Ridley Scott’s Napoleon, starring Joker actor Joaquin Phoenix, is the latest definitive movie about the French emperor who became the ruler of France at 30. The director has made several historical event adaptations over the course of his five-decade career, such as the famous Gladiator.
The film’s most complicated set-up would focus on the recreation of the Battle of Austerlitz, which many considered as Napoleon’s greatest feat. The French army lured the Russian soldiers into a frozen lake and afterward shot cannons while retreating, leaving the Russian forces to drown.
Ridley Scott Discusses Latest Movie Napoleon Starring Joaquin Phoenix
In an interview with Vulture, director Ridley Scott revealed a few details about his current masterpiece, Napoleon. He shared that he completed the project almost half the required days of filming:
“We shot this entire film in 62 days. If you know anything about filming, you’d know it should’ve been 120. I have 40 department heads who all have their own pyramids of personnel, so the unit is almost 900 people.”
He also explained one comedic scene from the movie where Joaquin Phoenix was being chased, his eyes bulging and puffing, from the palace. The actor refused to redo the act because he hurt himself:
“That was one take, shot with eight cameras. He gets beaten up like in a rugby scrum, and he runs away and falls down the stairs. I thought he’d broken his f—king leg. I called cut and said, ‘You want to go again?’ And he said, ‘No, no. I hurt my hip.’”
Lastly, Scott admitted he cast Phoenix for the role of Napoleon because he has a resemblance to the French emperor:
“There are only two actors today that I think would’ve been good for the role – and I’m not going to say who the other one is because he’d get pissed off. But Joaquin Phoenix really looks like Bonaparte. He has the nose and the eyes. Before I cast him, I took a photograph of him and stuck a hat on it, and I said, ‘There it is.’”
Still, the director admitted he chose Phoenix because of his incredible performance in Joker, and he also believed the actor would be a great asset in the movie not only creatively but also commercially.
Ridley Scott’s Obsession With France Inspired The Creation Of Napoleon
Ridley Scott confessed that his passion for the subject of his movie was because of his love for all things French. He visited Saint Tropez when he was a teenager and has fallen in love with France since then. He told Deadline:
“I’ve always enjoyed the French way of life. I’ve never forgotten the French summers. I loved Paris so much that I have an office there. My first film The Duellists was about Napoleon, though he wasn’t in it.”
The filmmaker also noted that his approach to the movie in the beginning was purely visual:
“There are 400 books on Napoleon, but I’m a child who looks at pictures. When you look at the paintings of French painter David, you get a history lesson from the paintings.”
Apple and Sony Pictures Entertainment teamed up for the movie’s worldwide release on November 22, starring Joaquin Phoenix as French conqueror Napoleon Bonaparte and Vanessa Kirby as Empress Josephine.
