talkbaktalk This is the first Napoleon epic where the chief speaks with a French accent; that is good. HIs words are his, many of the events are accurate. Because his life was crowded with events, all detail is left out except the love interest of Josephine.This is a modern interpretation, so any glory of war is ruthlessly stamped out, to the point that great battles are always seen as useless slaughter with piles of corpses. Well, in part they are.If you're looking for any of La Gloire, a big part of the period, you'll look in vain. The people rarely cheer Napoleon. We know his soldiers often shouted "Vive L'Empereur" as he passed. Instead, in the film, they barely notice him on the battlefield.Isabel Rossellini as Josephine is seen too often, as (one of the) the women of his life. Murat stands in for all his Marshals, as a film can only pay so many actors. John Malkovich as Talleyrand is very good.An interesting and intelligent film. Clavier plays the part of Napoleon well, although in the interests of covering all his life, he is a bit one dimensional. If you thirst for battlefield tactics, and scenes of battle, you'll be disappointed. Only one battle is covered in any detail is Austerlitz, his finest victory.Napoleon was an extremely intelligent and relatively peaceful man. Most of the wars he fought were forced upon him by European nations in the pay of the English, who could not abide him. He was a better man than they were.

Gui1999 Detailing the life and times of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, Napoleon the four part mini-series is a stunning portrayal of one of Europe's greatest men. One minute we are in a tent somewhere in the olive fields of Italy the next we are in a ball watching Napoleon meet the beautiful Comtesse Walweska. Christian Clavier plays a fantastic Napoleon Bonaparte with that cunning and yet short tempered mind that the Emperor is so famous for. Isabella Rossellini does a good job at playing Josephine De Beauharnais and Marie Horbiger plays an equally good Marie-Louise matching the real Empress's personality well. Out of the three women however Alexandra Maria Lara played the strongest character as Comtesse Walweska, the enigma who in the latter stage of the series takes a prominent role. I found John Malkovich's portrayal of Charles-Maurice Talleyrand yet another fantastic performance. Napoleon's family was also represented with great representations of Caroline and of Murat Bonaparte. The role of Fouche was well represented by Gerard Depardieu. In total however I found the series too short, I thought it should have been double the size. The Peninsular Campaign is way to brief in the series and many of the battles are not accurately represented nor really showing Napoleon's real genius which was on the battlefield as well as at the drawing table. The 16 Marshals are badly represented with only a couple being mentioned and Marshal Ney 'The Fearless' is briefly added in at the end to fit the story line. Many of the key points of the era are missing from this otherwise stunning portrayal of one of Europe's Greatest Men.

selffamily I have to admit my knowledge of Bonaparte and French history is sketchy at best. When I saw this DVD set for sale, I grabbed it, being fairly certain that it would be quality and worth watching. Well, four episodes later, having become totally addicted, I hope I have better knowledge because I found it fascinating and enthralling. I don't like battle scenes, they evoke too many emotions for me of the wastage of humankind, but I found the graphics clearly illustrated for me where the campaigns were heading, what happened and I think I learned from it. I found the acting was convincing, I loved Josephine and ached for her when they divorced; I found our hero more sympathetic that I had expected, and that was pleasing because a nation such as France would not blindly follow someone who was not passionate about the country. I thought that this was (given obvious time/money limitations) quite splendid and can't wait to share it!

LCShackley This is a gorgeous production, with great make-up, costumes, locations, battle scenes etc. (which were nominated for Emmys and other awards). But there are so many weak links in the cast that it makes the film difficult to enjoy.I guessed (correctly) early on in watching that this must have been a dual-language film, with one cast shot in both English and French, which explains why so many of the actors seem uncomfortable with their lines. Clavier's delivery is often so uncertain that the emotion of the scene is lost. Besides, he lacks the handsome bravura that all the paintings of Napoleon convey so strongly. How can we believe that a whole country blindly followed this soft-spoken, dumpy little person?Gerard Depardieu seems to have forgotten whatever he learned about speaking English back when he was an English film "flavor of the month" in the 1980s, although he hasn't lost his strong, menacing presence. Some of the supporting actors are wooden enough to have been Al Gore's stunt doubles, delivering their lines like a child reciting at a class play. John Malkovich practically phones in his part; haven't we seen enough of his mumbling, poker-faced, pursed-lipped villains for one lifetime? The ladies in the cast fare much better, with Isabella Rossellini taking the top prize for believability and realistic emotions. But the Oscar goes to Napoleon's war horse, who puts on a great show of fancy stepping in one unforgettable scene! The production was shot in many of the actual buildings and rooms in which the action really took place, which lends some excitement and credibility. It is lovely to look at...if it weren't for all those darned PEOPLE cluttering up the scenery.