Joaquin Phoenix in Ridley Scott’s ‘Napoleon.’ Napoleon was a prolific legislator who sponsored the Civil Code, later known as the Napoleonic Code.
(Apple TV+)
Ridley Scott’s focus on Napoleon’s tactical triumphs, reckless miscalculations and sexual entanglements neglects his paradoxical legacy as a lawmaker.
The 1802 Battle of Crête-à-Pierrot was part of Napoléon’s effort to retake Haiti − then known as Saint-Domingue − and reestablish slavery in the colony.
Wikimedia Commons
Leaving out the history of Napoléon’s brutal subjugation of Haiti is akin to making a movie about Hitler without mentioning the Holocaust.
Flix Pix / Alamy
Ridley Scott’s film is not intended to paint a romanticised image of Napoleon, but rather immerse the viewer in the dilemmas and complexities of power.
Apple TV+ via AP
Napoleon has unleashed a torrent of objections to the film’s historical errors. More important for historians should be whether creative works pass the test of authenticity.
Kevin Baker/Apple TV+ via AP
Joaquin Phoenix is a great Napoleon. How have other films treated France’s most famous man?
Vanessa Kirby and Joaquin Phoenix as Josephine and Napoleon.
Courtesy of Apple
A historian explains what the relationship between one of the most famous couples in history was really like.
Joaquin Phoenix as Napoleon.
Courtesy of Apple
Here are the truths behind some of the major scenes from Ridley Scott’s new Napoleon biopic.
The xenomorph from Ridley Scott’s 1979 classic, Alien.
AJ Pics/Alamy
A new book explores the enormous Alien franchise spawned by the 1979 film.
Shutterstock
The unsung heroes of screen production, storyboard artists are employed to create a shared visual script.
As seen in ‘Alien vs. Predator,’ Hollywood alien movies can be read as depicting Black people as monsters to be feared.
(20th Century Fox)
Anti-black violence exists against the backdrop of the political and cultural dehumanization of Black people. How did this happen and where do we go from here?
Twentieth Century Fox
A great movie that gets some of its history wrong is way better than an accurate film that puts people to sleep.
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Kevin Spacey’s star has fallen, and his role erased from a new film. Could he challenge this?
Twentieth Century Fox
Ripley beat the patriarchy and a rampaging xenomorph - but Daniels isn’t even given the chance.
Amy Adams and the weird pods.
Paramount Pictures
New sci-fi movie has a fascinating approach to an old question.
‘Blade Runner’ poster.
Ridley Scott’s ‘Blade Runner’ has transcended its sci-fi/hardboiled noir detective thriller formula to spawn a dedicated cult following.
In The Martian, the stakes are neither bigger, nor smaller, than a single human life.
20th Century Fox
Review: stranded on Mars’ desolate landscape, a cocky, endearing protagonist breathes life into this survival tale.
Matt Damon is feeling lonely on Mars.
20th Century Fox
The Martian may not be completely scientifically accurate but that is certainly not a problem.
The violence of the Exodus is disconcerting to a modern viewer, but the ancients would not blink an eye.
21st Century Fox
Ridley Scott’s 3D biblical epic Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014), an interpretation of the exodus of Israelite slaves from Egypt by Moses, sparked controversy last month when it was banned in Egypt and Morocco…