Before the premiere, director Scott Ridley and his team claimed they had spent a lot of time and energy to ensure the historical accuracy of the movie about Napoleon.
But when a trailer was released and some reviewers mentioned some violations of historical truth, Scott Ridley brushed these cases aside by saying:
“Get a life!”
In other words: historical accuracy is not a high priority for him.
The opening scene
The movie opens with a scene set in Paris in October 1793. On the day when the former Queen Marie Antoinette is executed by the guillotine.
This brief scene contains more than one violation of historical truth:
(1) Marie Antoinette has long hair.
Not true.
A person who was destined for execution was given a haircut before he or she entered the scaffold.
(2) Marie Antoinette is fearless and feisty as she arrives to the place of execution.
Not true.
She was sad and vulnerable because of the situation. As she climbed the scaffold, she accidentally stepped on the toes of the executioner. When this happened, she said:
“Excuse me, Sir. I did not do it on purpose.”
(3) As the camera slowly moves to show the crowd of people watching the execution, it stops and focuses on the face of one person: Napoleon Bonaparte.
Not true.
Napoleon was not in Paris when Marie Antoinette was executed in October 1793. He was far from the capital at that time.
In one short scene we have no less than three violations of historical truth.
This is a clear sign that the level of historical accuracy is not very high in this movie.
The language spoken
The most obvious and constant violation of historical truth in this movie is the language spoken by the characters:
** Napoleon and Josephine speak English with each other, even though they are both French
** The Russian Tsar Alexander speaks English, even though he is from Russia
** The Austrian princess who comes to Paris in 1810 to marry Napoleon speaks English, even though her first language is German
** The only character who has a good reason to speak
English is the Duke of Wellington, who was born in Ireland in 1769. His first language was English.
All characters in this movie speak English, no matter what their nationality is.
This is absurd and this fact makes it difficult for the viewers to find out who is who.
If each character speaks the proper language, it is easier for the audience to find out who is who.
The age of the main characters
The two main characters are Napoleon and Josephine
Napoleon was six years younger than Josephine.
But in the movie, the age difference is turned upside down:
The actor who plays Napoleon is much older than the actress who plays Josephine.
According to the Hollywood convention, the man must always be older than the woman. The woman cannot be older than the man.
But when we are talking about Napoleon and Josephine, the woman is six years older than the man!
Scott Ridley ignored the reality and decided to respect the Hollywood convention.
The story begins in 1793 and ends in 1815. The time line covers more than twenty years.
The role of Napoleon is played by the same actor from the beginning to the end.
** In 1793, Napoleon is 24
** In 1815, Napoleon is 46
How old is Joaquin Phoenix, the actor who plays Napoleon? He was 48 in 2022, when the film was made. He was far too old for the role.
The role of Napoleon should have been played by an actor who was 25 or perhaps in his 30s.
The role of Napoleon should not be played by an actor who is almost 50 years old!
Joaquin Phoenix is miscast in the role of Napoleon.
The structure of the movie
The movie is divided into several chapters. Each chapter covers a major event in Napoleon's life or a major military campaign in which he was involved.
The chapters are not always well-connected with each other.
When one chapter ends and another chapter begins, it is not always clear how they are connected.
Sometimes important events happen between two chapters. But these events are not covered.
In some cases, the jump from one chapter to the next is short. In other cases, the jump is much longer.
One chapter shows the moment when the Austrian princess Marie Louise appears in Paris and she meets Napoleon.
We are in 1810.
In the next chapter, Napoleon holds a new-born baby in his arms.
Now we are in 1811.
One chapter covers the military campaign in Russia in 1812.
When the next chapter begins, Napoleon is informed that he will be sent into exile. Now we are in 1814.
The viewer may think that Napoleon is sent into exile, because he lost the military campaign in Russia. But this is not the case. Not at all.
Events of 1813 are not covered. Napoleon is defeated in a major battle in 1814 (which is not covered). This is the reason why he is sent into exile.
Château de Malmaison
A minor flaw appears when Napoleon is seen outside the palace known as Château de Malmaison.
The palace which is seen in the background is not Malmaison.
I have been there and Malmaison does not look like the palace seen in the movie. I have checked the Internet to see a picture of Malmaison and my memory of the place is correct.
According to an on-screen message in the movie, this is Malmaison, but the message is not true.
The palace seen in the movie is not Malmaison!
