Filmed in 1976 in authentic places in England and based on the novel by Joseph Conrad, the film “The Duellists” refers to the long-standing paranoid confrontation between two officers of Napoleon’s army (Keith Carradine, Harvey Keitel) who over the years whenever they meet and regardless of circumstances they find the opportunity to duel.
The occasion was something completely insignificant, insignificant and from a certain moment and then forgotten. But since no one ever wins, the duel of honor cannot but continue “next time”.
Ever since the cinema took its first steps French military and political leader Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821), who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led several successful campaigns during the Revolutionary Wars, has been a figure of tremendous appeal. in this medium and not only.
The British director made this amazing feature film debut when he was 39 years old.
And so today, at the age of 86, with his latest film, “Napoleon”, Scott returns to the same era, this time focusing on the person of Napoleon Bonaparte himself, played by one of the greatest acting forces of our time , Joaquin Phoenix.
The film, about which we will not express an opinion (it is presented to the journalists tomorrow Tuesday), opens in theaters in our country (as well as in many other countries) next Thursday.
Ever since the cinema took its first steps French military and political leader Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821), who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led several successful campaigns during the Revolutionary Wars, has been a figure of tremendous appeal. in this medium and not only.
The films that have been made “on” him are too many and even more are those in which he is simply mentioned (as in “The Gladiators”) or we see him in a supporting role, which usually “steals” the show.
Also, as a hero, he has inspired the world of literature (e.g. a pig in George Orwell’s Animal Farm is named after him), pop rock music (songs by the Kinks, the Bee Gees, Al Stewart, of ABBA etc.) or television: in an episode of the series “Dr. Who” of 1964 Dr. Who (William Hartnell) travels to Paris in 1794 and witnesses the coup against Robespierre supposedly orchestrated by the then-young general Napoleon Bonaparte.
Protagonists who had an accident
Surprisingly, however, Bonaparte is not exactly the historical figure that you can say has found his ideal performer on the big or small screen.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that Napoleon has actually been unlucky in biopics because no actor has triumphed (as one might expect) playing him.
And he has been played by several, including Marlon Brando in Henry Coster’s Desiree (1954), a film that also focuses on the tempestuous loves of the Emperor of France, Rod Steiger in Sergei Bondarchuk’s Waterloo (1970), a box office flop, as did Armand Asante in the five-hour television miniseries Napoleon and Josephine: A Love Story, opposite Jacqueline Bichet as Josephine.
Even today, strange as it may seem, the best cinematic portrayal of Napoleon remains that of French actor Albert D’Etienne in Abel Gans’s 1927 silent film masterpiece Napoleon (Gans later reprized Napoleon in the epic adventure ” Napoleon at Austerlitz” 1960).
That is why it is very possible that Phoenix, who took on the role in Scott’s film, with whom he had worked for the first time playing Commodus in “The Gladiator” (a role that had led him to the Oscars), has again managed to give an interpretation that, if nothing else, will be much discussed.
As a guest star
One would say that Bonaparte’s appearances as a guest hero are of greater interest, and in fact in almost all film genres: we will find him in comedies (“The Peacemaker” by Woody Allen), in science fiction parodies (“Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure “) or in over-the-top tales like Terry Gilliam’s Time Bandits (1981) starring Ian Holm.
Napoleon’s short stature was even found in Danny DeVito’s body in the film “Catch him short”, where the famous comedian plays an actor who plays Napoleon.
Finally, Frenchman Alain Champa was Napoleon in the relatively recent fantasy comedy A Night at the Museum 2.
The Kubrick project
In 2011, the publishing house Taschen released a huge, multi-page book-album entitled “Stanley Kubrick’s Napoleon. The Greatest Movie Never Made’.
This book contains a reprint of every available archival material that exists for a film that was never made.
And this film is according to Stanley Kubrick “Napoleon”, the most ambitious work of the American director who died suddenly in 1999 at the age of 70.
Kubrick had finally written a script that seems to have something to do with a dream of the great Jack Nicholson before he retired from cinema: to play Napoleon in a film (in 1984 Nicholson had paid $250,000 for the rights to a film about the French emperor ).
To create his never-begun Napoleon film, Kubrick had his assistants purchase every book available on the French emperor. An avid reader, Kubrick owned more than 100 books, and had read them all.
Being a tremendous detailer, when working on, say, a battle scene, he would even look at historical paintings of the battle as a subject, so that he could understand exactly the weather that was shown in the painting and make sure to film the battle scene a day with similar weather.
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