Ridley Scott’s brutal historical spectacle ‘Napoleon’ should actually be enjoyed on the big screen, because only here do the fantastic battle scenes really come into their own. And yet we can only recommend the impressive blockbuster to a limited extent, because it simply feels a bit incomplete in many places. This is because the film was massively cut for theatrical release.
The director’s cut of the film, which Ridley Scott has already announced, will include almost two hours of additional material, bringing the running time to over four and a half hours. At its current length of just under 158 minutes, the film was probably much easier to market, and yet only the longer version should deliver the full ‘Napoleon’ experience and make the film epic a truly complete affair.
It is not yet clear when we can enjoy this gigantic version of the film, which according to director Ridley Scott will be “fantastic”. However, we already know that the director’s cut of ‘Napoleon’ will end up on the Apple+ streaming service in the future.
Just like ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’, ‘Napoleon’ is a production of Apple Studios and so it is only logical that the blockbuster will find its exclusive way to the technology giant’s streaming platform after a limited theatrical release.
Ridley Scott’s long versions really make the movies better!
Ridley Scott is no stranger to long versions of his films. “Blade Runner”, “Kingdom of Heaven” and the underrated fantasy adventure “Legend” with Tom Cruise can significantly improve in quality in the extended version. And the situation will probably be similar to “Napoleon,” as the film sometimes feels (to put it bluntly) like a trailer for a much bigger movie.
Napoleon’s (Joaquin Phoenix) toxic relationship with his wife Josephine (Vanessa Kirby) will likely be deepened considerably here. And the foreign and domestic policy developments that led to the general’s rise and fall should hopefully be given considerably more space.
If you want to hear in detail what the editors of FILMSTARTS think about ‘Napoleon’ and whether a visit to the cinema is worth it at all despite the shortened running time, listen to the new edition of the screen love podcast. Here, presenter Sebastian and FILMSTARTS editors Pascal and Stefan talk about Ridley Scott’s new blockbuster.