Napoléon
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Napoléon
Plot
Showing no signs of slowing down in his 70th year, Sacha Guitry served as director and writer of the lavish historical epic Napoleon, and also costarred as Talleyrand. It is now hard to assess the quality of the film, since most American prints are severely edited, and the color photography appallingly washed out. Reviewers in 1955 admired the effort that went into this $1,800,000 production, but complained that the viewer left the film with no deeper understanding of Napoleon Bonaparte than the viewer had had when coming in. Daniel Gelin poses impressively as the young Bonaparte, registering emotion only when things go wrong in his conquest of Europe, while Raymond Pellegrin is somewhat better as the older, more jaded Napoleon (the transition between the two actors is handled in a near-comic fashion). The Revolution is reduced to a few fleeting scenes, while the rest of the film is devoted to political infighting and betrayal. The huge supporting cast includes Michele Morgan as Josephine and Lana Marconi and Dany Robin, respectively, as Napoleon's mistresses Waleska and Desiree. ~ Hal Erickson, RoviCast
- Raymond Pellegrin - Napoleon
- Daniel Gélin - Bonaparte
- Sacha Guitry - Talleyrand
- Jean-Pierre Aumont - Renault de Saint-Jean d'Angely
- Michèle Morgan - Josephine de Beauharnais
Credit
Sacha Guitry - Director, Raymond Lamy - Editor, Jean Francaix - Composer (Music Score), René Renoux - Production Designer, Pierre Montazel - Cinematographer, Clement Duhour - Producer, Sacha Guitry - Screenwriter| Napoléon (1927 Film), Napoli che Non Muore (1939 Film) | |
| Nappali Sotetseg (1963 Film), Nappily Ever After (2008 Film) |
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
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Napoléon (1955 film)
For other uses, see Napoleon (disambiguation).
| Napoléon | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Directed by | Sacha Guitry |
| Produced by | Clément Duhour |
| Written by | Sacha Guitry |
| Starring | Daniel Gélin Raymond Pellegrin Michèle Morgan Maria Schell Sacha Guitry |
| Music by | Jean Françaix |
| Cinematography | Pierre Montazel |
| Editing by | Raymond Lamy |
| Distributed by | Filmsonor Francinex Les Films C.L.M. |
| Release date(s) | March 25, 1955 (France) |
| Running time | 182 min |
| Country | Italy / France |
| Language | French |
Napoléon is a 1955 French historical epic film directed by Sacha Guitry that depicts major events in the life of Napoleon I of France.
Napoleon is played by two actors, Daniel Gélin as a young man and Raymond Pellegrin in later life; the switch takes place during a scene at a barber. Director/actor Guitry played the role of Talleyrand, controversial diplomat and first Prime Minister of France, narrating the story from a drawing room as if having just heard of Napoleon's death on the island of Saint Helena in 1821. Yves Montand appears as Marshal Lefebvre and Maria Schell as Marie-Louise of Austria. The film also has cameo appearances by a number of notable actors, particularly Erich von Stroheim as Ludwig van Beethoven, and Orson Welles as Napoleon's British jailor, Sir Hudson Lowe.
The English version is a contemporary dub made as part of the original production, but does not run as long as the French version.
Plot
The film follows the life of Napoleon from his early life in Corsica to his death at Saint Helena. The film is notable for its use of location shooting for numerous scenes, especially at the French estates of Malmaison and Fontainebleau, the Palace of Versailles, and sites of Napoleonic battles including Austerlitz and Waterloo.
Principal cast
- Young Napoleon: Daniel Gélin
- Older Napoleon: Raymond Pellegrin
- Talleyrand: Sacha Guitry
- Joséphine de Beauharnais: Michèle Morgan
- Eléonore Denuelle: Danielle Darrieux
- Marie-Louise of Austria: Maria Schell
- Marshal Ney: Clément Duhour
- Joachim Murat: Henri Vidal
- Lucien Bonaparte: Serge Reggiani
- Montholon: Jean Marais
- Louis XVIII: Lucien Baroux
- Barras: Pierre Brasseur
- Geraud Duroc: Jean Chevrier
- Louis XV: Maurice Escande
- Cambronne: Noël Roquevert
- Lannes: Jean Gabin
- Lefebvre: Yves Montand
- Ludvig van Beethoven: Erich von Stroheim
- Hudson Lowe: Orson Welles
- Désirée Clary: Dany Robin
- Hortense de Beauharnais: Micheline Presle
- Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte:Jacques Dumesnil
External links
- Napoléon at the Internet Movie Database
- Napoléon is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]
- Napoléon at AllRovi
- Capsule at Fondation Napoléon
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
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