Napoleon in Cinema: Between “Napoleon” (1927) and “Napoleon” (2023)

By: Alon Klibanov

The most famous person in history is Jesus Christ. In every way, he holds the record for representation in all genres – the number of books and articles written about him from the academic and research side on the one hand, and his representation in various fields of art on the other. 

This is understandable, given his position at the center of the world's most widespread religion. Some two billion Christians see him as their Messiah and Savior, believing him to be the Son of God. Jesus Christ also stands at the center of Christian artistic creation, a religion that, unlike other monotheistic religions, not only does not deny visual representation, but it also encourages it. Cinema, the youngest of the arts, also includes a significant representation of the figure of Jesus Christ.  

These figures do not surprise anyone. What is surprising is the fact that in all areas Napoleon Bonaparte holds a very respectable second place. Napoleon's image as a military leader and statesman is well-burnished in the collective consciousness, but not many are aware of the enormous influence he had in shaping and shaping institutions and traditions in countless areas – government, economics, banking and finance, education and culture, sanitation and traffic, law and justice, urban planning and so on. The number of publications dealing with him, books and articles in all languages, is approaching the unimaginable number – 300,000 – when only 202 years have passed since his death.  

In addition, no political and military figure in the Western world comes close to Napoleon's massive representation in literature, poetry, theater, music, opera, painting, sculpture, architecture, cinema, radio and television, as well as in other fields such as computer games and psychology.

Not only is he represented in high culture – but also in the field of entertainment – ​​musicals, light music, entertainment programs and satire, etc. Not only are these representations not limited to French culture – the appeal of his image has long crossed every possible border, including a huge museum dedicated to him in Havana, the capital of Cuba, important Egyptian films and one of the central plays of the wonderful Israeli playwright Nissim Aloni – “Napoleon Alive or Dead.” 

There is no more central figure than Napoleon when it comes to the art of cinema. Two of the most important films ever made are associated with him. The silent film considered the pinnacle of the era – is the film by French director Abel Gans “Napoleon” from 1927, considered groundbreaking and pioneering in countless cinematic techniques. The impact of this film, which is five and a half hours long, is so dramatic and significant that it is considered a central work in the field of cinematography, a milestone that cannot be overlooked.

It should be noted that the film was planned to be the first in a six-film series, which was intended to cover Napoleon's entire career.    

The film considered the greatest cinematic epic ever is the Russian film “War and Peace” based on Tolstoy’s great novel. The film, directed and starring actor, director, and screenwriter Sergei Bondarchuk, whose production and filming lasted six years, was an unprecedented political project or parallel in the art of cinema, due to the fact that the Soviet Union supported it and saw it as a national effort, including the mobilization of entire divisions of the Red Army as extras for the war scenes and Soviet Air Force helicopters that were made available to the production for aerial filming. The film was released in four parts lasting over seven hours. Here you can watch its first episode:

The success of Bondarchuk's massive project led legendary Italian producer Dino De Laurentiis to invest a whopping $25 million, an almost unprecedented sum in the late XNUMXs, and invite Sergei Bondarchuk to direct a huge production of the film "Waterloo," about Napoleon's last battle. The film won awards and critical acclaim, and was considered a cinematic success, but failed at the box office due to its image as a historical war film that did not appeal to the general public, and did not return the enormous financial investment.     

Kubrick's Napoleon

Napoleon's image has been etched not only in the field of films that have been produced, but also in the field of films that were planned but not produced. The image of Napoleon fascinated one of the giants of cinema, Stanley Kubrick, who dreamed of producing a significant cinematic epic similar in scope to the Soviet "War and Peace."

Kubrick developed an obsession with the character of Napoleon, tried to watch every film produced about him, including the silent film by Abel Gans and the Soviet "War and Peace", conducted extensive research in which he collected hundreds of books on Napoleon, and, with the help of historians and assistants, compiled a detailed index of all the locations related to him.

Kubrick wrote a script that is now considered a masterpiece in the field of screenwriting, to the point of being used in schools and university classes in this field. Kubrick even negotiated with the Romanian regime, and received the patronage of the Romanian ruler Nicolae Ceausescu, who pledged to provide him with 40,000 soldiers of the Romanian army and 10,000 cavalry for the filming of the battle scenes, as well as filming locations in Romania and significant assistance from the Romanian state. As we know, this film was never produced, for a variety of reasons, although the massive work was not completely wasted. 

Kubrick used many elements from the planned film to film his masterpiece “Barry Lyndon.” The remaining material was used in numerous projects after Kubrick’s death, the last of which, from February 2023, is a major production by HBO and director Steven Spielberg, a large and prestigious seven-episode series dedicated to Napoleon, based on Kubrick’s original script.     

Beyond the two blockbuster films that have been produced, Napoleon has starred in hundreds of films and television series produced on all continents and in all film industries. It is also worth noting the enormous number of radio programs related to him and his era - from radio plays and adaptations of books and stories to documentaries.

