"Most Ignorant Mistake in Napoleon? All of Them!" Topic

You were asked – TMP link

Most Ignorant Mistake in Ridley Scott's Napoleon?

And in the final round of voting:

55% said "all of these mistakes"

12% said "Napoleon fighting personal single combats with individual enemy rank and file soldiers instead of directing the army"

6% said "Wellington's men fighting from trenches"

Not Ridley Scott's finest hour?
But he doesn't really care.

Never even bothered to watch it

I got the impression that it was a sort of comedy. There are moments like the Ninja Cossacks in Russia and the Austrian Infantryman realizing he was on a frozen lake. Overall the whole movie was a mistake. :)

Judging from the volume of choices and responses, it certainly looks like everyone who went to see it got their money's worth of entertainment value out of the experience!
: 3

It's a problem with modern movies and subscription TV. If you pay and don't like--well, the perpetrators really don't care, since they've got your money. If you pay attention to early reviews and decline, you're subjected to an unending whine along the lines of "well if only you had seen the product yourself, and not paid attention to the [INSERT HOLLYWOOD INSULT HERE]!

In recent years, I've moved to "presumptive fail." Someone has to provide positive, credible reasons why I should pay. It's a lot cheaper, and I don't seem to be missing much.

Really? You find Napoleon fighting personally worse, than british soldiers waiting in trenches until french cavalry shows up and the infantry leaves their trenches to form squares?

The trenches for me, followed by the Prussians coming in from the wrong side and Napoleon leading the cavalry charge at full pelt.

By that stage though, I'd had more than enough. I was willing to suspend belief when the top of the pyramid was blown off, but Austerlitz was one of the worst depictions of an historical battle that I have ever seen.

I understand it is just a movie, but when Ridley Scott was questioned about the accuracy of it the only thing he could only say was "Were you there?".

Obviously not, but of those who were many managed to write memoirs of what actually occurred. None of them bears much resemblance of what was put on screen.

+1 Decebalus

I tried to rationalise the trenches as representing the sunken road….but having been in trenches with anti-cavalry defences the insanity of rushing into the open to form square was mind boggling.

Presumably someone told Ridley – "and they formed square to receive cavalry".

The 'battle scenes' were just ludicrous, although they did evoke a few contemporary paintings. Perhaps that was the intent? Or maybe Ridley Scott got the Napoleonic Wars confused with the ACW.

Shame as the uniforms were lovely.

Gladiator II was even worse of course, like having my eyes pulled out.

It was a disaster as far as history was concerned. I do give it a good mark for costumes

Saw the trailer, went "nope"…
Not even going to watch that when my library gets it.

"Presumably someone told Ridley…"

Full credit if so. From the accounts I've seen, it's not easy to tell him anything.

The pedestrian Cossacks with their man-portable 2" mortars were a high point for me.

There's an interesting interview online with the 2 'Military Consultants' on the film. They were very pragmatic on what could be put in the script and what was excluded. Almost everyone on these various 'expert' forums fails to understand that Hollywood films with huge budgets are produced for a general audience not us geeks. A modern audience has its expectations of 'combat' shaped by the likes of "Game of Thrones". I watched "Napoleon" again at the weekend. It looks fantastic and there are some excellent scenes. It puts across the essence of key battles, especially Waterloo, very well.I still don't like Phoenix in the lead role but Hollywood-funded films must have Hollywood "stars". At least you can be comforted that the "expert" reaction to the film has ensured that it will be another 50 years before a Hollywood Producer funds another Napoleonic-themed film.

Well I went to watch the film at our local IMAX Screen, which made it a very entertaining experience. When the blood flows onscreen as poor Marie Antionette is guillotined, my chair sprayed water in my face. It did the same trick much later on when a very tall Wellington (played by Rupert Everett) utters the immortal lines, "I never like to get wet when I don't have to" as he leaves his tent and emerges into the pouring rain. The chair rocked and shook during every cavalry charge as well, so I was less hell-bent on finding fault than I might have been.

Nevertheless, I was surprised when the plot reveals that Napoleon leaves Elba to invade France so that he can be with Josephine once again and stop her from having a scandalous affair with the Tsar. This was pretty surprising as in reality Josephine had died less than 4 weeks after Napoleon's exile to Elba in the first place and 9 months or so before his real invasion of France. Blucher's army arriving on the west Flank of the Waterloo battlefield was pretty confusing as well.

Yep, us wargamers should be consulted before any 'historical' films are made! LOL (we wish)