Napoleon (TV Miniseries) (3-Disc Collector's Edition)

I vaguely remembered this airing on A&E years ago (before they became the cultural mecca of (meh) reality shows) but I had a hard time staying with it, due to commercials and work schedules at the time. My interest in Napoleon was reawakened after a very dismal movie at the theaters this fall, so I went back to find the good stuff. It took quite a while to get this DVD, but it is superb.Gerard Depardieu is one of the producers and he found some of his friends to play some important roles. They are all great. I wasn't too sure about Christian Clavier at first. He seemed like too nice of a guy to be the mercurial French emperor but he grows stronger as it goes along. Clavier is helped along by the fact that is he a very good actor. Isabella Rossellini, one of my favorite actresses, is Josephine and she does a lovely job, giving depth and some fire to Empress, which I appreciated. Depardieu is Fouche, the cold hearted head of the French police. Depardieu gives some unexpected (and humorous) character turns as Fouche not only has to keep up with the Emperor, but also his archrival Talleyrand. Only one person could play the oily out for himself Talleyrand and Depardieu got his buddy John Malkovich for the part. Perfect casting.The production is simply fantastic. A lot of the filming is done on the actual locations, including far off St. Helena. These things would all be done with unconvincing CGI these days. From what I could tell, everything seems to be historically accurate. There is an extras disk, which is very interesting, explaining how the battles were filmed. Also, no animals were harmed in this production. Bravo. That is a big reason I can never watch Waterloo again.Thanks to the resurgent interest in Napoleon, this DVD set was not cheap and it was hard to find. But I don't mind paying more (if I have to!) to see a big time professionally done miniseries about a fascinating time in history. Everything here is first rate. Five stars all the way.

This is a very good series about Napoleon, well done and fully showing the impact that people like Fouchet and Talleyrand had upon his reign.

A six-hour reenactment of Napoleon's life beginning in Paris in 1795 with John Malkovich portraying Talleyrand, his foreign minister and advisor. After the attempted assassination on Napoleon, the minister of police and others believed, based on flimsy evidence, that royalist duke d'Enghien was responsible, and he was executed. Josephine and his mother, Letizia, thought he was innocent and that Napoleon should have pardoned him. The surrender of French General Pierre Dupont and the defeat at the battle of Bailen, Spain, was followed by the Spanish people striking out at the French Army in Madrid on May 2, 1808. By sunset, 150 French soldiers were killed. This led to a brutal, savage war with atrocities committed on both sides, a type of guerrilla warfare. Napoleon went to Madrid in December 1808 to regain control. When no one heard from him for three days, they feared the worst. This scare and the assassination attempt prompted Talleyrand to urge Napoleon to produce an heir (son) or the overthrow of his monarchy was possible. This would guarantee the stability and continuity of his administration and government. Because Josephine was too old to conceive an heir, Talleyrand tried to drive a wedge between her and Napoleon. Talleyrand suggested to Napoleon that he consider Marie Louise, Archduchess of Austria, as a future wife. Napoleon was interested in Countess Marie Walewska of Poland for a time. She was devoutly religious and married with a 2-year-old son. She offered to sacrifice her principles, subordinate her dignity, and make herself available to satisfy Napoleon's carnal desires to curry his favor. She hoped that Emperor Napoleon had the power to wrest freedom and independence for Poland away from her enemies - Prussia, Austria, and Russia. Prior to going to Spain in 1808, Napoleon had defeated the Russians in the battle at Friedland. He convinced Russian Czar (Tsar) Alexander to sign the Treaty of Tilsit on a floating raft on the Nieman River in July 1807. The Czar joined the alliance forbidding European nations from trading with the British. The "Continental System" barred British ships from all ports under French rule and also barred neutral nations from carrying British goods to the continent. The Continental System not only ruined the British economy but all its European neighbors including Russia. The Russian Czar soon recanted the continental blockade against England. Further negotiations became futile when Napoleon demanded a sovereign and independent Poland. The Czar would not permit this. He viewed Poland on his border as a threat. Nor would he agree to constraining the Prussians and Austrians from acquiring weapons. So Napoleon in a strategic move married the Archduchess of Austria to ally France with Austria. Christian Clavier was superb in the role of Napoleon, and so was the acting of John Malkovich, Isabella Rossellini (Josephine), and Gerard Depardieu (Fouche - Minister of Police). The 94-minute "Napoleon and Wellington" documentary from Bonus disc III compares the lives of these two extraordinary military commanders born months apart in 1769. Extensive details and insights are presented about these two leaders, Wellington of Britain and Napoleon of France, whose careers culminated in the battle of Waterloo, Belgium. This battle is examined here in great depth. The only downside is the actors speak with a pronounced accent, so you have to listen closely to understand every word.

Napoleon depicted as human, complex, magnetic, flawed, funny and capable of both cruelty and genius.I really enjoyed this.

Filming was excellent; costumes were excellent; characters' accents were not understandable a LOT of the time; script writers should have had their heads examined for a boring script. The producers and director should have demanded a long, interesting exposition of the civil code Napoleon wrote, since so much of our law uses it as a foundation. This could have been so much better.

A visually stunning production. A good cast enhances this very well done mini-series. Presented in four parts it manages to capture the flavor of the times and the Emperor's incredible life. Historical events are accurately shown for the most part, and if changed are done so in the spirit of the time. Even a large 400 hour epic like this cannot possible capture the many aspects of Napoleon's hectic life. The battle scenes are well done and manage to show key elements of the battles portrayed. The overall effect is worthwhile and a treat to the eye as it was filmed in many of the actual locales. One of the better TV versions of the Emperor's epic life.

Serie de gran calidad pero no tiene el doblaje en francés como lo indicaba en la publicación.

J'ai acheté ce dvd pour cette excellente performance de Christian Clavier très bon et reçu dans les temps

Questo dvd ripercorre la vita di Napoleone, imperatore dei francesi. Nella Storia, sono pochi gli uomini così grandi nel Bene e nel Male. Ha trascinato centinaia di migliaia di giovani a morire sui campi di battaglia, ma è anche stato il più grande legislatore dell' Età Moderna. È stato un dittatore, ma ha anche diffuso in tutta l' Europa gli ideali della Rivoluzione Francese. Ha rubato le opere d' arte dei paesi conquistati, ma ha anche promosso la cultura e l' istruzione. Perfino un grande come Alessandro Manzoni ha ammesso di non saper giudicare un personaggio così complesso. Una cosa è certa: Napoleone, nel Bene e nel Male, è stato uno dei grandi che hanno fatto la Storia.

Bonjour, j'ai bien reçu le DVD, il est bien en Français ! 2 DVD pour les 4 parties ! Bonne qualité d'image ! Bonne qualité audio (musique, voix,...) ! Les DVD sont bien arrivés en très bon état ! Je recommande !

Très beau film. Mr Christian Clavis a sont paroxysme. Cela prouve bien que les petits hommes font les grands acteurs.Quelle prestance extraordinaire, Merci.