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Napoleon, as you would expect, follows Napoleon
Bonaparte, a man who emerged from minor nobility on Corsica
and rose to lead France out of revolutionary turmoil.
Bonaparte was the greatest general Europe has ever had and
rivals Alexander the Great for all-time honours. His rule
of France was both tyrannical and enlightened and the Era
that has his name was marked by almost constant warfare against
Britain, Austria, Prussia and Russia.
Napoleon covers the childhood and early career of
Bonaparte and features historical figures such as Robespierre,
Danton, Marat, Barras, Josephine (Napoleon's first wife) and
many, many others.
The great moments of the French Revolution and Napoleon's
rise include his time at the Brienne College (and the famous
snowball fight), his crucial part in the capture of Toulon,
his imprisonment and that of Josephine and the assassination
of Marat.
It is a true epic and goes for almost four hours, although
that time seems to fly by.
There will be times when you have to smile about the silent-movie-style
melodrama, but overall the acting is very good.
When Gance made Napoleon he used coloured-tinting,
split screens and devised a way to film ultra-wide scenes
three times and combined them in a wide-screen triptych.
The video transfer of Napoleon is - considering the
age of the original - superb and the sound has had the stereo
workover.
It is cinematic art at its height although, it has to be
said, Napoleon was a commercial disaster - but that
shouldn't stop modern viewers enjoying a rich cinematic treat.
Fantastic!
Conclusion: 90% Extras: 0%.
Continued:
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