Napoleon (TV Miniseries) (3-Disc Collector's Edition)

Napoleon (TV Miniseries) (3-Disc Collector's Edition)
by Yves Simoneau

List Price: $24.95
Our Price: $12.58
You Save: $12.37 (50%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $12.34 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD details

DVD details

DVD Reviews of Napoleon (TV Miniseries) (3-Disc Collector's Edition)

DVD Review: Flawed but entertaining
Summary: 4 Stars

During the later phases of the French Revolution, Napoleon Bonaparte was merely a minor general with a dream for greatness. "Napoleon" emphasizes the military officer's early ambitions quite well as we see him come up with a better plan to quell a riot, presumptuously marry the widow of a man executed during the Reign of Terror, and begin his rapid rise to the top of French politics. The movie covers Napoleon's campaigns in Egypt, his assumption of power during the fall of the Directory, and the consulate period. Napoleon the emperor portrays in some depth his controversial coronation, his fanaticism for heirs, Austerlitz, the invasion of Russia, and the first and second exiles. Too, we see the dramatic return of the emperor known as the Hundred Days, Waterloo, the forming and shattering of internal and external political alliances, assassination attempts, romantic involvements, and the love/hate liaison between the general and his wife. Important characters from history march across the stage, from Czar Alexander to the Pope to the ineffectual Louis the XVIII.

A good way to critique the movie, and also an unavoidable one, is to look at what "Napoleon" either slights or ignores entirely. Unfortunately, quite a bit gets left out. The Napoleonic law codes receive short shrift, as does Trafalgar, Borodino, and Leipzig. In many ways, the viewer should expect this. The implementation of new laws throughout Europe just doesn't look that dramatic on the screen. Moreover, some battles had to be left out. How to portray a great naval battle like Trafalgar on a television sized budget? Still, the filmmakers probably should have paid more attention to Borodino. That battle, which Napoleon won at a fatal cost to his empire, in some respects marked the apogee of his power. Perhaps the largest flaw in this production is the lack of proper context. Napoleon rises, rules, and falls without any consideration given to the 1789 revolution that created an environment in which an upstart like Napoleon could assume power. Nor is the effect his rule had on Europe examined. The Congress of Vienna, anyone? How about the "Concert of Europe"? You can't even begin to understand modern Europe without looking at the reactionary backlash following the general's final defeat. The fact that Napoleon Bonaparte spread liberal French ideas about government throughout the conquered territories is more important than romance and battles. Sadly, such complex themes don't make for very interesting television in an era of short attention spans.

I don't mean to be too hard on the series. I liked the production on a whole. The battle scenes we do see are fascinating to watch. So are the primary performances. Clavier turns in an effective performance portraying the emperor, as does Rossellini as the gregarious Josephine. The real joy is watching Malkovich ham it up as the inscrutable Talleyrand as he limps around leering and dropping sage political aphorisms. Depardieu is less interesting as the lumpy (there's no other way to say it) Fouche. The set pieces and costumes look divine whether they are historically accurate or not. It pains me to say it after blasting the series for heavy emphasis on dramatic battles, but my favorite scenes in the movie occurred at the beginning when Bonaparte quells that riot. He orders his troops to fire grape shot out of the cannons, and the special effects in these sequences were gruesomely effective. You literally see hunks of metal punching through bodies in slow motion. It's all quite gory, one would think too gory for television. The later battle scenes oddly do not use the same effect. As much as I turn my nose up at some of the blatant omissions in the movie, I must admit the mini-series is well worth watching.

A bunch of extras adorn the three discs. While you don't get trailers or commentary tracks like you would on a theatrically released film transferred to DVD, you do get some stuff unique to A&E, such as Napoleon's "Biography" episode, a behind the scenes featurette, another documentary about Napoleon and the Wellington, and cast biographies. A giant in western history, Napoleon Bonaparte will probably never get a film treatment that will equal his life. If you wish to learn more about this amazing figure, plenty of books await your pleasure. Don't forget to read Tolstoy's "War and Peace" for an account of Borodino that will have you biting your nails. Clear six hours off your schedule and give this one a watch. It's entertaining, moderately informative, and looks wonderful. Thanks, A&E!

Description of Napoleon (TV Miniseries) (3-Disc Collector's Edition)