Napoleon (2023)

[Alex...]

Title: Kitbag

Genre: History, Drama

Director: Ridley Scott

Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Jodie Comer

Plot: An original and personal look at Napoleon’s origins and his swift, ruthless climb to emperor, viewed through the prism of his addictive and often volatile relationship with his wife and one true love, Josephine.

 

[Keith Cobby]

Looking forward to watching this on my phone, Ridley!

 

[Malcolm R]

After The Last Duel, I'm surprised anyone is giving Scott more money to make another historical epic.

 

[TonyD]

Kitbag as a title will surely be getting people into the movie theater to see this one.

 

[TravisR]

After The Last Duel, I'm surprised anyone is giving Scott more money to make another historical epic.

Hey, it's just another in a long string of financial failures that he's had. It's never stopped anyone from giving him tens of millions of dollars before so I can't believe that it would stop them from continuing to dump tons of money on him now.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

This is a Ridley Scott picture that I really want to see. Essentially having long been a bit fascinated by Napoleon the subject matter is right up my alley. Throw in Phoenix in the lead, he is about as close to being this generations Jack Nicholson as you are going to get, and this to me stacks up as a huge event picture. I much prefer Ridley doing these historical epics than messing about with Alien sequels or prequels or whatever you want to call those things.

I wish Kubrick had been able to make his Napoleon picture and probably this will be about as close to that as we will ever get. Will millennials turn out to see it? Probably not unless Phoenix is a draw for them plus hopefully when this release comes we will finally be beyond the damn pandemic.

Also, Ridely Scott is a movie making machine. You have to respect that this guy at 84 can make large scale pictures faster and better than pretty much anyone working today. I still have to see The Last Duel and House of Gucci and I look forward to both.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Kitbag as a title will surely be getting people into the movie theater to see this one.

I like it but would not be shocked if they changed the title before release.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Hey, it's just another in a long string of financial failures that he's had. It's never stopped anyone from giving him tens of millions of dollars before so I can't believe that it would stop them from continuing to dump tons of money on him now.

He has the ability to make great looking and entertaining pictures with more speed and efficiency than pretty much anybody. So, giving him a budget to work with makes sense. He brings things in on time and on budget so they trust him with the money. Plus like or hate his pictures they are all high quality affairs where he gets the entire budget up there on the screen. I love the guy even if I did not like his later Alien films. I enjoy revisiting his pictures as well. I would expect he will get the cash to make whatever pictures he has left in him. This one looks like a major film in his career, late as it comes in that career.

 

[TravisR]

He has the ability to make great looking and entertaining pictures with more speed and efficiency than pretty much anybody. So, giving him a budget to work with makes sense. He brings things in on time and on budget so they trust him with the money. Plus like or hate his pictures they are all high quality affairs where he gets the entire budget up there on the screen. I love the guy even if I did not like his later Alien films. I enjoy revisiting his pictures as well. I would expect he will get the cash to make whatever pictures he has left in him. This one looks like a major film in his career, late as it comes in that career.

Whatever one thinks of Scott's movies, it's money talks and BS walks in the eyes of the studios. However good the movie is, he's had a ton of box office bombs so it just confounds me that he still manages to get big budgets. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that a talented guy can still get a studio to give him alot of money with little to no hope of a profit but it just seems like if most people had half as many financial flops or outright disasters as he's had in the last decade, there'd be no chance of them getting the huge budgets that he still gets.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Whatever one thinks of Scott's movies, it's money talks and BS walks in the eyes of the studios. However good the movie is, he's had a ton of box office bombs so it just confounds me that he still manages to get big budgets. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that a talented guy can still get a studio to give him alot of money with little to no hope of a profit but it just seems like if most people had half as many financial flops or outright disasters as he's had in the last decade, there'd be no chance of them getting the huge budgets that he still gets.

I think any big picture is a bit of a gamble even more so if you are working outside of franchise films or animation. Ridley makes big original pictures for the most part and he can be trusted with the money. So, where they mostly don't want to gamble on a big original picture aimed at adults, they will spend that money with Ridley Scott. He's about their best bet in this arena.

