Rod Steiger Dies

Waterloo on DVD review
Hunt for Four-Hour Version of Waterloo

By Richard Moore

It was with real sorrow that I heard of the death of Rod Steiger, the veteran American actor who played the role of Napoleon Bonaparte in Waterloo.

Steiger, who won an academy award for Best Actor for his performance of a racist Southern sheriff in In the Heat of the Night, died on 9 July. He was 77.

To my mind, Steiger's performance in Waterloo was one of the best I have seen and certainly the most brilliant portrayal of the French emperor.

Steiger showed Bonaparte's fiery temper, and his emotional side as well, to a depth little seen on screen.

Who can forget the scene where he farewells the Old Guard?

The actor played many other famous people in his lengthy career including Mussolini, Rasputin, Pope John XXIII, Rudolph Hess, Pontius Pilate and Al Capone.

But, for me, Steiger was the ultimate Napoleon.