Napoléon (miniseries)

Napoléon
Created by	Didier Decoin and Max Gallo, Yves Simoneau - director
Starring	Christian Clavier Gérard Depardieu Isabella Rossellini John Malkovich Alexandra Maria Lara Heino Ferch Claudio Amendola
Country of origin	France / Canada
No. of episodes	4
Production
Running time	357 minutes
Original release
Network	France 2

Napoleon is a historical miniseries which explored the life of Napoleon Bonaparte. In 2002, it was the most expensive television miniseries in Europe, costing the equivalent of $US46,330,000 to produce. The miniseries covered Napoleon's military successes and failures, including the Battles of Eylau, Austerlitz, Waterloo and the retreat from Russia. It also delved into Napoleon's personal life: his marriage to and divorce from Josephine de Beauharnais, his marriage to Marie Louise, the Duchess of Parma and daughter of Francis II, and his affairs with Eleanore Denuelle and Marie Walewska. The series draws from Bonaparte historian Max Gallo's bestseller.

The miniseries was produced by GMT Productions in France and co-produced by Transfilm in Canada and Spice Factory in the UK. In France it first aired October 7, 2002 on France 2, in Quebec it ran from February 2 to February 23, 2003 on Super Écran and was then re-aired on Télévision de Radio-Canada. In the United States, it aired on the Arts and Entertainment (A&E) channel.

Introduction

The series begins with Napoleon on Saint Helena. Hudson Lowe, the British governor of the island, repeatedly demands Napoleon show his presence. After a futile attempt to convince Napoleon to leave his home, an English girl (Miss Betsy), soon appears.

Although there is no explicit mention of this, it is assumed that Napoleon is reminiscing about his past successes to Miss Betsy, as it is revealed at the end. The story begins with his meeting of Josephine de Beauharnais, his future wife and Empress. Later, it focuses on Napoleon's military involvement as the Vicount of Barras' chief of staff in neutralizing Royalist forces, followed by his seizure of the French throne, declaring himself Emperor, and waging war on all of Europe.

Cast

• Christian Clavier as Napoleon I
• Isabella Rossellini as Joséphine de Beauharnais
• Gérard Depardieu as Joseph Fouché
• John Malkovich as Charles Talleyrand
• Anouk Aimée as Letizia Bonaparte
• Heino Ferch as Armand Augustin Louis de Caulaincourt
• Sebastian Koch as Marshal Jean Lannes
• Ennio Fantastichini as Joseph Bonaparte
• Yves Jacques as Lucien Bonaparte
• Alexandra Maria Lara as Countess Marie Walewska
• Toby Stephens as Alexander I of Russia
• Mavie Hörbiger as Marie Louise of Austria
• Marie Bäumer as Caroline Bonaparte
• Claudio Amendola as Marshal Joachim Murat
• Julian Sands as Klemens von Metternich
• Ludivine Sagnier as Hortense de Beauharnais
• John Wood as Pope Pius VII
• Natacha Amal as Madame Bertrand
• Charlotte Valandrey as Madame Coigny
• Florence Pernel as Thérésa Tallien
• Jessica Paré as Eléanore Denuelle
• Tamsin Egerton-Dick as Lucia Elizabeth "Miss Betsy" Balcombe
• David La Haye as Louis-Antoine-Henri de Bourbon-Condé, duc d'Enghien
• David Francis as Sir Hudson Lowe
• Jacky Nercessian as Roustam Raza
• Guillaume Depardieu as Jean-Baptiste Muiron
• Alain Doutey as Marshal Michel Ney
• Serge Dupire as Pierre Cambronne
• Philippe Volter as Paul Barras
• Jean Dell as Malmaison's player

Production

Filming took place in Austria, Canada, the Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Morocco and Switzerland. The filmmakers found that many locations in Hungary resembled 19th century France. However, matte paintings and various digital effects were also employed in post-production in order to recreate the historical setting. In many of the battle sequences, computer-generated soldiers created by Hybride Technologies were added into the footage. "With digital effects, you always want to create something dramatic", said Pierre Raymond, president of Hybride. "But for Napoleon, we had to present the reality of the time period with imagery that was visually interesting, but more important, totally accurate." The fact that Napoleon left behind many historical records helped in the production, and other records were supplied by the modern-day French Army.

Upon its release, it was the first television series to be broadcast simultaneously in all the participating European countries. However, when originally broadcast in the United States, it was edited down to a running time of three hours, as opposed to the original six hours.

Battles and action

The first episode begins with the young Napoleon's suppression of Royalist rioters on 13 Vendémiaire with the famous "Whiff of Grapeshot" (short range canister fire from a cannon) around the Church of St. Roch (October 5, 1795). Later on, Napoleon is shown failing to take a bridge from the Austrians at the Battle of the Bridge of Arcole (November 15–17, 1796) during his first Italian campaign. The episode ends with the attempted bombing by the Royalists of Napoleon's carriage while it was en route to the opera house.

In the second episode, there is an extended sequence showing the Battle of Austerlitz (December 2, 1805). This is followed by a very brief scene of the Battle of Jena (October 14, 1806). The episode ends in the midst of the snowy Battle of Eylau (February 7–8, 1807) with Napoleon waiting desperately for reinforcements led by Marshal Michel Ney.

