William MacDonald

Slow, complex. Beautifully filmed.

Bloated, and worse, nothing to build audience connection with the key characters. Napoleon like a card board cutout. What a waste of such a high budget opportunity. At least in Gladiator we were encased in a great story, almost a Shakespearian tragedy. By the the time Waterloo got going, I left. Yes the battle scenes are well done, but again, it was like 'do I care'. Not really. The film lost me after 20 minutes. Too bad.

This is a deeply moving, complex love story set in East Africa during the early 20C. At so many levels this visual story explores life, loves, loss and resilience. The superb acting, costumes, landscapes, sound track, and overall beauty make it in my top five movies. If I were on a dessert island this and Babettes Feast would come with me.

The most authentic, engaging start to any Roman epic. A sprawling wonderfully filmed character drama. Excellent sound track. Wonderful landscapes and a gripping tense final 10 minutes. I have seen this movie 5 times.