Napoléon (1955)

Directed by

Sacha Guitry

Genre

biographical film, epic film

Country

France, Italy

Runtime

3h 02m

Rated

12

Rating

6.3 of 10 from 23 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A narrator tells the story of Napoleon's life from his youth to his final years. The film uses a large cast to depict key events and figures from his career.

retrospectiveepicslow-pacedhistoricalreflectivestatelydramaticconversational

What happens

Napoléon is a 1955 French historical epic film written and directed by Sacha Guitry, which depicts major events in the life of Napoleon (Daniel Gélin as a young man, Raymond Pellegrin in later life; the switch takes place during a scene at a barber). Guitry played the role of Talleyrand, controversial diplomat and first Prime Minister of France, narrating from a drawing room as if having just heard of Napoleon's death on the island of Saint Helena in 1821. The cast also features Yves Montand as Marshal Lefebvre, Maria Schell as Marie-Louise of Austria, Erich von Stroheim as Ludwig van Beethoven, and Orson Welles as Napoleon's British jailor, Sir Hudson Lowe. The English dub was made as part of the original production, but is significantly shorter than the French version. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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