Production Notes
During the shoot 30 British, 10 French and 10 Spanish actors, 148 crew members and 400 extras were employed. Including secondary actors, extras and principal actors, nearly 500 costumes and 1000 boots were used.
30 tents were put up for the re-creation of the British and French camps. 128 muskets and 130 sabres were used for the battle scenes and more than 40 kilos of gunpowder were ignited in shots and cannon fire.
The actors and horsemen rode about 40 different horses which consumed nearly 4 tons of horsefeed.
11 wagons were sent to the locations from Madrid and the crew were supplied with water from 3 large trucks full of bottled water. At Izarra college, where the crew lived during the shoot, 300 sets of towels, and as many sheets, were used. 600 pairs of earplugs and 1500 breathing masks for protection against the smoke were bought for the battle scenes. In order to maintain continuity, with such complicated sequences and so many people, 3000 Polaroid shots were needed. During 66 working days, 7000 rubbish bags were filled.
30 tents were put up for the re-creation of the British and French camps. 128 muskets and 130 sabres were used for the battle scenes and more than 40 kilos of gunpowder were ignited in shots and cannon fire.
The actors and horsemen rode about 40 different horses which consumed nearly 4 tons of horsefeed.
11 wagons were sent to the locations from Madrid and the crew were supplied with water from 3 large trucks full of bottled water. At Izarra college, where the crew lived during the shoot, 300 sets of towels, and as many sheets, were used. 600 pairs of earplugs and 1500 breathing masks for protection against the smoke were bought for the battle scenes. In order to maintain continuity, with such complicated sequences and so many people, 3000 Polaroid shots were needed. During 66 working days, 7000 rubbish bags were filled.
Dates and Locations
Filming started on the 2nd of August 1999 in the Seminary College of San Sebastian. Outside its walls, the city and its famous La Concha Bay spread out. Inside, the opening operetta sequence was shot in a re-creation of a theatre interior. On the 6th of August the shoot moved to Vitoria.
The crew moved into an old college, rehabilitated for the occasion, in the country town of Izarra, 25 kms from Vitoria. Close by lies the village of Abornikano with its surrounding rivers, forests and extensive fields. After a day's shooting on the 7th of August at the Villareal reservoir in Legutiano, on the outskirts of Vitoria, the location moved to the Monte Grande forest near Abornikano for 8th and 9th August. The next day was spent on the open fields of Victor Meabe in Goiuri Ligny, 2 kms from Abornikano, followed by 5 days in the K2000 studios at Galdakano, close to Bilbao. These were the interiors of Napoleon's tent.
On 18th, 19th and 20th August the shoot moved back to the Monte Grande forest, the location for the French camp.
The interiors for Lady Edwina's tent were then shot on the 21st and the 23rd of August in the Licasa industrial warehouse, 1 km from Abornikano. For the next two days the Monte Grande forest was the location, followed by another move to Bilbao.
Here, in the Artaza Palace, from the 26th to 31st August, the scenes for the Country House (Allied Command Post), its garden and the Court Martial were shot. The last 5 weeks of filming were spent around Izarra, alternately in the Monte Grande Forest, the Licasa warehouse, Victor Meabe's fields and the open farmland around Goiuri Ligny. These were the most hard-hitting battle scenes, the blowing up of Wellington's tent, the direct hit on the windmill, a firing squad execution, meetings of the respective High Commands and the massacre of French and Prussian troops.
On 5th October, the last day of the shoot, the crew again moved back to Bilbao for a night shoot outside the church of Santos Juanes in Bilbao's old quarter, the Casco Viejo. This was the exterior for the theatre where the operetta sequence takes place, and whose music was first heard 66 days before and 100 kms away in San Sebastian, on the first day of the shoot.
The crew moved into an old college, rehabilitated for the occasion, in the country town of Izarra, 25 kms from Vitoria. Close by lies the village of Abornikano with its surrounding rivers, forests and extensive fields. After a day's shooting on the 7th of August at the Villareal reservoir in Legutiano, on the outskirts of Vitoria, the location moved to the Monte Grande forest near Abornikano for 8th and 9th August. The next day was spent on the open fields of Victor Meabe in Goiuri Ligny, 2 kms from Abornikano, followed by 5 days in the K2000 studios at Galdakano, close to Bilbao. These were the interiors of Napoleon's tent.
On 18th, 19th and 20th August the shoot moved back to the Monte Grande forest, the location for the French camp.
The interiors for Lady Edwina's tent were then shot on the 21st and the 23rd of August in the Licasa industrial warehouse, 1 km from Abornikano. For the next two days the Monte Grande forest was the location, followed by another move to Bilbao.
Here, in the Artaza Palace, from the 26th to 31st August, the scenes for the Country House (Allied Command Post), its garden and the Court Martial were shot. The last 5 weeks of filming were spent around Izarra, alternately in the Monte Grande Forest, the Licasa warehouse, Victor Meabe's fields and the open farmland around Goiuri Ligny. These were the most hard-hitting battle scenes, the blowing up of Wellington's tent, the direct hit on the windmill, a firing squad execution, meetings of the respective High Commands and the massacre of French and Prussian troops.
On 5th October, the last day of the shoot, the crew again moved back to Bilbao for a night shoot outside the church of Santos Juanes in Bilbao's old quarter, the Casco Viejo. This was the exterior for the theatre where the operetta sequence takes place, and whose music was first heard 66 days before and 100 kms away in San Sebastian, on the first day of the shoot.