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 (1960)
Countries	France Italy Yugoslavia
Language	French
Box office	3,460,070 admissions (France)[1]

Austerlitz is a 1960 French 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]

Synopsis

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.