Movies about Napoleon are nothing new. Kubrick tried to do one back in the day. Fortunately, this one appears to be nearly finished. Ridley Scott’s vision of the rise of the French emperor stars Joaquin Phoenix, perhaps one of the most revered actors right now.
Scott describes the film as:
“Napoleon Bonaparte’s relentless journey to power through the prism of his addictive, volatile relationship with his one true love, Josephine (Vanessa Kirby), showcasing his visionary military and political tactics against some of the most dynamic practical battle sequences ever filmed.”
Back in 2021, Scott spoke with Deadline, explaining what interested him about the story and why he knew it was only Phoenix who could pull the role off.
“Napoleon is a man I’ve always been fascinated by, came out of nowhere to rule everything — but all the while he was waging a romantic war with his adulterous wife Josephine. 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. No actor could ever embody Napoleon like Joaquin,” Scott said. “He created one of movie history’s most complex Emperors in Gladiator, and we’ll create another with his Napoleon. It’s a brilliant script written by David Scarpa, and today there’s no better partner than Apple to bring a story like this to a global audience.”
The trailer hints at a grand epic. It depicts a war waging within one man, as it leaks out into the world around him. Unfortunately, in the end, he wouldn’t win either one. The film will be released theatrically on Nov. 20. Some time afterward, it’ll be available to stream on Apple TV+.
You can watch the trailer for Napoleon below:
‘Napoleon’ Official Trailer – Watch
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