Napoleon and the Duke of Wellington
A chapter which appears close to the end of the movie shows a meeting between Napoleon and the Duke of Wellington. This never happened.
Napoleon and the Duke never met face to face.
The fictional meeting takes place on a British warship in July 1815.
The Duke informs Napoleon that he will be sent into exile. The Duke mentions the name of the place: St Helena, an island in the South Atlantic Ocean.
Then the Duke says the following words:
“I am told it is a beautiful place.”
The Duke would never say this.
The Duke would never make such a statement.
Why not?
Because the Duke had been there. He did not have to rely on the testimony of others. He knew this place.
How, when and why was he there?
The Duke had served in India. In 1805, he returned to England. It was a long voyage.
First, he sailed from India to South Africa. Then he entered the South Atlantic Ocean. He stopped at St Helena and he stayed there for a while before he continued the journey to England.
If the Duke wanted to say something about this island, he could have said the following:
“I know this place. I was there a few years ago. I can tell you it is a beautiful place.”
The director and the scriptwriter invented a meeting of Napoleon and the Duke of Wellington.
This is a violation of historical truth. But it gets worse.
In this meeting, the Duke makes a statement which the real Duke would never have made.
It is obvious that scriptwriter David Scarpa does not know much about the life and career of the Duke before the battle of Waterloo in 1815.
Where did the Duke live while he stopped at St Helena in 1805?
He lived in a small building called Briars Pavilion.
Where did Napoleon live when he came to St Helena in 1815?
He lived in Briars Pavilion, because his permanent home Longwood House was not yet ready for him.
By a strange coincidence, Napoleon and the Duke lived in the very same building!
But not at the same time!
The Duke was there in 1805, while Napoleon was there in 1815.
The level of historical accuracy
The opening scene has three violations of historical truth.
A scene which appears close to the ending is a product of the director's vivid imagination.
Between the opening scene and the ending there are several cases where historical truth is violated.
In other words: the level of historical accuracy is not high in this movie. Sadly, it is quite low.
Additional questions
Investigating the level of historical accuracy is not the only way to determine the quality of a movie which is based on a true story.
We can ask other questions.
Is it entertaining?
My answer:
Yes, to a certain degree, but it is not very entertaining.
Can it capture your attention?
My answer:
Yes, but perhaps I paid attention, because I am a historian and I wanted to see how historical events which I already know are presented in the movie.
What about the main characters: Napoleon and Josephine?
What do we learn about them?
Does the movie explain what kind of person Napoleon was?
Does it explain how he managed to have such an unusual life and such an unusual career?
Does it explain what happened to members of his family, such as his brothers?
Does the movie explain what kind of person Josephine was?
Does it explain what her life was like before she met and married Napoleon?
Does it explain what happened to her son and her daughter?
The answer to these questions is no.
The movie focuses on the relationship between Napoleon and Josephine and on some of the military campaigns in which he was involved.
All other aspects of their lives are excluded and ignored.
Perhaps this is why the ratings this movie has received are less than impressive?
REFERENCES
Kevin Lang
“Napoleon”
History Vs. Hollywood
22 November 2023
Olivia Waxman
“How Ridley Scott's Napoleon stacks up against the French emperor's real story”
Time magazine
22 November 2023
Micaela Perez Vitale
“10 historical inaccuracies in Ridley Scott's Napoleon”
Movie Web
04 December 2023
Adam Bentz
“Inaccuracies called out by French historians”
Screen Rant
07 December 2023
*****
Napoleon
(2023)
The poster claims:
He came from nothing
He conquered everything
This sounds good, but it is not true:
(1) He was born into nobility
(2) He did not conquer everything
The claim made on the poster is
one more violation of historical truth
*****
Napoleon Bonaparte
(1769-1821)
Emperor of the French 1804-1814
and again (for 100 days) in 1815
*****
Josephine de Beauharnais
(1763-1814)
Empress of the French 1804-1814
Married to Napoleon 1796-1810
Mother of two children:
Eugene de Beauharnais
(1781-1824)
Hortense de Beauharnais
(1783-1837)
*****
Chateau de Malmaison
Josephine bought this palace in 1799
She lived there from 1799 until her death in 1814
Napoleon lived there occasionally:
while they were married and
when he was in Paris
Today the palace is a museum
I was there a few years ago
It is worth a visit
*****
Briars Pavilion
St Helena
The Duke of Wellington stayed here in 1805
Napoleon stayed here in 1815
*****
On this blog
More items about Napoleon
*****
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