The third episode begins with the last minute arrival of Ney's reinforcements at Eylau battlefield, the charge of the French cuirassier heavy cavalry (led by Marshal Joachim Murat) against the Russian lines, and Napoleon's sending of his Imperial Guard grenadiers into action. The middle of the episode shows Napoleon suffering a serious defeat at the Battle of Aspern-Essling (May 21–22, 1809) and the death of his closest friend and general Marshal Jean Lannes. There is no depiction of the Battle of Borodino (September 7, 1812), though it is mentioned later in the episode. Instead, Napoleon and his forces are shown waiting outside of Moscow before his entire army parades into the empty Russian city. The episode ends with Napoleon opening the window in the Tsar's Kremlin bedroom to see the city engulfed in flames.

The fourth episode begins with the retreat of half-frozen French soldiers in the bitterly cold Russian winter while being attacked by mounted Cossacks. Later, there is the Battle of Waterloo (June 18, 1815) with Ney's heavy cavalry charge, the French taking of the farm Le Haie Sainte from the British, the assault of the Imperial Guard, and the final rout of the French forces. As soldiers flee the battlefield, Napoleon's Imperial Guard grenadiers form a square around their emperor and retreat in disciplined order in their square.

Historical inaccuracy

• All the battle scenes, intended to be a highlight of the series with significant numbers of soldiers presented, oddly and inaccurately show soldiers advancing slowly in short half-steps when in reality they marched at full stride. The most accurate large-scale recreation of a Napoleonic battle remains the film Waterloo released in 1970.
• During the miniseries' depiction of Napoleon as first consul, the incident of the Infernal Machine takes place. He is seen riding with his wife, Josephine, but in historical reality, this was not the case.
• Cambronne is seen saying the infamous word of Cambronne and later a variation of his famous response about the Guard during the Battle of Waterloo. The accuracy of these words is disputed, though they are popularly attributed to him.
• In the third episode Napoleon and Tsar Alexander are shown listening to a performance of Nicolo Paganini's Caprice No. 24. In reality the piece was composed in 1817, when Napoleon already had abdicated.
• In the fourth episode, according to the plot Talleyrand is warning Louis XVIII of Napoleon advancing to Paris. In reality, Talleyrand was at that time at the Congress of Vienna and not in Paris.
• In the credits scene at the end of the movie, Louis-Napoleon (Emperor Napoleon III) is said to have died in 1871, whereas he in fact died 1873 in Chislehurst, England. His regime was toppled (his Empress fleeing from Paris) after his capture by the Prussians at the battle of Sedan in September 1870, during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1.

Reception

The series premiered at a time when many other books and films about Napoleon had recently come out or were in production, including a stage production called C'était Bonaparte, which opened days before the miniseries premiered. When it first aired in France it drew in seven million nightly viewers. Critical reviews have been mixed. Some reviewers were uneasy at the casting of Christian Clavier, an actor known mostly for his work in comedy films, in the title role. French critics generally found Clavier to be "a good Napoleon but a poor Bonaparte." That is, striking an imposing figure but failing to give insight into the man. In terms of the dispute over whether Napoleon was a visionary, a tyrant, or an imposter, historian Jean Tulard considers the miniseries to be "too soft" on the emperor. However, the series also endows him with some unsavory characteristics, including a certain insensitivity towards the human costs of war. Mark A. Rivera of Genreonline.net stated that, "Napoleon is not portrayed as an angel in this miniseries, but neither is he portrayed as a monster. I think this might be one of the most courageous attempts to present the 'Emperor' simply as a human being." Clavier himself referred to the character he portrays as an intellectual and a true liberal.

Anthony Nield of DVD Times criticized the series' pacing. John Lichfield of the Independent found the battle scenes inconsistent in terms of realism.

Controversy

Early on the film received negative reviews in Italy but was praised in France. An Italian politician, Umberto Bossi, was angered by the series, stating that it glamorized Napoleon despite the fact that his occupation of Italy resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands and the looting of many of the country's artistic treasures. He also criticized Italy's RAI television network for co-funding the series. Producer and cast member Gérard Depardieu defended the series, stating that it keeps to the truth and that "perhaps Bossi would have preferred an idiot Napoleon." Two other members of the cast, Christian Clavier and Isabella Rossellini, vouched for the integrity of their respective portrayals of the French emperor and empress. Lichfield, on the other hand, says that the series omits most of the unsavory elements of Napoleon's Italian campaign.

Awards

In 2003 the series won a Bavarian TV award. In France, it won a 7 d'Or award for Best Director. In the United States it was nominated for nine Emmy awards, and it won the Emmy for Outstanding Costumes for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special

DVD release

A three-disc DVD (full screen) recording, under the A&E label and with A&E extra features, is sold in the United States. In Canada, there is a four-disc DVD (fullscreen) recording, under the REMSTAR label and without the A&E extra features, in both English and French editions. French edition is in 1.78:1 (16:9) widescreen.

Game release

A game based on the miniseries was released on November 14, 2002 by Atari and Infogrames for Mac & Windows. The game allows players to recreate some of Napoleon's historical battles. Richard Grégoire, the composer of the soundtrack of the miniseries, also contributed a part of the game's music.

External links

• Napoléon at IMDb
• An article about the special effects from Computer Graphics World