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. 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. 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 External links 1960 films 1960 war films 1960s historical films Films directed by Abel Gance Films set in the Czech Republic Films set in Austria Films set in 1804 Films set in 1805 Italian historical drama films Yugoslav historical drama films French epic films French historical drama films French war drama films Depictions of Napoleon on film Cultural depictions of Joséphine de Beauharnais Cultural depictions of Horatio Nelson Cultural depictions of Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord Napoleonic Wars films War epic films Battle of Austerlitz 1960s French-language films 1960s Italian films 1960s French films