean Marais films". Box Office Story.
  2. Back to citation Jean-Marie Thiébaud (2006) Elisabeth Le Michaud d'Arçon: Maîtresse de Napoléon, Editions Cabedita ISBN 2-88295-473-5
  3. Back to citation "UCL SSEES Library: Bain Graffy Film Collection: DVD-4128". www.ucl.ac.uk. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  4. Back to citation "Austerlitz (1960)". IMDb.com. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  5. Back to citation "The JOE MEEK Page | Joe Meek: A Portrait - 7. The cases Telstar, Heinz, Madras Place, Howard/Blaikley". Joemeekpage.info. Retrieved 5 April 2014.