Napoleon (1955) - DaaVeeDee

Napoleon (1955) (DVD) (*)

Out of Stock

Language Selections:
English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )

Product Origin/Format:
Australia ( PAL/NTSC/Region 0 )

Running Time:
118 min

Aspect Ratio:
Fullscreen

Special Features:
Interactive Menu
Scene Access

Movie filmed in 1955 and produced in:
France ( France, Benelux )
Italy ( Italy, Greece )

Directed By:
Sacha Guitry

Written By:
Sacha Guitry

Actors:
Jean-Pierre Aumont ..... Régnault de Saint-Jean d'Angély
Jeanne Boitel ..... Madame de Dino
Pierre Brasseur ..... Barras
Gianna Maria Canale ..... Pauline Borghese
Pauline Carton ..... Une aubergiste
Jean Chevrier ..... Le général Duroc
Danielle Darrieux ..... Eléonore Denuelle
Clément Duhour ..... Le maréchal Ney
Jacques Dumesnil ..... Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte
O.W. Fischer ..... Le prince von Metternich
Jean Gabin ..... Le maréchal Lannes
Daniel Gélin ..... Bonaparte
Cosetta Greco ..... Elisa Baccioli
Sacha Guitry ..... Talleyrand
Madeleine LeBeau ..... Emilie Pellapra
Jean Marais ..... Le comte de Montholon
Lana Marconi ..... Marie Walewska
Luis Mariano ..... Le chanteur Garat
Armand Mestral ..... Le maréchal Oudinot
Michèle Morgan ..... Joséphine de Beauharnais
Yves Montand ..... Le maréchal Lefebvre
Patachou ..... Madame sans-Gêne
Raymond Pellegrin ..... Napoléon
Roger Pigaut ..... Le marquis de Caulaincourt
Micheline Presle ..... Hortense de Beauharnais
Serge Reggiani ..... Lucien Bonaparte
Dany Robin ..... Désirée Clary
Noël Roquevert ..... Le général Cambronne
Maria Schell ..... L'archiduchesse Marie-Louise d'Autriche
Erich von Stroheim ..... Ludwig van Beethoven
Maurice Teynac ..... Le comte Emmanuel de Las Cases
Henri Vidal ..... Le maréchal Murat
Orson Welles ..... Sir Hudson Lowe

Synopsis:

Showing no signs of slowing down in his 70th year, Sacha Guitry served as director and writer of the lavish historical epic Napoleon, and also costarred as Talleyrand. It is now hard to assess the quality of the film, since most American prints are severely edited, and the color photography appallingly washed out. Reviewers in 1955 admired the effort that went into this $1,800,000 production, but complained that the viewer left the film with no deeper understanding of Napoleon Bonaparte than the viewer had had when coming in. Daniel Gelin poses impressively as the young Bonaparte, registering emotion only when things go wrong in his conquest of Europe, while Raymond Pellegrin is somewhat better as the older, more jaded Napoleon (the transition between the two actors is handled in a near-comic fashion). The Revolution is reduced to a few fleeting scenes, while the rest of the film is devoted to political infighting and betrayal. The huge supporting cast includes Michele Morgan as Josephine and Lana Marconi and Dany Robin, respectively, as Napoleon's mistresses Waleska and Desiree.

Napoléon is a 1955 French historical epic film directed by Sacha Guitry that depicts major events in the life of Napoleon I of France. Napoleon is played by two actors, Daniel Gélin as a young man and Raymond Pellegrin in later life; the switch takes place during a scene at a barber. Director/actor Guitry played the role of Talleyrand, controversial diplomat and first Prime Minister of France, narrating the story from a drawing room as if having just heard of Napoleon's death on the island of Saint Helena in 1821. Yves Montand appears as Marshal Lefebvre and Maria Schell as Marie-Louise of Austria. The film also has cameo appearances by a number of notable actors, particularly Erich von Stroheim as Ludwig van Beethoven, and Orson Welles as Napoleon's British jailor, Sir Hudson Lowe. The English version is a contemporary dub made as part of the original production, but does not run as long as the French version.

The film follows the life of Napoleon from his early life in Corsica to his death at Saint Helena. The film is notable for its use of location shooting for numerous scenes, especially at the French estates of Malmaison and Fontainebleau, the Palace of Versailles, and sites of Napoleonic battles including Austerlitz and Waterloo.

This product was added to our catalog on Friday 23 December, 2011.