"Napoleon Trailer #2" Topic

Seriously, what could have been the last date that Napoleon sabered anyone? I've not come across any incident where that occurred – on horseback anyway. Toulon, maybe.

YouTube link

I'm also a little suspicious of the handling of Josephine, but I come from a more romantic age.

You know they can't do a historical movie straight up.
Nevertheless can't wait to see it

Yep! Me too!

I predicted Josephine would be a blonde and sure enough Vanessa Kirby, the actress cast as her, is a blonde.

There is no evidence for Napoleon going for anything except brunettes, and it appears they have indeed correctly given Vanessa a wig or dyed her hair…however, for full authenticity her teeth should be Vallejo 950 from all that sugar cane she chewed growing up in the West Indies.

The actress cast as the second Mrs Bonaparte is also correctly a brunette but there's no sign of any Marie Walewska in the cast…

ridley Scott has a four and a half hour version that he wants to be seen on Apple TV. It is to be expected he likes Directors Cuts etc – Kingdom of Heaven and I do't know how many versions of Blade Runner.

Once you see it you will always want it :D

To answer your question with a question did Napoleon ever lead a charge on horseback? The images I have seen of Napoleon at Toulon and Lodi depict him on foot.

Can anyone absolutely prove he did not do the things mentioned above…..

Ridley Scott does not make historically accurate films, and it would be weird to expect that from him now.

He does make fairly entertaining movies, and I suspect this will meet expectations.

Doubtless it's "acting" but Phoenix looks and sounds like an old man – pity he's playing a character in his 20s/30s for much of the film.

I have zero expectations of any historical accuracy in this movie, but that won't stop me from seeing it and probably liking it.

Was the battle of Austerlitz fought on a snow covered field? I always thought there were only patches of snow. Nonetheless, I love Ridley Scott's films.

Let me begin.

Were those British uniforms accurate?

I agree with Der Alte Fritz. Perhaps it should have one of those disclaimers about 'any resemblance to real persons and events being coincidental' (or words to that effect) that used to appear at the end of old films.

whatever the accuracy, it gets extra points for a Sabbath soundtrack to the trailer

It looks fantastic! I hope that the film lives up to the trailer.

Watched it last night, not seeing the first one. Why the did they color grade everything? I never knew Napoleonics looked so visually dull!!

BTW color grading is used to create a "visual mood". Perhaps Scott knows something about the movie we don't?

Easy pass for me.

"Inspired by a true story."

I imagine Napoleon will be as close to history as Kingdom of Heaven was. The problem for me is that true history is often actually more interesting than the crap that Ridley comes up with. Why doesn't he just stay with the real story. The period leading up to Hattin was incredibly interesting. Why concoct a silly story instead of the real thing?

The cast list on IMDB looks as if it were a product of the trailer, but I'm impressed to see that the research extended to identifying people like Junot and Berthier, which gives me some hope. Vanessa Kirby needs hair dye, it's true, but is otherwise endowed with the assets a woman needs to look attractive in an Empire-waisted dress.

Not sure how I feel about Rupert Everett as Wellington (whose abruptness and austerity make him a hard character to capture). Kenneth Branagh is too old; Hugh Grant perhaps too unserious. Benedict Cumberbatch could do it, but he would need a lot of makeup.

Mid Somerset Wargames Club, meeting in Wells, Somerset have vast collections of 28mm French/Austrian/Russian/British Miniatures just waiting to recreate this Film's Battle Scenes

I reckon it's going to be the worst of the many, many films about the Napoleonic period this year.

So nearly as I can determine, making good movies has been difficult since the end of the studio system, and making great movies has always been difficult. But anyone unable to put together a great trailer should be sent back to film school with a note to his teachers. I'll wait and see.

The marketing department does the trailers. Nuff said.

@ConnaughtRanger

what other films about the napoleonic period are there this year? i was not aware of any – or are you being sarcastic?

Scott should have made this movie back when Phoenix was the right age. Will Murat be in the film, i have seen his name in the case

also the shot of the british at what i assume is waterlook looks weird where there is army camp right on the edge of the field and it looks like they dug earthen fortifications with palisade spikes

yes, making everything so unsaturated is not satisfying – why must movies do this nowadays and "historical drama" films in particular seem confined to the same style regardless of the period.

Mister Tibbles, where did you see it?

i think Mr Tibbles is just referring to the trailer

Sorry. Just the trailer.

This is a FILM not a documentary. It would be great if the film had been made just for us Napoleonic period fans and the makers had asked our advice on accuracy etc, but it is not, it is made for people who just want to be entertained, not educated. And we're all educated, right? LOL

Who knows, if it is as popular as other films made by the same people there could be more. Everyone should take their critics hats off and enjoy it. It's Napoleonic!

I strongly suspect that police officers do the same sort of criticism of films that do not represent their work and procedures accurately. And so, probably, do others whose lives or work are misrepresented by Hollywood. Why shouldn't we point out military-historical inaccuracies?

arthur1815

People can say what they like. I have no real problem with that, although I would have thought police officers would have the sense and intelligence to differentiate between what is depicted in an 'entertainment' film/drama and what was depicted in a documentary.

Besides, think of the positives. Those who are not military/Napoleonic enthusiasts who watch the film may actually become interested in the Napoleonic period. Then, when they talk to us, we can say, as 'experts' of course, "Actually, cannons recoil and no one could hit the target with a musket from that distance, etc, etc!" LOL

The problem is, at what point does the fact a book, play or film is 'an entertainment' not a documentary excuse inaccuracy?
'Zulu' portrayed Private Henry Hook VC of the 24th Foot as an idle, malingering soldier who stole medicinal alcohol, when in reality he was a lifelong teetotaller with an exemplary service record. Had he been alive when the film was released, he could have sued for libel and would surely have won his case. His family was mortified and walked out of the cinema.
Was that excusable because it was a feature film? I think not. If the producers/director/screenplay writer wished to make the Hook character a sort of archetypal British soldier – fond of his booze but a good fighter in a tight spot – they could have inserted a fictitious character into the film.
Since the vast majority of people in UK will only know about the Zulu War from the film, they will be left with a false impression of Henry Hook, which I feel is a great shame.

I hate the pushback one gets whenever a "historical" epic misses the mark – just shutup and enjoy it, okay, its meant to be dumb, hollywood is dumb, people are dumb and so movies are dumb its got napoleonic things in it, thats enough , just take the medicine an be quiet"

i dont think it has to be a case that a film is either made for napoleonic films or the great unwashed masses and ne'er shall the twain meet. A film can have great power in its position still and can through all the embellishments still if done well deliver some measure of historical accuracy, – and that approximation of it can end up making a film sometimes more memorable and more unique, because other the film just falls into the same mediocre hollywood devices and tropes that just make a film quite forgettable

but in saying this, i hope that there is far more to the film that the trailers show – some scenes in the trailer look wonderful. I probably will go and see it, and hope that i am not disappointed. I know ridley scott is not one for historicla accuracy but his films like Gladiator and Kingdom of Heaven i loved despite their inaccuracies – i think there was enough power in the stories and characters to carry them

Quite right GeorgBuchner. If it was a documentary yeah, us 'experts and military enthusiasts' could complain. But it is a film that's meant to entertain with no ruling saying only military enthusiasts or Napoleonic fans or wargamers can attend.

I'm really looking forward to seeing the film. Something Napoleonic at last! My only concern, after reading the article in the other thread, is that the military advisor to the film was an ex 'British' paratrooper! LOL