Ridley Scott’s “Napoleon” cuts the emperor down to size
His epic new film shows how hard it is to make a good biopic
Two versions of Napoleon Bonaparte crop up on screen. The first is a titan of history who marches vast armies across Europe, forging his own destiny and the continent’s. This is the figure with whom men of a certain age and type are often fascinated—such as would-be statesman Connor Roy, who in the TV show “Succession” tries to buy Napoleon’s shrivelled penis at auction.
The second Napoleon appears in cartoons and comedies in a bicorne hat. He is touchy about his height (in reality, average for his era) and talks in a pantomime French accent (the actual Napoleon had a Corsican twang). One version casts him as an embodiment of martial power; the other lampoons it.
This article appeared in the Culture section of the print edition under the headline "The Napoleon complex"
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