Napoleon Bonaparte stands as one of history’s most captivating figures, a paradox that has drawn the admiration of generations of actors who have tried to embody him on screen. From the island of Elba to the intimate dynamics of his relationships, the French emperor has often defined an entire acting career. Translators and producers alike have long cherished the challenge. Actors such as Marlon Brando, Rod Steiger, Charles Boyer, Ian Holm, and Joaquin Phoenix have all taken up the mantle in varying styles. Even a collaboration with the legendary Stanley Kubrick, who explored a bold, albeit unrealized, vision of Napoleon, remains a landmark in cinephile lore. The idea persisted into the hands of Steven Spielberg, who revisited the narrative well before the release of Spielberg’s latest interpretations that feature Phoenix in a central role and Ridley Scott in command of new cinematic ambitions.
A camera in a snow globe
One of the earliest and most imaginative approaches in silent cinema, Napoleon (1927) remains a flamboyant milestone. Abel Gance’s intimate vision casts Albert Dieudonné as a near-divine figure, while the film itself bursts with technical innovations. A camera encased in a snow globe created the sensation of crashing aircraft, and Polyvision split the screen into three panels presenting simultaneous perspectives. The original runtime stretched to five and a half hours, and a 1981 restoration by the Francis Ford Coppola era, accompanied by a new score from Carmine Coppola, reintroduced this triumph to modern audiences. French cinema revisited the Napoleon legend in a 1955 production directed by Sacha Guitry, with Raymond Pellegrin as Napoleon and a high-profile ensemble including Michèle Morgan, Orson Welles, Erich von Stroheim, Jean Gabin, Yves Montand, and Jean Marais.
A cameo in War and Peace
Hollywood quickly took an interest in Napoleon’s romantic intrigues. Clarence Brown’s Maria Walewska (1936) presents a melodramatic account of Napoleon, portrayed by Charles Boyer, and Greta Garbo as the Polish countess. Marie Curie, her titles, and her lover’s complex web are explored in a way that thrilled audiences of the era. Henry Koster’s Desirée (1954) offers a lighter, Hollywood-tinted romance between Napoleon, played by Marlon Brando, and Désirée Clary, played by Jean Simmons. Désirée’s engagement to Napoleon’s elder brother, Joseph, and her eventual decision to leave that match are reimagined for the screen. In War and Peace (1956), King Vidor’s adaptation of Tolstoy places Napoleon amid the Russian campaign, with Herbert Lom delivering a memorable portrayal in a grand Civil War era setting.
Kubrick’s pharaoh project
Stanley Kubrick began drafting a Napoleon film in the early 1960s and paused after a decade due to cost. A studious director, he immersed himself in the literature, artwork, and music of the period, collecting thousands of documents and canvases that informed a vast, almost encyclopedic project. A forthcoming luxury book chronicled the endeavor, and Kubrick’s imagined cast included Jack Nicholson, Ian Holm, or David Hemmings for Napoleon, with Vanessa Redgrave as Josephine. The envisioned shoots would have required extraordinary resources across Yugoslavia, France, and Italy, with battles featuring tens of thousands of extras. The project was more a monumental archival undertaking than a conventional film, with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer backing a grand, spacefaring vision rather than a standard biopic.
Spielberg to the rescue
Earlier this year, it was reported that Steven Spielberg aimed to bring Kubrick’s concept to life, mirroring his engagement with AI Artificial Intelligence in 2001. The plan envisions a limited series for HBO Max, a collaboration that began in 2013 and continues with the involvement of the filmmaker’s collaborators, including Christiane Kubrick and Jan Harlan. No casting decisions have been publicly announced yet. The expectation is that Napoleon will demand a sweeping, historical scale with authentic reconstructions, expansive locations, and a formidable ensemble. The notion recalls past large-scale epics such as Sergei Bondarchuk’s Waterloo, which, despite its ambition and a multinational production, faced budgetary constraints. Napoleon’s image as a leader who shaped crucial turns in both military and political history remains central to the ongoing discussion about whether a film can capture the full scope of his era.
From Isabella Rossellini to Josephine
Is there a 21st-century appetite for Bonaparte’s legend? Certainly. My Napoleon (2001), directed by Alan Taylor and based on Simon Leys’s satirical novel The Death of Napoleon, imagines the emperor escaping Saint Helena in disguise and being replaced by a stuntman. Ian Holm ultimately delivered the embodiment of the emperor. Paolo Virzì’s Napoleon and Me (2006) follows the exile on Elba with a light tone and commentary from Daniel Auteuil. A contemporary mini-series, Napoleon (2022), adapts Max Gallo’s historical work for modern audiences, with performances by Gérard Depardieu in supporting roles and a renewed focus on Letizia Bonaparte. The cast also features prominent figures such as Isabella Rossellini, Joseph Fouché, and Talleyrand in a contemporary interpretive frame that reflects both reverence and irony.
Epic for Gladiator?
Ridley Scott’s ambition for a grand reimagining of Napoleon aims to merge history with myth, offering a portrait of the man behind the legend. Joaquin Phoenix is poised to embody Napoleon, and an accomplished actress could take on Josefina. The narrative would chart Napoleon’s ascent from revolutionary beginnings to absolute power, while exploring his intimate ties to his mother, Josefina, and his strategic genius. If any director can deliver a sweeping epic in the vein of the Gladiator tradition, Scott would likely bring a kinetic, battle-hardened realism to the project, balancing the man’s political ambitions with the legendary aura that has surrounded him for generations. The enduring question remains: can a modern feature reconciliate the historical figure with the larger-than-life myth that surrounds him, while still delivering a compelling character study of a revolutionary general who staunchly reshaped Europe?