Back in 2023, Ridley Scott let Total Film in on a little secret. Alongside the 157-minute theatrical cut of Napoleon, he was working on a director’s cut of the film that would release on Apple TV+ following its cinematic run. After a longer road to release than anticipated (Scott did have a certain swords-and-sandals sequel to keep him busy: see p12), Napoleon: The Director’s Cut has dropped online like the oblique blade of a guillotine across a deposed queen’s neck.
Adding 48 minutes of new footage, Napoleon’s new cut significantly expands the presence of Vanessa Kirby’s Josephine, and adds the brief but beautiful Battle of Marengo, a thrilling assassination attempt and a harrowing new sequence during the invasion of Russia, enriching an already terrific picture. A film we called ‘one of Ridley Scott’s best films in almost two decades’ in our review is now unquestionably his best since, well, the director’s cut of Kingdom of Heaven.
Speaking from the HQ of his production company Scott Free in early August, shortly after screening the new cut of Napoleon for TF, Scott was on typically entertaining form, fully aware that at 86 years old he is a living legend; one who knows what makes a great movie, even if scissor-happy studios don’t always agree.
Why did you feel that Napoleon warranted the director’s-cut treatment?
Well, you could do a film that ran a week about Napoleon Bonaparte. Really, the biggest challenge is: how the hell do I narrow this down? The story of Napoleon is so complex, and I only wanted to look at the man. Not so much the battles, but more the man, and what makes him tick, and his obsession with somebody called Josephine.
Vanessa Kirby’s Josephine gets a lot of extra screen time in the Director’s Cut…
This story is from the October 2024 edition of Total Film.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the October 2024 edition of Total Film.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
RETURN TO OZ
WICKED Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande defy gravity as the Broadway smash reaches cinemas.
GRIN AND BEAR IT
SMILE 2 Trauma-horror sequel sees the curse latch onto a pop superstar...
BAD ROMANCE
TIMESTALKER Alice Lowe falls in love with the wrong man time and time again...
CLOWNING GORY
TERRIFIER 3 Creator Damien Leone says Art the Clown is coming home for Christmas...
SELF EXPRESSION
LAYLA A non-binary, British-Palestinian drag queen navigates their expression of identity.
GENA ROWLANDS
I like difficult roles,' said Gena Rowlands. No kidding. A stage, TV and film actor whose career spanned more than six decades, Rowlands will be most remembered for the series of coruscating dramas she made with her first husband, actor-turned-director John Cassavetes, between 1968 and 1984.
'NOW NOTHING IS ABOUT LOOKS OR ABOUT BEING A LEADING LADY.AND IT'S VERY LIBERATING' EMILY WATSON
Since breaking hearts in Breaking the Waves, Emily Watson has delivered countless screen masterclasses, from Gosford Park and Punch-Drunk Love to Apple Tree Yard. Now, the English star goes toe-to-toe with Cilllan Murohy in Irish drama Smeal/ Things like hese and fronts 1V prequel Dune: Prophecy. Is it her second coming? It's elementary, my dear Watson...
BLODD PRESSURE
BASED ON STEPHEN KING'S MOST INFLUENTIAL BOOK AND WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY IT SCRIBE GARY DAUBERMAN, VAMPIRE MOVIE SALEM'S LOT FACED AN UNHOLY FIGHT TO GET TO OUR SCREENS. TOTAL FILM HUNTS DOWN DAUBERMAN AND STARS LEWIS PULLMAN AND MAKENZIE LEIGH TO LEARN ALL THAT WAS AT STAKE...
Lucky Man
He broke out in Beatles jukebox musical Yesterday and has a varied slate of juicy projects on the horizon, including a very different take on a superhero franchise. But, as the everhumble Himesh Patel tells Total Film, he puts a lot of it down to luck...
A BUE ABOVE
WORLD-BUILDER EXTRAORDINAIRE RIDLEY SCOTT IS ALSO THE MASTER OF THE DIRECTOR'S CUT, RESTORING HIS MISHANDLED GEMS INTO MASTERPIECES. WITH THE EXPANSIVE DIRECTOR'S CUT OF NAPOLEON NOW AVAILABLE TO STREAM, TOTAL FILM SPEAKS TO THE GREAT SCOTT ABOUT BLOWING UP BONAPARTE HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH EDITING AND WHY BIGGER IS (USUALLY) BETTER.
