Customer Reviews

Napoleon (PBS Empires Series) [VHS]

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

For some strange reason when I purchased this DVD I thought it was a film rather than a documentary. However I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of this 4 hour documentary which is all included on one double sided DVD. The documentary looks at Napoleon's life from the cradle to the grave and includes all facets of his life not just his military genius. That is not to say that Napoleons battles are ommitted as his major campaigns are examined and the reasons which brought them about (including his proposed invasion of Britain).

Napoleon who was of Corsican birth orginally despised the French but in time came to love France and saw himself not only as defender of the revolution but almost as the crusade againsnt monarchism in Europe. Napoleon strongly beleived in his star and will power.

The documentary makes great use of Napoleonic art work and historians from France, Russia, Germany, Britain and the USA (including Colonel John R Etling co author of "A Military History and Atlas of the Napoleonic Wars"). There are also some battle recreations but only on a small scale.

The documentary does a fine job of trying to cover everything or is much as it can in 4 one hour parts, from childhood, solidering, Josephine, the Grand Army, changes brought about in France, master of Europe, exile and death.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching this DVD and recommend it to anyone with an interest in history or the Napoleonic wars. The only disappointment was the colour quality, for red seemed to look more like purple on occassions. For that reason alone I have not given 5 stars.

This is a marvelously evocative and breathtakingly detailed look at the life of "the little Corsican" who rose from nowhere to shake the very foundations of early 19th century Europe.The life of Napolean has held me spellbound ever since I first read Emil Ludwig's biography of Bonaparte when I was 13.Nothing has diminished that sense of awe and wonderment over the intervening years.Grubin's documentary has superlatively captured the sense of mystery that Goethe must have felt when he wrote that there has to be something more to Bonaprte's life than is conveyed in a standard biography . Grubin starts off with Corsica where Napolean was born to Italian parents who had fallen on hard times and follows in his footsteps to school in Paris where he was a lonely, miserable & poor foreigner with a bad French accent .His quick rise through the ranks in the post revolutionary France is explained with some magnificent photography of the seige of Toulon (where he came to prominence for the first time).His love affair & marriage to the coquetish & fickle Josephine , campaigns in Italy and Egypt and his assumption of the French throne in 1805 are recreated against the background of breathtaking period costumes , paintings ,music and marvelous commentary from Napolean scholars .The latter half of the documentary deals with the consolidation of his power and the beginning of the end for him with the Peninsular war in Spain and the disastrous Russian campaign .His abdication and brief exile to Elba followed by his heroic escape to France and the "100 day reign" is probably the best part of the documentary .The battle of Waterloo is recreated in minute detail followed by his defeat and banishment to Elba where he died in 1821.This docudrama is a must see for all history buffs & Bonaparte aficianados !

If your tired of the boring biographies covering Napoleon, than this one's for you. This masterfully produced video set is both entertaining and informative. This film delves deep into the soul of the great emperor. From the cinematic splendor of the great battle scenes to the heartwarming love he felt for the people of France and his beloved Josephine, you'll walk away from this film with the feeling that you stood right next to this man throughout his trials and tribulations. A must see for any student of history and lover of greatness. A+++

This is by far the best historical documentary I've seen so far, and I've seen a lot of documentaries. Everything you'd expect to find in a good documentary is provided, and then some, and then some more!

Historical content: It begins by giving you a picture of the events taking place when Napoleon was born, and then takes you through the developments as it tells the story of a growing Napoleon and how the circumstances he lived in shaped his personality and thus, the future of France. It tells the story of the ascend and descend of Napoleon in detail with all its political, social, and even economical aspects. A lot of French historians are involved in the telling of the story, which gives the documentary great credibility. When the DVD finished I was left satisfied because the story was very well told.

Visual presentation: GREAT! It shows you a lot of art paintings of that era of Napoleon, other famous people, and the battles and events of that era. It also takes you to the actual location of the battles which enables you to live the story being told. Many battles were acted as well, and the acting was really good. In the end, the visual presentaion was nothing short of amazing in this documentary.

Sound track: This is the only documentary I'd be interested to buy its sound track if they have it for sale! The music is really good and it helps only in supporting the events being described and it doesn't give you the feeling that it's in the way. In other words, the music being played was always appropriate to the event being showed.

Special features: This is something that this DVD falls short in. The only special feature provided is the making of the documentary. But after watching the documentary I realized that there wasn't any extra feature they could've actually provided. Everything was told perfectly in the documentary itself.

Length: By now you must've guessed that the documentary is a bit lengthy. But they managed even that very well. The documentary is recorded on both sides of the DVD, hence you don't have to buy two DVDs. Plus, the documentary was broken down into chapters, which enables you to watch a chapter and then turn it off and continue some other time. Each chapter covers a phase of the story and therefore you won't feel that the documentary have been abruptly cut off.

In the end, if you're thinking of buying this documentary then go ahead. It will not fail you at all. I know it didn't fail me.

I had no idea what I was getting into when I got this DVD. I thought it was just a simple hour long documentary. It turned out to be a 4 hour historical tour de force. What is so amazing about it is that it's far more visual than you would ever expect based on the period it describes. The use of the paintings and drawings that Napoleon commissioned after his victories gives the work a nearly photographic authority. Furthermore, footage from actual European sites like Austerlitz, Corsica, and Paris make the documentary quite intriguing. I really enjoyed some of the scenes which were reenacted. The narrative is established by interviewing a dozen or so historians who successfully enlighten us as to the inner nature of Napoleon along with the seminal events of his life. We discover that he was an Emperor of micromanagement whose entire life was based on the joy of work. When he wasn't working...he was working. Briefly, while in exile at Alba, he even showered his skills in organization upon that tiny island. I can't recommend this one enough, quite honestly. Here we have television at its finest: unbiased, educational, and utterly stimulating. I despise PBS, but could not say a bad word about this documentrary if you paid me.

