🍿81: Napoleon
This week, an unusual TV recommendation and a feature review of Ridley Scott's Napoleon.
“It’s like Napoleon. When he was the king, you know, people were just constantly trying to conquer him, you know, in the Roman Empire.”
~ Boogie Nights, 1997
Ridley me this…
Sir Ridley Scott comes up a lot in this week’s issue, but before we move forward with the tribute act, I want to talk about what’s been showing at the house of Salty Popcorn since the last issue.
In the past two weeks, we’ve managed to finish two seasons of the Amazon Original series, Undone, starring Rosa Salazar and Bob Odenkirk. Each 30-minute episode is made using rotoscope animation, which is when animators trace and draw over real footage — but don’t mistake it for being a cartoon. This show touches on some heavy stuff, from fraught adult relationships to mental health and existential questions like “What’s the point of it all?”
It’s heartfelt, it’s funny, it’s sad and the animation is stunning. I think the only reason it has been made this way is to make its surrealism feel authentic — it simply wouldn’t work in any other format. In short, we loved it.
Now for the headlines:
Ridley Scott teases that an extended cut of Napoleon will stream on Apple TV+. Read more.
Timothy Olyphant joins Noah Hawley’s Alien TV show. Read more.
Sebastian Stan, Jeremy Strong and Maria Bakalova are set to star in The Apprentice, an upcoming biopic based on Donald Trump. Read more.
Elton John and Paul McCartney will be making cameo appearances in the Spinal Tap sequel. Read more.
And finally, Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan will be starring in an all-new Karate Kid film. Read more.
Upcoming Releases
The End We Start From
UK: 19 January // USA: 8 December
A woman (Jodie Comer), along with her newborn baby, tries to find her way home as an environmental crisis submerges London underwater. Funnily enough, I just read the book (and it was great!)
Society of the Snow
UK: 4 January // USA: 4 January
Spain’s official entry for the 2024 Academy Awards is based on the true story of the plane crash survivors who found themselves stranded in the heart of the Andes in 1972.
Fact of the week
Beloved British actor Oliver Reed, best known for playing Bill Sykes in Oliver! and Proximo in The Gladiator passed away just three weeks before the latter finished principal photography.
According to IMDB, Proximo was such a key character that there was a clause in the film’s insurance contract that would have allowed Ridley Scott to reshoot all of Reed’s scenes, with another actor, at the insurer’s expense.
IMDB reckons this would have cost around $25m, but the cast and crew were exhausted from a very demanding schedule and Scott didn’t want to cut Reed out of the film. So instead, the script was rewritten and Scott employed a body double and the use of CGI to help wrap up Reed’s scenes with a plausible resolution.
What a stroke of luck for the insurance company!
Review: Napoleon
Star rating:
3.5 (out of 5)
Where to watch:
USA: Only in cinemas
UK: Only in cinemas
Runtime:
2hr 38m
Director:
Ridley Scott
Blurb:
Sir Ridley Scott explores Napoleon Bonaparte’s (Joaquin Phoenix) origins and his swift, ruthless climb to emperor, through the prism of his volatile relationship with his one true love, Josephine (Vanessa Kirby).
The review (NO spoilers):
Ridley Scott’s latest historical epic shows the rise and fall of one of the world’s greatest conquerers, Napoleon Bonaparte (Joaquin Phoenix). But despite its stellar cast, strong direction and fantastic costume and set design, Napoleon falls almost as flat as the plains of Waterloo.
With Phoenix in the titular role, Napoleon comes across not so much as a ‘great man’ but rather a man-child who has chanced his way to greatness. On the one hand, this shows the vulnerabilities that make him human. On the other, it leads to unexpected (though clearly intended) comedy. While this adds a certain humility to the film, it does feel like director Ridley Scott is trying to build a bridge between genres that doesn’t need building.
That’s not to say that Napoleon isn’t without merit — the set and costume design really are stunning— it’s just not particularly memorable. For instance, while all the battle scenes are masterfully filmed and choreographed, there are perhaps only two that really stand out.
However, the film isn’t all about life on the battlefield as Scott tries to bring balance to show us the man behind the general. Although the screentime is split fairly equally between war and peace (for lack of a better word), it seems that a lack of blood also signifies a lack of substance.
Furthermore, despite the accomplished cast, no actor is given the opportunity to demonstrate the full extent of their talent. It makes you question, if it’s not all about the battles and it’s not all about the performance, what is it about?
Scroll down to see what’s in the next issue.
If you liked Napoleon…
The Last Duel
2021 | UK: Disney+ / Prime Video (£3.49) // USA: Prime Video ($3.79)
Ridley Scott’s last film, starring Jodie Comer, Matt Damon, Adam Driver and Ben Affleck, fell under the radar, despite it being the first screenplay that Affleck and Damon have co-written since Good Will Hunting.
Set in France once again (400 years before Napoleon Bonaparte was born), The Last Duel recounts one story told from three perspectives. We gave it a rating of 4.5 stars in SP#22, and while that might be a little generous in hindsight, it’s still well worth a watch.
In the next issue:
Leave The World Behind
UK: 8 December // USA: 8 December | Watch the Trailer
Thanks for another great read---I look forward to checking out "Undone"! Cheers bro!