Sony Pictures has released a new trailer for Napoleon starring . Phoenix plays the notorious French emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte, chronicling his rise to power in France in the wake of the French Revolution and eventual fall after overextending his bid for global conquest, culminating in his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo and subsequent exile to the Island of St. Helena. Vanessa Kirby and Tahar Rahim support Phoenix in Napoleon, which is the latest of Scott’s epic historical dramas. Here’s the official Napoleon synopsis, provided by Sony:
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“Napoleon is a spectacle-filled action epic that details the checkered rise and fall of the iconic French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, played by Oscar-winner Joaquin Phoenix. Against a stunning backdrop of large-scale filmmaking orchestrated by legendary director Ridley Scott, the film captures Bonaparte’s relentless journey to power through the prism of his addictive, volatile relationship with his one true love, Josephine, showcasing his visionary military and political tactics against some of the most dynamic practical battle sequences ever filmed.”
Napoleon Cast
Joaquin Phoenix leads Napoleon as the title character, Napoleon Bonaparte. Vanessa Kirby plays Joséphine, Napoleon’s lover and eventual empress. Tahar Rahim plays Paul Barras, a leader in the French Revolution.
Napoleon‘s cast also includes Ben Miles as Napoleon’s advisor Caulaincourt, Ludivine Sagnier as socialite Theresa Cabarrus, Madame Tallien, Matthew Needham as Napoleon’s brother Lucien, Youssef Kerkour as Marshal Davout, one of Napoleon’s commanders, Phil Cornwell as Sanson ‘The Bourreau’, king of France, Edouard Philipponnat as Tsar Alexander, Ian McNeice, Paul Rhys as the diplomat Talleyrand, John Hollingworth as celebrated soldier Marshal Ney, Gavin Spokes as Moulins, and Mark Bonnar as Jean-Andoche Junot. Ridley Scott directs from a screenplay by David Scarpa.
When is Napoleon‘s release date?
Ridley Scott is known for his historical dramas. Before Napoleon, he directed . His next movie is (he worked with Phoenix previously on the original Gladiator).
“First of all, I love doing period films. I love the research. I love to create sort of smells of the period,” Scott told the press of this trend. “I think what we did with the first Gladiator…I don’t like being critical of other things that have happened before, but I wasn’t the biggest fan of Hollywood Roman epics, honestly. They felt artificial and so, when I was asked to consider a script, the script was not very good. But the person who gave it to me said, I want to show you one thing, and he picked up an illustration, this is true, it’s called For Those About to Die by Gérôme. He holds it up. It’s a picture of this big painting of the Coliseum, and in the corner there is this guy, about to tuna fork this poor bastard,” Scott continued. “He’s got this thing in his neck, and he’s looking up for permission to kill. I went, bloody hell, that’s never been done properly before. Never. I said, I’ll do it. He said you will? I said yes. Did you want to read the script? I said no, and we went off and hit the ground running around the table, and evolved the new material.”
Napoleon opens in theaters on Thanksgiving.
