Skadinavian Edition, PAL/Region 2 DVD: Subtitles: Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish. In 1795, he was an unpaid general consumed with ambition. In 1816 he was a bitter exile on the remote island of St. Helena. In the years between, he was the most powerful man on earth. From the campaign that transformed the Corsican outsider into a French hero to his bitter, final defeat at Waterloo, Napoleon charts the course of the man who defied centuries of tradition and forced his will upon a continent. Adapted by Didier Decoin (Les Miserables, Jakob the Liar) from Max Gallo's bestselling novel, this epic production explores the private struggles, political intrigues and bloody battles that marked Napoleon's tempestuous rise and rule. Directed by Yves Simoneau (Nuremberg, Amelia Earhart), Napoleon boasts an extraordinary international cast featuring Christian Clavier, Isabella Rossellini, Gerard Depardieu and John Malkovich.
A**D
Epic scale, lacking detail
The film tries to cover the whole of Napoleon's life but, inevitably, casting such a wide net results in much abbreviation of the historical facts and poor characterisation. Subtitles are compulsory, made the more distracting by the fact that only Scandinavian languages are available -no English substitles option and no way of switching them off. English subtitles would have been helpful, even for viewers who are not hard of hearing, because none of the actors except John Malkovitch are native English speakers and their efforts at speaking English are unintelligible for the most part -painful on the ears. On the positive side, this is a lavish and visually stunning production with much attention having been paid to filming in the actual historical locations and in creating costumes that are accurate to the last stich and button. Very colourful. 3 star rating as the film is wonderful to behold, but painful to listen to and much too broad-brush in its scope.
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