Yves Montand appears as Marshal Lefebvre and Maria Schell as Marie-Louise of Austria.
The film also has cameo appearances by a number of notable actors, particularly Erich von Stroheim as Ludwig van Beethoven, and Orson Welles as Napoleon's British jailor, Sir Hudson Lowe.
The English version is a contemporary dub made as part of the original production, but does not run as long as the French version.