Director Ridley Scott recently offered an update on his historical epic Napoleon, which he’s currently in the middle of editing. During an interview with Total Film, the filmmaker revealed that he has a four hour and 10 minute cut of the film that he is looking to eventually release on streaming. When asked about how the post-production process is going, he said:
“I’m working on it. It was four [hours] 10 [minutes] this morning, and so what will happen is, we’ll screen [the theatrical cut] first with Sony, and then it has its run, and then the perfect thing is that [the director’s cut] goes to streaming, and we have four hours 10 minutes.”
Scott is no stranger to director’s cuts of the films that he’s made, so I guess it makes sense that he’d have a four hour cut of Napolean that he’d want to release. The director also talked about how he managed to shoot the film in just 62 days, which included the staging of six epic battle sequences. He said:
“Every scene is geometry. By having 11 to 14 cameras, we shot Napoleon in 62 days. I’m doing Gladiator 2 now in 54 days, because I’m not doing 50 takes with one camera, on one shot, and then turning around.”
Napoleon is described as “a spectacle-filled action epic that details the checkered rise and fall of the iconic French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte (Joaquin Phoenix)” The film “captures Bonaparte’s relentless journey to power through the prism of his addictive, volatile relationship with his one true love, Josephine (Vanessa Kirby), showcasing his visionary military and political tactics against some of the most dynamic practical battle sequences ever filmed.”
The movie “captures Napoleon’s famous battles, relentless ambition and astounding strategic mind as an extraordinary military leader and war visionary.” The movie also stars Tahar Rahim, Ben Miles, Ludivine Sagnier, and Rupert Everett.
The film was written by David Scarpa, and Apple Original Films and Sony Pictures Entertainment will release Napoleon on Wednesday, November 22, 2023.
