There are people who despise Napoleonic love films, and I am one of them, because they have almost nothing to do with the true character of Napoleon. There are so very few Napoleon war epics that finding this seemed great. This movie makes those sappy love films look good.
I start off by saying it is incredibly boring; practically unbearable. Second, cramming Napoleon's life into such a short time frame is ludicrous; that's a job for Kubrick.
Now, most people don't like to nitpick, but I do, and these things not only make for a bad historical film, but just a bad film in general.
1. Too much reliance on narration; almost no speaking lines.
2. Toulon taking place on a bright sunny day? 3. Napoleon's 1790's uniform looks like it was made by a 4th grader's mother.
4. "Whiff of grapeshot" taking place on a bright sunny day? 5. Tell me the point of the garden dancing scene.
6. Napoleon's charge at the Bridge of Arcole mysteriously morphs into a painting.
7. Napoleon's Egyptian servant was a black man in a Santa Clause costume? 8. To transition from the young looking Napoleon to the older Napoleon, the director uses a "new haircut" scene, in which he just switches the actors. Tell me that isn't clever film-making! 9. The mighty Battle of Austerlitz in interrupted by a giant green laser. I'm not kidding.
10. The helmets of the Imperial Guard troops are about three times as large as they should be. You cannot look at them without laughing.
11. During a battle with Austria, an Austrian grenadier randomly decides to do an awe-inspiring front flip while charging down a hill. Bravo.
12. The spectacle of Moscow burning is obviously a model set up 3 feet from the window set piece.
13. Waterloo was pathetic. Napoleon had one poorly dubbed line in the entire scene. A British soldiers gets smacked in the face with a cherry bomb. The Old Guard sings. The suspense of whether it was French or Prussian reinforcements lasts about half of a second. French and British troops charge each other, reach each other, and then stand there.
14. Orson Welle's "me not talk-talk" acting technique makes him look like Frankenstein in a British uniform.
15. Napoleon returns as a zombie at the end of the film.
16. The "The End" title card looks like it was borrowed from "West Side Story".
This film is good to laugh at, but as far as a Napoleonic film goes, or a film in general, it is by no means worth your time. Avoid it like the plague. Try Abel Gance's "Napoleon" or perhaps "Waterloo".
I start off by saying it is incredibly boring; practically unbearable. Second, cramming Napoleon's life into such a short time frame is ludicrous; that's a job for Kubrick.
Now, most people don't like to nitpick, but I do, and these things not only make for a bad historical film, but just a bad film in general.
1. Too much reliance on narration; almost no speaking lines.
2. Toulon taking place on a bright sunny day? 3. Napoleon's 1790's uniform looks like it was made by a 4th grader's mother.
4. "Whiff of grapeshot" taking place on a bright sunny day? 5. Tell me the point of the garden dancing scene.
6. Napoleon's charge at the Bridge of Arcole mysteriously morphs into a painting.
7. Napoleon's Egyptian servant was a black man in a Santa Clause costume? 8. To transition from the young looking Napoleon to the older Napoleon, the director uses a "new haircut" scene, in which he just switches the actors. Tell me that isn't clever film-making! 9. The mighty Battle of Austerlitz in interrupted by a giant green laser. I'm not kidding.
10. The helmets of the Imperial Guard troops are about three times as large as they should be. You cannot look at them without laughing.
11. During a battle with Austria, an Austrian grenadier randomly decides to do an awe-inspiring front flip while charging down a hill. Bravo.
12. The spectacle of Moscow burning is obviously a model set up 3 feet from the window set piece.
13. Waterloo was pathetic. Napoleon had one poorly dubbed line in the entire scene. A British soldiers gets smacked in the face with a cherry bomb. The Old Guard sings. The suspense of whether it was French or Prussian reinforcements lasts about half of a second. French and British troops charge each other, reach each other, and then stand there.
14. Orson Welle's "me not talk-talk" acting technique makes him look like Frankenstein in a British uniform.
15. Napoleon returns as a zombie at the end of the film.
16. The "The End" title card looks like it was borrowed from "West Side Story".
This film is good to laugh at, but as far as a Napoleonic film goes, or a film in general, it is by no means worth your time. Avoid it like the plague. Try Abel Gance's "Napoleon" or perhaps "Waterloo".