Introduction

Napoleon is a 2023 epic historical drama film directed and produced by Ridley Scott and written by David Scarpa.

Based on the true story of Napoleon Bonaparte, primarily depicting the French leader’s rise to power as well as his relationship with Empress Joséphine, the film stars Joaquin Phoenix as Napoleon and Vanessa Kirby as Joséphine.

Outline

An epic that details the checkered rise and fall of French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte and his relentless journey to power through the prism of his addictive, volatile relationship with his wife, Josephine.

Cast

• Joaquin Phoenix as Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of the French.
• Vanessa Kirby as Empress Joséphine, Empress Consort and the first wife of Napoleon.
• Tahar Rahim as Paul Barras, a politician who was the executive head of the Directory during the French Revolution.
• Ben Miles as Caulaincourt, a diplomat and close advisor to Napoleon.
• Ludivine Sagnier as Thérésa Cabarrus (Madame Tallien), a socialite and noblewoman.
• Matthew Needham as Lucien Bonaparte, brother of Napoleon.
• Youssef Kerkour as Marshal Davout, one of Napoleon’s finest commanders.
• Phil Cornwell as Sanson ‘The Bourreau’, the executioner who guillotined Louis XVI, the King of France.
• Édouard Philipponnat as Alexander I, the Tsar of Russia.
• Ian McNeice as Louis XVIII, King of France during the Bourbon Restoration, following Napoleon’s exile to Elba.
• Rupert Everett as Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington.
• Paul Rhys as Talleyrand, a leading diplomat of France.
• Catherine Walker as Marie-Antoinette, Archduchess of Austria, and later Queen of France.
• Gavin Spokes as Moulin, a Directory politician.
• John Hollingworth as Marshal Ney, lauded as “the bravest of the brave” by Napoleon.
• Mark Bonnar as Jean-Andoche Junot, general of Napoleon and commander of the French invasion of Portugal in 1807.
• Anna Mawn as the Archduchess Marie-Louise, Napoleon’s second wife.
• Davide Tucci as Lazare Hoche, a general and hero of revolutionary France.
• Sam Crane as Jacques-Louis David, a preeminent Neoclassical French painter.
• Scott Handy as Marshal Berthier, chief of staff to Napoleon from his first Italian campaign in 1796 until his first abdication in 1814, and twice Minister of War of France.

Production

Development

On 14 October 2020, the same day his film The Last Duel (2021) wrapped filming, Ridley Scott announced Napoleon, at that point provisionally called Kitbag, as his next project for 20th Century Studios, which he would direct and produce from a screenplay written by Scott’s All the Money in the World (2017) collaborator David Scarpa. The film’s working title was derived from Bonaparte’s quote, “Every French soldier carries a Marshal’s baton in their knapsack”.

Joaquin Phoenix was reportedly attached to star as the French general and emperor Napoléon, reuniting him with the director after Gladiator (2000). Scott had Phoenix and another actor he has refused to reveal in mind to play Napoleón, but felt “blown away” by Phoenix’s remarkable performance in Joker (2019) and concluded that Phoenix could be an “amazing asset” for Napoleon, both creatively and commercially. In January 2021, Apple Studios announced its commitment to finance and produce the film, with shooting scheduled to take place in the UK in 2022. “Napoleon is a man I’ve always been fascinated by”, Scott said in a statement. “He came out of nowhere to rule everything — but all the while he was waging a romantic war with his adulterous wife Joséphine. He conquered the world to try to win her love, and when he couldn’t, he conquered it to destroy her, and destroyed himself in the process.”

The Last Duel actress Jodie Comer was reportedly Scott’s first choice to play Empress Joséphine. She entered negotiations to star in March 2021, confirmed her casting in September, and said: “I just jumped at the chance to work with Ridley and his team again and the idea of working with Joaquin, who’s someone who I hugely admire… I’m so excited to delve into that world.” In November, she said her role was “going to be another huge challenge, but what I love about period dramas is that kind of transformation. Even now, doing some costume and hair tests for Kitbag, it’s just so exciting because it becomes so much easier to step out of yourself and into somebody else.” The same month, Youssef Kerkour was confirmed to star.

On 04 January 2022, Comer revealed her departure from the film due to scheduling changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Vanessa Kirby was announced as her replacement later that day. On 18 January 2022, producer Kevin J. Walsh said the film had been retitled Napoleon. In February, Tahar Rahim was added to the cast, in the role of Paul Barras. The historian Lorris Chevalier who worked on The Last Duel became the historical advisor.

Filming

Production began in February 2022. The film will feature six major battle sequences, unlike Waterloo (1970), another film featuring Napoleon, that focused on a single battle. Napoleon was shot under the working title Marengo, a reference to the Battle of Marengo (1800). Filming took place in Lincoln, England in March 2022. The crew reportedly spent a week to prepare Lincoln Cathedral, which stood in for Notre-Dame de Paris. Shooting took place in the cathedral on 17 and 18 March between 7 am to 7 pm.

Filming also took place at other English locations: Stowe Avenue and House, Buckinghamshire; West Wycombe Park, Buckinghamshire; Blenheim Palace, Woodstock, Oxfordshire; Petworth House, Sussex; Boughton House, Kettering; and Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich, London.

