Napoleon - Scott, Phoenix (Trailer)

[956 Worldwide 34715]

On 11/26/2023 at 11:23 PM, mchookem said:

saw it today. caveat: prior to this i really knew almost nothing about Napoleon beyond his and Josephine's great love affair, his defeat at Waterloo, and his exile. so with those eyes... really enjoyed it! no idea of accuracy, i assume the featured battles happened somewhat as depicted as far as victories/defeat/casualties. wtf with invading Russia in the winter lol. battle scenes were awesome and easy to follow. Phoenix was terrific, he always portrays pain very well. Kirby was also great.

i could see if you weren't expecting so much focus on his personal life, or would have preferred a more in depth biographical take, how you might not appreciate it, but i found it a well balanced story even 'hollywoodized', and i enjoyed his portrayal. it's obvious from his writing that he was deeply in love.

 

Napoleon didn’t invade Russia in winter, he invaded in June and got to Moscow by September. The fire wasn’t a fit of Russian pique, he found it ablaze and deserted when he got there. The Russians decided to desert it and deny him any supplies and preserve the army. 
 

Napoleon then proceeded to hang around too long thinking he’d establish some alternate supply route or get Russia to sue for peace. He thought wrong and that’s why they froze and died of disease on the march home. 

[jimmyjazz 45975]

The wife and I went Saturday night.  "eh" would be a charitable review.  Weird little comedic scenes that added nothing, no depth to Napoleon or Josephine, and I honestly felt even the battle scenes weren't great.  The whole film had sort of a dark pall cast over it, visually speaking (for the most part).

Like most, I think Joaquin Phoenix is a terrific actor, but in my mind he is just too old for a character that spans decades.  His relationship with Josephine was shallow, and by the time Waterloo rolled around it felt like the whole theater had had enough.

[CooterBrown 18014]

This was meh. Spending 10 minutes each on 18 sequential events of his life doesn’t really make a good narrative. Maybe the 4+ hour director’s cut that will be coming to streaming will make something out of this mess.

[Eskimohorn 5635]

This was meh. Spending 10 minutes each on 18 sequential events of his life doesn’t really make a good narrative. Maybe the 4+ hour director’s cut that will be coming to streaming will make something out of this mess.

I enjoyed it, but cant disagree with the criticism:

1) Very english looking french people and perspectives
2) Uneven - 1st guillotine scene had some sort of Edith Pioffe scene, then some period music, then a few modern pieces. Im not a stickler for period music but back and forth was odd
3) Too ambitious. Just like you said. Focusing on less would have been better. Could have started at Austerlitz. Badass general, eratic personal life, divorce, spiraling, etc.

[Doc Sam Beckett 5793]

10 minutes in and it should have been Russell Crowe

[F250 28778]

On 1/20/2024 at 10:12 PM, Doc Sam Beckett said:

10 minutes in and it should have been Russell Crowe

 

I normally like Joaquin Phoenix but his Napoleon was clownish. I did laugh at him falling/sliding down the stairs then yelling "they are trying to kill me." Not sure if that was intended to be funny or not.

Didn't need to see him humping like a horny teenage rabbit that is losing his virginity throughout the movie.

Was he supposed to be on the spectrum?

Overall this was a terrible movie.

 

[Macklemore 2872]

Glad I didn’t spend money on watching this movie in the theater or renting it before it was available for free on Apple TV. I’m a big fan of Joaquin Phoenix but I thought this was one of his worst performances. What was very disappointing to me that none of the brilliance Napoleon showed on the battle field and with respect to the reforms he instituted was conveyed in this film. Except for a short scene on his march returning from St Helena, where he convinced the troops confronting him to let him pass, nothing of his charisma and love his countrymen had for their emperor was shown.  Ridley Scott should have made a miniseries on Apple TV like they’re doing for Ben Franklin. Too much material to cover to do a man like Napoleon justice.

Edited March 4 by Macklemore

[Neonmoon 38129]

I can’t describe it. I want to say meh, but that seems harsh. 

Napoleon’s story contains decades of fascinating politics, conquests, governing, revolution. It was like they tried to distill each major event into one symbolic scene. It was well made. Nothing seemed off. Maybe it lacked heart. I don’t know.

[Michael Knight 12988]

1 hour ago, Macklemore said:

Glad I didn’t spend money on watching this movie in the theater or renting it before it was available for free on Apple TV. I’m a big fan of Joaquin Phoenix but I thought this was one of his worst performances. What was very disappointing to me that none of the brilliance Napoleon showed on the battle field and with respect to the reforms he instituted was conveyed in this film. Except for a short scene on his march returning from St Helena, where he convinced the troops confronting him to let him pass, nothing of his charisma and love his countrymen had for their emperor was shown.  Ridley Scott should have made a miniseries on Apple TV like they’re doing for Ben Franklin. Too much material to cover to do a man like Napoleon justice.

Don't hire an Englishman to tell the story of Napoleon

[52-80 19162]

6 hours ago, Macklemore said:

Glad I didn’t spend money on watching this movie in the theater or renting it before it was available for free on Apple TV. I’m a big fan of Joaquin Phoenix but I thought this was one of his worst performances. What was very disappointing to me that none of the brilliance Napoleon showed on the battle field and with respect to the reforms he instituted was conveyed in this film. Except for a short scene on his march returning from St Helena, where he convinced the troops confronting him to let him pass, nothing of his charisma and love his countrymen had for their emperor was shown.  Ridley Scott should have made a miniseries on Apple TV like they’re doing for Ben Franklin. Too much material to cover to do a man like Napoleon justice.

Same.  Huge fan of Phoenix, Scott, period movies, and dont mind looking at Vanessa Kirby, and this movie delivered a whole lot of nothing.  I dont mind that movies arent utterly historically accurate, but it also lacked any of the compelling draw of a movie. Just played out like a made-for-TV film.

This response from Scott is hilarious though

Quote

Scott dismissed criticisms of these historical inaccuracies. "Napoleon dies then, ten years later, someone writes a book. Then someone takes that book and writes another, and so, 400 [sic] years later, there's a lot of imagination [in history books]. When I have issues with historians, I ask: 'Excuse me, mate, were you there? No? Well, shut the fuck up then.'" Scott also declared, responding to French critics, that "the French don't even like themselves"