"Napoléon" (2002) TV mini-series

Note Générale:

7,1/10   

Réalisateur:

Yves Simoneau

Scénaristes:

Didier Decoin (writer)
Max Gallo (novel)

Date de sortie:

17 septembre 2002 (Italy)

Genre:

Aventure | Biographie | Drame | Romance | Guerre

Accroche:

An epic life.

Intrigue:

The year is 1816, and NAPOLEON, held prisoner by the British on the island of St. Helena, is telling the young English girl BETSY his life story...

Plot Keywords:

Campaign | Army | Russia | French Soldier | Costume Drama

Récompenses:

Won Primetime Emmy. Another 2 wins & 10 nominations

Avis des utilisateurs:

A mixed bag

Ensemble

Christian Clavier	...	Napoléon
Isabella Rossellini	...	Joséphine de Beauharnais
Gérard Depardieu	...	Joseph Fouché
John Malkovich	...	Charles Talleyrand
Anouk Aimée	...	Letizia Bonaparte
Heino Ferch	...	Armand Augustin Louis, Marquis de Caulaincourt
Sebastian Koch	...	Marshal Jean Lannes
Ennio Fantastichini	...	Joseph Bonaparte
Guillaume Depardieu	...	Muiron
Alexandra Maria Lara	...	Countess Marie Walewska
Toby Stephens	...	Tsar Alexander I
Mavie Hörbiger	...	Marie Louise of Austria
Marie Bäumer	...	Caroline Bonaparte
Claudio Amendola	...	Maréchal Joachim Murat
Julian Sands	...	Klemens Metternich

Autre(s) titre(s):

Le tricorne de Napoléon (France) (working title)
Napoléon (Germany)
Napoleon (Europe: English title)

Durée:

357 min (4 parts) | 380 min (DVD edition)

Pays:

France | Allemagne | Italy | Canada | USA | UK | Hungary | Spain | Czech Republic

Langue:

Français | Anglais

Couleur:

Couleur

Rapport de forme:

1,78 : 1

Son:

Stereo

Classification:

Spain:13 | Germany:12 | Singapore:PG | UK:15

Lieux de tournage:

Agadir, Morocco

Société:

A&E Television Networks

Anecdotes:

In July 2003 dollars, the film costs $46,330,000 to make.

Goofs:

Continuité: When Napoleon is with Eleanore Denuelle and his son to say goodbye, his hair is parted on his left side. When he leaves and turns around at the door, Napoleon's hair is parted on his right side.

Guillemet:

Napoléon: [regarding his coronation as Emperor] I intend to crown myself.
Pope Pius VII: Then why am I here?
Napoléon: To bless my reign.
Pope Pius VII: Now, who exactly are you asking to bless your reign, Sire? Almighty God? Or his humble deputy on Earth, the Pope?
Napoléon: Humble? Is that the word you use to describe the thunder of organ music, clouds of incense, altars full of flowers, robes trimmed with gold?
Pope Pius VII: You confuse God with religion.
Napoléon: On the contrary, I separate them. On the one hand, a theory: God. On the other, a certitude: religion. It gives human society a framework. People would have no reference points without religion, we saw the results of that, when during the Revolution the churches were looted and the priests guillotined. The country toppled into anarchy, chaos, and madness of the Reign of Terror. We can do without God, but not without religion.
Pope Pius VII: Do without God? Can you live without faith in the immortality of your soul? Without belief in the everlasting life?
Napoléon: If you have ever been in a battlefield, you would not believe in God, either.
Pope Pius VII: But I spend all my days and all my nights on a battlefield, Sire! The whole world is a battlefield! And every man who suffers is a terrible defeat for me. Place the crown on your own brow if that is what you wish. I will pray it does not become too heavy for you to bear.
[...]

Connexions:

Références Le souper (1992)

Bande son:

La Reconciliation Avec Josephine (The Reconciliation with Josephine)

A mixed bag

On the plus side: the costumes and interiors are magnificent, Isabella Rossellini is good as Josephine, the historical events depicted are presented accurately, and the series gets better as it goes along (don't give up after the muddled first episode!).

On the minus side: we never really get a feel for what Napoleon actually stood for or why and how he was such a military genius, the film dwells on his private life when it could be dealing with the huge social and political issues of the time, the actors playing some of the secondary characters are laughably bad (Murat, Ney, Marie-Louise), and one has to strain to hear the dialogue (due to the foreign accents, background noise and music).

As for Christian Clavier, it's amazing how the comments on his performance stretch from "brilliant" to "trash." My own view is that he was off the mark as the younger Napoleon, but as the mature Napoleon had basically the right look and plenty of gravitas.

A good contribution to the body of film about the Emperor but also full of flaws.