Dramatic reconstructions are often
mocked by serious historians and even documentary film makers often
dismiss them as mere 'wallpaper'. (See BBC
article Historical Accuracy in Drama Documentaries by Detlef
Siebert)This extract compares the relative
power of two visual narratives. One is a recent History Channel
documentary, the other is from the feature film Waterloo, with Rod
Steiger playing Napoleon, directed by Sergey Bondarchuk.
Which is more effective and why?