In the 21st century, the field of podcasting was added to the field of radio, which crosses language and cultural boundaries, including all the languages ​​spoken in the Far East. Everything that has been said about radio is also true of television, where Napoleon stars in every possible aspect – from full-length television films to an unimaginable number of documentaries and videos in every possible genre. In the 21st century, YouTube occupies a central place at both ends of the stick – as a representative and reflection of his immense popularity on the one hand, and as a medium that contributes to the spread of his practice and contributes to his popularity on the other.  

Ridley Scott's cinematic history

British-born director Ridley Scott, born in 1937, began his professional career in television as a designer and director. He became a director of commercials, a field in which he engaged with professional and financial success for several years. In 1977, at the age of 40, Scott produced his first feature film. He chose the story of the Polish-British writer Joseph Conrad, “The Duelists.” The film deals with a private battle between two officers deployed throughout the Napoleonic Wars. The film is an impressive cinematic masterpiece. In addition to the excellent acting and sensitive direction, it is worth noting the respect for history that is expressed in the great precision in everything related to the comprehensive research that was carried out, the attention to detail in everything related to uniforms, weapons, fighting and fencing techniques, etc. The film is chamber and intimate, but it certainly also conveys the atmosphere and the grandiose and dramatic background of the Napoleonic Wars.

The film received much praise for both its quality, which was included in the prestigious New York Times list of the 1979 best films of all time, and its historical accuracy. Ridley Scott's next film, the science fiction film "The Eighth" (1982), was a much greater success and established Scott as a successful and leading director. However, it also reflected the transition from a fundamentally British cinema to a completely American cinema. Later in his career, Scott directed one of the most successful science fiction films of all time, "Blade Runner" (XNUMX). 

Among the films directed by Ridley Scott later in his career, two films in particular should be noted, which present a great contrast. In 2000, the hallucinatory horror “Gladiator” was released, a horror show of kitsch, blood, and mutilated organs, which completely reflects the negative tradition of Hollywood in everything related to the complete disregard for history, from the complete distortion of the events and legacies of the historical figures appearing in the film, to zero realism in the representation of weapons, fighting techniques, etc. In contrast, in the film “Black Hawk Down” (2001), a much greater effort was made to be accurate in all matters of historical detail.     

When it was announced that Ridley Scott was directing a film dedicated to Napoleon, both expectations and concerns arose. Will the film reflect the Ridley Scott of “The Duelists,” or the Ridley Scott of “Gladiator”?  

With sadness and disappointment, not to mention disgust and shock, I must report that the new film “Napoleon” (2023) is a “Gladiator” on steroids, with a significant element of disgusting and degrading pornography added to the blatant and complete disregard for history. To my friend, the film is one of the worst I have ever watched in my life. So much so. You really have to make an effort to find a correct historical fact amidst the delusional outpouring of distortions, gross errors, and baseless inventions. To my friend, the film should be examined not with the tools of a historian or film critic – but by a psychologist or psychiatrist who will professionally diagnose the megalomania and ego-trip of Ridley Scott, who did not direct a film about Napoleon, but about “Ridley Scott’s version of the story of Napoleon.”

From the date of Napoleon's birth to the date of Josephine's death, Scott commits an unnatural rape in history. Perhaps Ridley Scott was jealous of opera directors, who in recent decades have distorted and emasculated the operatic experience in order to emphasize originality at all costs, which includes blatantly imposing 20th-century ideals and values ​​on opera plots and the original intentions of the composers and storytellers, such as the inclusion of dark-skinned people, LGBT people, and more. These trends are also reflected in the current film, and we can only regret this. 

I will end with the hope that the hopes for both a cinematic and historical experience, which were so blatantly disappointed in Ridley Scott's film, will be realized in Steven Spielberg's anticipated series.  

 A few words about Alon Klibanov and the Napoleonic Heritage Center

Alon Klibanov is a historian who lectures in many places and in various fields. He specializes in culture. France and its history, as well as lectures on classical music. Beyond all this, Alon is the head of the Israeli branch of theNapoleon Heritage Center, a body that organizes a series of lectures each year dealing with Napoleon and his era.

On Thursday, December 28.12.2023, XNUMX, Alon is going to give a lecture entitled: Mars vs. Neptune Napoleon vs. Britain – from Boulogne to Trafalgar.

The lecture will be held at the Kibbutzim Seminar (149 Namir Road, Tel Aviv) 5rd grade 18 at 00:17 PM, but you are welcome to come as early as 30:XNUMX PM to enjoy light refreshments.

The price of the ticket for the lecture is 40 NIS. You can pay in cash on the spot, but since the number of places is limited, it is recommended to pay by phone to the number 0507500336, thereby reserving your ticket in advance (when booking, please write down your name so that we can give you a receipt).