Ridley Scott's Napoleon

[O_P_T]

I went to see this Saturday, and since I own and have read, more than once, David Chandler's "The Campaigns of Napoleon", I can say that I am relatively familiar with his military history.

Sadly the film does a poor job of presenting that accurately. Nevertheless, it is still a powerful movie. It should be viewed more of a biopic, exploring the relationship between Napoleon and Josephine, with the historical events, as "background".

That isn't to say, that this will be the "cup of tea" of every viewer, simply, that if one's expectations of the movie do not match this, one will be severely disappointed.

Oh and for the record, if one wishes to know just how seminal Chandler's work on Napoleon is, one only needs to look at the following graphic that is the key example of Napoleon's way of war. Sadly, it never comes up in the film.



BTW, the graphic above is the definition of "Maneuver Warfare" in the modern era.

 

[O_P_T]

I went to see this Saturday, and since I own and have read, more than once, David Chandler's "The Campaigns of Napoleon", I can say that I am relatively familiar with his military history.

Sadly the film does a poor job of presenting that accurately. Nevertheless, it is still a powerful movie. It should be viewed more of a biopic, exploring the relationship between Napoleon and Josephine, with the historical events, as "background".

That isn't to say, that this will be the "cup of tea" of every viewer, simply, that if one's expectations of the movie do not match this, one will be severely disappointed.

Oh and for the record, if one wishes to know just how seminal Chandler's work on Napoleon is, one only needs to look at the following graphic that is the key example of Napoleon's way of war. Sadly, it never comes up in the film.

View attachment 21229

BTW, the graphic above is the definition of "Maneuver Warfare" in the modern era.

Oh and for the great unwashed, here's an article I wrote for a website back in the day, explaining these concepts.

 

[Roberto71]

I'm going to see it tomorrow. I've always been fascinated with him. Part dictator, part military genius, part re-generator of society, urban planning and the law and equality.

His fingerprints are all over Paris and the legal system. And he was one of the first global leaders to openly advocate for Jewish people, pushing for a Jewish homeland in Palestine.

Many Irishmen fought for his armies, (the Wild Geese), escaping an Ireland under the British jackboot and fighting them as part of Napoleon's army. Quite a few became Generals. Napoleon formed the Irish Legion.

 

[ParanoidPatriot]

I was interested in seeing this movie. However, some reviews that I have read have not been very good. However, I usually don't give a shit what the critics say. Maybe will go in a couple of weeks.

 

[RoadGrader]

Oh and for the great unwashed, here's an article I wrote for a website back in the day, explaining these concepts.

as one of the unwashed, I learned a lot reading this --- very informative piece, O_P_T

and here I thought all along that Napoleon was most famous for inventing the concealed carry

 

[O_P_T]

as one of the unwashed, I learned a lot reading this --- very informative piece, O_P_T

and here I thought all along that Napoleon was most famous for inventing the concealed carry

View attachment 21306

You're welcome.

I had a lot of fun writing that article back in the day.

I used to play a boatload of wargames in the before time. Before computers, I played a crapload of Avalon Hill games, and I can recall the first time I played their Battle of the Bulge game after reading Chandler's book.

That game has turns that are 12 hours of "real time".

I took Bastogne on turn 4, or night of December 17th. Historically the 101st didn't get there till the 19th. My opponent was stunned.

 

[Kontradiction]

I was interested in seeing this movie. However, some reviews that I have read have not been very good. However, I usually don't give a shit what the critics say. Maybe will go in a couple of weeks.

Yeah both the critics and the audience panned it. Talk to someone with similar movie tastes as you. I have a friend that I see movies with a lot, and he saw it Friday and loved it. It probably won’t be 100% historically accurate, but it’s Scott and Phoenix.