Combining Ridley and Phoenix on a big picture about Napoleon is about as good a chance as you will have of making a film like that. I do think Scott has had flops but I don't think huge flops. He also has made a lot of films so he has a track record they can trust. I thought his Alien prequels were bad films but mostly due to writing. He still delivered in them. Ridley's problem and strength is that he works at light speed and wants to keep making pictures. This benefits him in getting films made but he generally won't sit around waiting for writing to be worked out.

I think he did it once, with his Robin Hood picture, it ended up blowing the budget on the film and since then...well...he basically sets the start date for the film and goes. Whether the writing is good or not. He is skilled enough that he almost gets away with it but he will not waste time and money waiting for better writing anymore.

I think to him the key is not to waste the money of the people financing the picture. Set the dates, make the film, turn it in, move on to the next one. I think he is comfortable with the idea that he can't control what the audience reaction will be beyond the work he does getting the picture made.

 

[David_B_K]

Kitbag as a title will surely be getting people into the movie theater to see this one.

Someone at work who knows I am a Napoleonic history buff told me about this movie a few weeks ago. I told him "I don't know what title it will be released under, but I can't see it coming out with a title like Kitbag". When he first said the title, I was imagining something about WWI and packing up one's troubles in one.

The movie is described as being about Napoleon's rise to power. Napoleon was in his 20's when he fought his first Italian campaign and about 30 when he became First Consul and about 35 when he became Emperor. Phoenix is already older than Napoleon was when he died.

---EDIT---
I should have said Phoenix is older than Napoleon was at Waterloo. I think he's about 2 or 3 years younger than Napoleon at the time of his death.

 

[Keith Cobby]

I think in future the only films likely to be successful in theatres will be family orientated. Having wasted 2hrs watching Joker (fortunately included on Prime), I can't believe the early life of Napoleon featuring Joaquin Phoenix will be a big money spinner. Presumably Kitbag is a working title.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Someone at work who knows I am a Napoleonic history buff told me about this movie a few weeks ago. I told him "I don't know what title it will be released under, but I can't see it coming out with a title like Kitbag". When he first said the title, I was imagining something about WWI and packing up one's troubles in one.

The movie is described as being about Napoleon's rise to power. Napoleon was in his 20's when he fought his first Italian campaign and about 30 when he became First Consul and about 35 when he became Emperor. Phoenix is already older than Napoleon was when he died.

---EDIT---
I should have said Phoenix is older than Napoleon was at Waterloo. I think he's about 2 or 3 years younger than Napoleon at the time of his death.

Well, about the age thing...Jodie Comer plays Josephine, who in real life was about 6 years Napoleon's senior but Comer is actually 19 years younger than Phoenix.

Acting!

Well, and make-up and maybe a bit of CGI.

 

[Alex...]

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Interesting. When I was kicking around the interwebs I saw something that said filming was underway on this, which did not shock me as Ridley seems to be able to get a production up and running in about 5 minutes but it must not be if they are just now locking down financing.

I am thrilled this is getting made. Go Ridley go!

 

[Edwin-S]

He probably gets the money for his films from people and/or organizations who are more concerned with tax write-offs than box office hits. To them if it makes money good; if it loses money that is even better.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

He probably gets the money for his films from people and/or organizations who are more concerned with tax write-offs than box office hits. To them if it makes money good; if it loses money that is even better.

Well, right now I think you have basically 4 guys they will give big budgets to make pictures that are not franchise films with a fifth guy that is sort of almost in the club.

Scorsese
Nolan
Spielberg
Scott

and the guy that is sort of standing in the doorway of the club, Villeneuve. I do not include Cameron because he appears to only want to make franchise films and he's not much of a filmmaker anymore. He's just an Avatar guy.

Nobody else is really permitted a large budget and must work within the constraints of smaller budgets to make their pictures.

Scorsese has been given whopping budgets on his last couple pictures. I have no idea why Killers of the Flower Moon will cost so much to make. I know on The Irishman it was the de-aging process that skyrocketed the cost of the picture.

Of that group though if you were financing a picture the guy you likely could most trust to quickly bring the film in fast and on budget is Scott. He is a machine, like his films or not. He has it down to a science and can rip out a big picture that will look beautiful and likely be very entertaining faster than any director working today.

 

[Alex...]

 

[Alex...]

 

[Alex...]