It was also shot in Malta for three weeks, starting in May 2022. Fort Ricasoli in Kalkara was transformed into the site of 1793’s siege of Toulon, where Napoleon had his first victory.

Release

Napoleon premiered at Salle Pleyel in Paris on 14 November 2023.

For the film’s theatrical release, Apple Original Films partnered with Sony Pictures Releasing, under their Columbia Pictures banner, to help exhibit the film worldwide. It is scheduled to be released in cinemas first in the United States and the United Kingdom on 22 November 2023, before releasing on Apple TV+ at a later date.

In August 2023, Ridley Scott revealed that he has a four-and-a-half hour director’s cut of Napoleon that explores more of Empress Joséphine, and hopes that he will be able to release it in theatres and on Apple TV+, after the initial theatrical release. Later in October 2023, Scott confirmed the intention to release the director’s cut on Apple TV+ after the film’s theatrical run.

Trivia

• Sir Ridley Scott said his four-hour director’s cut will be released on Apple TV+.
• Stanley Kubrick had a lifelong fascination with Napoleon, and began planning a film of his life after directing 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968).
  • He did extensive research, and watched other Napoleon films, including Napoleon (1927) and War and Peace (1965), both of which he disliked.
  • He intended to shoot on location in France and Romania, with the Romanian People’s Army providing 50,000 men.
  • Jack Nicholson and Audrey Hepburn were eyed to play Napoleon and Joséphine, respectively. The project was canceled after the box office failure of Waterloo (1970), but Kubrick’s research went into Barry Lyndon (1975), which ends in 1789, 14 years before the Napoleonic Wars began.
  • Steven Spielberg, a longtime friend of Kubrick’s, has been developing Kubrick’s script as a miniseries for HBO since 2013, and said it was still in development as of 2023.
• In December 2022, it was reported to the media that Joaquin Phoenix’s performance as Napoleon was so powerful that Sir Ridley Scott had to rewrite the script to adjust for him.
• The trailer depicts Napoleon’s coronation as a full recreation of the painting Le Sacré de Napoleon (Coronation of Napoleon), by painter Jacques Louis David, who appears in the credits as played by actor Sam Crane.
• In response to criticisms of historical inaccuracies, Sir Ridley Scott simply said, “Get a life.”
  • Though the movie begins with Napoleon witnessing the execution of Marie Antoinette, Napoleon was not actually there in history.
• At 49, Phoenix is too old for the part.
  • Napoleon was 24 at Toulon, 27 when he commanded the Army of Italy, and 35 when he crowned himself Emperor.
  • Also, the real Joséphine was 6 years older than Napoleon, whereas Phoenix is 14 years older than Vanessa Kirby.

Production & Filming Details

• Director(s):
  • Ridley Scott
• Producer(s):
  • Jimmy Abounouom … Morocco (as Ahmed Abounouom)
  • Winston Azzopardi … co-producer
  • Aidan Elliott … executive producer
  • Nicola Fedrigoni … line producer: italy
  • Mark Huffam … producer (p.g.a.)
  • Raymond Kirk … co-producer
  • Janine Modder … co-producer
  • Ridley Scott … producer (p.g.a.)
  • Kevin J. Walsh … producer (p.g.a.)
• Writer(s):
  • David Scarpa … (written by)
• Music:
  • Martin Phipps
• Cinematography:
  • Dariusz Wolski … director of photography
• Editor(s):
  • Sam Restivo
  • Claire Simpson … lead editor
• Production:
  • Apple Studios
  • Apple
  • Dune Films (executive production)
  • Latina Pictures
  • Scott Free Productions
• Distributor:
  • B&H Film Distribution (Ukraine, 2023)(theatrical)
  • Columbia Pictures Corporation (United Kingdom, 2023)(theatrical)
  • Columbia Pictures (United States, 2023)(theatrical)
  • HKC Entertainment (Pakistan, 2023)(theatrical)
  • Sony Pictures España (Spain, 2023)(theatrical)
  • Sony Pictures Filmverleih (Austria, 2023)(theatrical)
  • Sony Pictures Releasing Argentina (Argentina, 2023)(through United International Pictures, theatrical)
  • Sony Pictures Releasing International (SPRI) (Belgium, 2023)(theatrical)
  • Sony Pictures Releasing International (France, 2023)(theatrical)
  • Sony Pictures Releasing International (Netherlands, 2023)(through Universal Pictures International, theatrical)
  • Sony Pictures Releasing International (Singapore, 2023)(theatrical)
  • Sony Pictures Releasing Italia (Italy, 2023)(theatrical)
  • Sony Pictures Releasing (Germany, 2023)(theatrical)
  • United International Pictures (UIP) (Argentina, 2023)(through, theatrical)
  • Universal Pictures International (UPI) (Netherlands, 2023)(through, theatrical)
  • Apple TV+ (World-wide, 2024)(VOD, video)
  • Jacaranda Productions (Morocco)
• Release Date: 14 November 2023 (premiere, Paris, France) and 22 November 2023 (general release).
• Running Time: minutes.
• Rating: 15.
• Country: US.
• Language: English.

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