Ridley Scott shares how his movie Napoleon differs from previous adaptations that mostly focused on the French emperor's military exploits instead of his internal turmoil and marital life.
Ridley Scott's filmography is an eclectic showcase of action, drama, science fiction, fantasy, and every other subgenre in between. Scott, best known for films like Alien, Blade Runner and Gladiator, shared with IndieWire his newfound cause to make historical dramas, which affirms Martin Scorsese's sentiment about superhero movies. "What happened to the intelligent audience?" Scott remarked. "Superheroes have taken the place of some of the historical dramas, right? Really? So from time to time I will do a historical film like Kingdom of Heaven." Scott has so far helmed eight historical and period films, with Napoleon as his latest credit.
Ridley Scott's Napoleon Film Was Almost Made by Stanley Kubrick Decades Ago
Decades before Ridley Scott's epic approach to the life of Napoleon, fellow iconic filmmaker Stanley Kubrick nearly tackled the same subject.Scott elaborated on his vision for the adaptation, which he contrasted with Stanley Kubrick's biographical treatment and the 1927 Abel Grance black-and-white film. "I tried to make Napoleon accessible," he said. "By concentrating the eye on his fragility, on his Achilles heel, that was my choice. I wanted to not so much make it about wars, but about why this man who was so powerful, was so vulnerable with [Josephine]." The film does lean heavily on Napoleon's tumultuous romance with his first wife Josephine, a story arc that some critics considered secondary to the French emperor's military and personal exploits.
On Napoleon's Creative Liberties
When asked to comment on criticisms about the movie's historical accuracy, the director clapped back with a candid response: "I said, 'Get a life."' He did qualify his comment to somewhat soften the blow, though. "There's 2,400 books written about Napoleon. That's one book for every week of his life. You're telling me that 2,300 are accurate? Give me a break. The danger about writers is they tend to think about the importance of how good their writing is," he explained. Scott's crime and biographical dramas have also been nitpicked for historical accuracy, with many asserting he took too much creative liberty with the stories. Some are even questioning if his upcoming Gladiator sequel even deserves to be made.
Ridley Scott's Battle With Historical Fiction Critics Won't Stop At Napoleon
Time and time again, seasoned director Sir Ridley Scott crosses swords with historians as he creates historical fictions like Napoleon and Gladiator 2Scott is unfazed by the backlash. He also hints he has no intention of relaxing his pace anytime soon. "I've done about 200 TV shows, but I've done about 30 quite large movies myself," he said. "I just love to work… It's just who I am." His next film Gladiator 2 is in development, slated to premiere in theaters on Nov. 22.
Napoleon is available to buy or rent from Prime Video, pending streaming release on Apple TV+.
Source: IndieWire
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