“History is a collection of agreed-upon lies,” he once said. Napoleon Bonaparte. He was right, but that doesn’t stop it from being impossible to reach agreement when it comes to talking about his legacy. Excluding Jesus Christ, whose real existence cannot be proven, he is the historical figure who inspires the most biographies, and this fact is easy to justify: the life of that man who seized power in 1799. Forced in France and crowned five years later Emperor looks like it came out of something myth like that of Icarus flying too close to the sun; or like Prometheus, who was eventually chained to a rock.
More than two centuries later, his capacity for fascination remains almost intact, and both this and the lack of understanding between those who saw him as a genius and those who saw him as a monster help explain the controversy that engulfed him. ‘biopic’ HE Ridley Scott It was dedicated to him.
Is Joaquin Phoenix too old?
‘On the billboard starting next week’Napoleon‘ One monumental war epic recreating the rise and fall of the object of study; His story begins in the heat of the French Revolution, when General Bonaparte fired cannon fire at the citizens of Paris to suppress the rebellion, and extends to his humiliating defeat in Paris. watercourse and his final exile to his island Saint Helen.
Used to lay out spectacular historical reconstructions thanks to titles like ‘Gladiator‘ (2000), ‘Kingdom of heaven‘ (2005) and ‘Exodus: gods and kings’ (2014), on paper Scott is the ideal director for such a film. Likewise, the choice Joaquin Phoenix She seems perfect to be cast in this movie, after all she is a phenomenal actor who worked with Scott in ‘Gladiator’ but that didn’t stop many from questioning him. The actor is said to be too old for the role.
target of criticism
This is, of course, just one of the many criticisms leveled at the film by people who have not yet seen it, and most of them have focused on the claim that the film misrepresents the facts. They accused him of confirming this version exaggerated and fake France’s victory in the Battle of Austerlitz ensured that Bonaparte, himself a great journalist, passed down to future generations as a writer. military strategy genius. It was attacked for showing Napoleon firing on these monuments during the Battle of the Pyramids, although he apparently never did.
A “magical” slap to Josefina
They also complained that in the re-enactment of her execution, Marie Antoinette appeared with long hair, even though it was actually short. They protested the statement accompanying American promotional posters, “came from nothing, conquered everything”, because the Emperor had grown up in a relatively privileged environment and had apparently been unable to conquer more than two percent of the planet’s land surface.
The poster also attracted attention because it looked very similar to one advertising a fake movie starring Bonaparte. Danny DeVitoIt was part of the plot of the comedy ‘How to Conquer Hollywood’ (1995). Eventually, a feminist organization became enraged after Scott said Phoenix slapped the actor during an on-camera ad-lib. Vanessa Kirby — she was responsible for playing Napoleon’s first wife Josephine — and said the moment was “magical.” Scott said just three words in response to all of this: “Get a life.”
Like Hitler and Stalin?
The British director has also portrayed other historical figures throughout his career: Ramses II, Marcus Aurelius or Christopher Columbus – as well as aliens, androids, goblins, serial killers and the Gucci family – and it’s clear that Cinema is not there to give a history lesson.. And because he’s been in the business for the long haul (he turns 86 in two weeks), he knows how to sell a movie; This explains during an interview a few weeks ago: He compared Napoleon to Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin.
To no one’s surprise, half of France cried out and Bonaparte, unlike the dictators, responded by using the press and the networks. did not suppress it brutally attacked its own people and did not organize genocide or purges. By the way, Hitler was a big fan of Galya. “This is one of the best moments of my life,” he said after visiting his grave in the Palace of the Invalides in 1940.
Napoleon modernized his country magnificently. significant political, administrative, legal and educational reforms. He also supported a series of bloody wars on the continent, where he managed to expand his empire from the Iberian Peninsula to Moscow; He reinstated slavery, which had been abolished in France after the Revolution, and his expansionist adventures in Syria and Egypt inspired the country’s later leaders to colonize part of North Africa. So was it? a great statesman or a tyrant?
The debate is kept alive not only by history books, but also by the pages written by authors such as. Balzac, Hugo, Stendhal, Goethe, Pushkin and Dostoyevsky. In ‘Animal Farm’, George OrwellThe pig that turned into a dictator. In ‘War and Peace’, Tolstoy He portrays Bonaparte as a joke character, grunting and grumbling as one of his servants “rubs his meaty, hairy chest.”
Kubrick’s obsession
Additionally, a significant number of the character’s cinematic appearances have been comedic or cartoonish, as in the films ‘Heroes of Time’ (1981), ‘The Incredible Adventures of Bill and Ted’ (1989) and ‘Night Night’. Museum ‘2’ (2009). His journey on the big screen began in early 1897 with the film Pope Francis VII, produced by Louis Lumière. He got his start in the short film in which he appeared arguing with Pius, and the most notable film about him remains ‘Napoleon’ (1927), an incredible epic of five events. an hour and a half directed by Abel GanceIt’s packed with revolutionary special effects.
Later his life was given a full review.desire‘ (1954) – starring marlon brandoturned him into a daring lover in ‘Napoleon’ (1955), directed by his compatriot. Sacha Guitry, The only feature film about him released in the next six decades was Rod Steiger’s ‘Waterloo’ (1970), which portrayed him as a determined, obnoxious man abandoned by his faculties.
The resounding commercial failure of what was then one of the most expensive productions in history was largely to blame. Stanley Kubrick he was unable to realize his dream and make the self-portrait of Bonaparte, which is today considered “one of the best films ever made”; The very detailed script he wrote in his own time is now Steven Spielberg as the basis for a big-budget miniseries to air on HBO.
A narcissistic egomaniac
What does the movie ‘Napoleon’, released by that time, offer? Above all, several titanic battles in which armies of extras are torn to pieces as Bonaparte watches the battlefield with a stern gaze. For the rest he is depicted as a famous Corsican subject egomaniacal, grumpy and ridiculous a spoiled child who believes his own narcissistic lies, needing constant attention, and an absolutely pathetic husband. The film thus leaves its attackers unchallenged because they assume the film will glorify someone else. satrap. Probably yes, they will find new ones to continue attacking him.