With Ridley Scott’s Napoleon playing in theaters – and the Thanksgiving holiday upon those stateside – now is a good time to look back at some of the other notable projects about Napoleon Bonaparte or the era of French history in which he played such a pivotal role.
This isn’t meant to be an exhaustive list but it’s a roundup of those films and shows that you might enjoy streaming at home after watching Scott’s epic or lying around with a belly full of turkey and stuffing. Starting with …
Napoléon, 1927, dir. Abel Gance. This innovative silent classic, shot in the then-groundbreaking "Polyvision" process, is an epic color-tinted, triptych biopic of Bonaparte (Albert Dieudonné). It covers his childhood (where he leads his "army" to victory in a snowball fight!), the French Revolution, his relationship with Josephine, and his campaign in Italy. Francis Ford Coppola and Kevin Brownlow helped restore Gance's film for modern audiences.
Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, 1989, dir. Stephen Herek. This cult classic sci-fi comedy starring Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter features arguably the most famous modern screen depiction of Napoleon (Terry Camilleri) until Joaquin Phoenix donned the bicorne hat for Ridley Scott. Napoleon is among the notable historical persons rounded up by dopey time-traveling dudes Bill and Ted to help them pass their high school history presentation. Although initially left in the care of Ted’s kid brother, “the Little Corporal” is soon on his own and ends up at a San Dimas waterpark appropriately named Waterloo.
Time Bandits, 1981, dir. Terry Gilliam. Napoleon sure is popular when it comes to time travel movies. Gilliam’s fantasy adventure follows young Kevin and a group of thieves on a series of robberies through history. The Lord of the Rings’ Ian Holm plays Napoleon, one of the legendary figures (along with John Cleese’s Robin Hood and Sean Connery’s Agamemnon) encountered along the way. Holm actually played Napoleon three times in his career: first in the 1974 British TV series Napoleon and Love and for the final time in the 2001 film The Emperor's New Clothes, which is set during Boney’s exile on the island of Saint Helena.
The Duellists, 1977, dir. Ridley Scott. Scott’s feature directing debut is an elegiac drama set during the Napoleonic wars. It recounts a years-long rivalry between two French officers (Harvey Keitel and Keith Carradine) over an insult one made against the other. Over the years they meet to duel but events continue interrupting Keitel's vengeful pursuit, dragging the feud out for decades. Albert Finney, Edward Fox, and Tom Conti co-star.
The Count of Monte Cristo, 2002, dir. Kevin Reynolds. This umpteenth retelling of the Alexander Dumas classic stars Jim Caviezel as sailor Edmund Dantes who, after a fateful encounter on Alba with exiled Napoleon Bonaparte (Alex Norton), is framed for treason by his jealous best friend Fernand Mondego (Guy Pearce). Edmund is sent to the horrific prison Chateau D'If. There he befriends the long-incarcerated monk Abbe Faria (Richard Harris) who tutors Edmund in finance, science, and fencing.
Edmund's hatred for Fernand intensifies over time until all that keeps him alive is his thirst for vengeance. After escaping from prison, Edmund makes his way to Monte Cristo where he discovers a buried treasure that Abbe Faria had told him about. Using this fortune to create the guise of the titular count, Edmund infiltrates the Parisian aristocracy and takes his revenge on Fernand and the others who engineered his imprisonment. Young Henry Cavill plays Edmund’s son.
Quills, 2000, dir. Philip Kaufman. Doug Wright adapted his stageplay about the notorious Marquis de Sade (Geoffrey Rush). Quills follows the sex-obsessed writer's incarceration at Charenton asylum where he continues to challenge the standards of late 18th century France. De Sade receives aid from virginal washerwoman Madeleine (Kate Winslet). Abbe Coulmier (Joaquin Phoenix) longs for her but his beliefs and duties constrain him. Michael Caine is the self-righteous Royer-Collard whose mission is to crush De Sade's will.
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, 2003, dir. Peter Weir. This Oscar-nominated piece of old-school entertainment is based on the maritime novels of Patrick O'Brian. "Lucky Jack" Aubrey (Russell Crowe), the swashbuckling captain of the HMS Surprise, must intercept the French vessel Acheron before it stirs up trouble in the Pacific.
This art-house film disguised as a blockbuster offers an incredibly detailed study of British naval life during the Napoleonic wars. Its memorable cast includes Paul Bettany as ship's surgeon Stephen Maturin.
Waterloo, 1970, dir. Sergei Bondarchuk. This hugely expensive epic stars Rod Steiger as Napoleon Bonaparte who, not long after being exiled to Alba, returns to France in defiance of King Louis XVIII (Orson Welles). This campaign united England, Austria, Prussia, and Russia against him. The Duke of Wellington (Christopher Plummer) and Prussian Marshall Blucher (Sergei Zakhariadze) finally defeated Napoleon at Waterloo on June 18, 1815. The impressive battle sequences are undercut by stodgy storytelling.
Marie Antoinette, 2006, dir. Sofia Coppola. While Napoleon doesn’t appear in this underappreciated gem, Coppola’s gorgeously realized film establishes the decadent, sumptuous world that led to his rise and its title character’s doom. The film’s anachronistic, New Age soundtrack makes it feel more modern and relatable than most costume dramas and period pieces, but it’s the very human performances of leads Kirsten Dunst as Marie Antoinette and Jason Schwartzman as the awkward Louis XVI, and the exploration of their largely sexless marriage, that makes Coppola’s film so engaging.
War & Peace, 2016, dir. Tom Harper. This miniseries based on Tolstoy’s classic novel – one of many adaptations – stars Paul Dano, Lily James, James Norton, and Jessie Buckley. A work of historical fiction, War & Peace sees fictional protagonists interact with real-life figures, including Napoleon Bonaparte (played here by Mathieu Kassovitz). The backdrop of the epic is Napoleon’s campaigns against Russia and Austria and his later doomed invasion of Russia.
For more on Boney, check out IGN’s Napoleon review, read Ridley Scott’s response to French critics of his Napoleon film, and watch Ridley Scott choose his best shots from his past films.
For other historical projects to check out, learn about the movies and TV shows about the British royal family to watch after the Crown and the movies and TV shows to stream after Oppenheimer.