For anyone who knows next to nothing about Napoleon, this four hour documentary will serve as a good general introduction. The key word there is "general" because the documentary gives us merely a whirlwind tour through some of the highlights of one of the most amazing and complex figures in history.

It had a promising beginning, with nice background about Corsica and Napoleon's parents. But by the time the young Bonaparte becomes an artillery lieutenant, the sense of trying to cram too much into a limited time frame soon overwhelms. I found myself shaking my head over the gaps and glossed over information - and the tendency to over-simplify. What is presented is presented fairly well. But I kept wondering about the bits that were left out.

Several times, the program mentions that Napoleon gave advancement based on merit rather than birth or privilege. But we never hear about any of those extraordinary men such as Lannes, Murat, Duroc, Berthier, Junot who made it such an age of heroic and remarkable men. Marshal Ney is mentioned only once - at the battle of Waterloo. Talleyrand is quoted (once) but his contribution totally overlooked. Wellington comes out of nowhere at Waterloo - his campaign in Spain left on the cutting room floor. The fascinating thing about the Napoleonic age was that there were so many larger than life figures making history at the same time. Napoleon was probably the greatest, but not the only one. And more than a little of his success was due to these other men.

Similarly, the program gives the impression that Napoleon is still buried on St Helena. There is no mention of the triumphant return of his remains to France - not a single shot of his magnificent tomb in Paris. And nothing is said about the subsequent behaviour of Empress Marie Louise or the fate of Napoleon's unfortunate son.

It could have been so much better.

This is a very enjoyable and informative program on the rise and fall of Napoleon. I learned a great deal about the Emperor from watching this DVD, and found myself thoroughly entertained at the same time. The commentaries, paintings, and live action were interwoven into a seamless presentation that told his story from birth to death, while also interweaving threads of politics, political ambitions, betrayal and subterfuge. I recommend this DVD to anyone who is even mildly interested in European history, since Napoleon had such a profound and lasting impact on Europe during his reign and beyond.

I really enjoyed this presentation, and it covered a remarkable amount of material. It was a bit dumbed-down, but I think it's intent was to be an introduction to the career of a most remarkable man- not a summation. It was too bad that the ending couldn't have been re-shot to include the new developments in research, that Napoleon was in fact slowly poisioned to death with arsenic, by one of the trusted and closest members of his entourage. The video presents Napoleon's death as being essentially from despair, which might have some validity, but it would have been interesting to see what would have happened if he had survived into old age. After all, no one would have predicted that our country could ever have respected Richard Nixon again after Watergate and his resignation in disgrace. He managed to be, after a number of years, well-regarded as a kind of elder statesman, with his acumen and hindsight much valued. It's possible that such might have happened with Napoleon, for he certainly had the gifts of intellect and energy with which to start a second career. Oh well. Worth having in your collection.

This is what a documentary should be. PBS' penchant for heavy handed propaganda was entirely absent as the excellent scholars, military re-enactments, art, and music breathed life into the complex subject. I was impressed with the high levels of energy, tension, and forward movement the film makers produced. I salute the skilled team that could pack so much fascinating information into 4 hours and make the cohesive finished product look effortless.

I'll never forget the amazingly sad rainy-window photography of St. Helena that echoed the bleakness of Napoleon's boyhood school.

It is a truism of history that empires that rise quickly due to force of arms fall fast and hard. The two most pronounced are the German "empire" of the 1930's and 1940's and the French empire under Napoleon in the early nineteenth century. Both rose very quickly and fell even faster, ironically due to making the same mistake, invading Russia with a mighty army, only to see it swallowed up by the land and the weather.
Both Hitler and Napoleon aspired to dominate the heart of the European continent, yet were not satisfied when they achieved it. Each planned an invasion of the British Isles, yet both were unable to carry out even an attempt. Finally, both rose from humble origins, and neither was originally from the country they came to dominate. Hitler was Austrian and Napoleon was Corsican, and each at some point believed in their own great historical destiny.
Napoleon was clearly the greatest military genius of his time and one of the most dynamic personalities of all time. His drive to succeed was incredible, what he created was a genuine, popular personality cult based on his powerful charisma. As I watched the tape, it was easy to be impressed at how he rose to such heights. Of course, he had help in his rise to power, as all who manage to rise to such power must have.
The pent-up forces that launched the French revolution, the subsequent terror and backlash all led to a nation that was eager for a great savior. Given his military victories and the hostility of the monarchist states in Europe to Republican France, it was probably inevitable that a military dictatorship emerged. Napoleon's rise to power was not a social retreat, only a political one. He was shrewd enough to maintain the measures of social equality won by the revolution, which was guaranteed to win popular support.
Until I watched this tape, I was unaware of how much energy Napoleon had. He was directly involved in many of the details of government, often dictating correspondence until his secretaries collapsed out of exhaustion. His love for Josephine was also genuine and deep, even when he was preparing for the battles that would expand his empire, he took the time out to write her detailed, thoughtful letters.
Unfortunately, Josephine was unable to bear the required male heir to the throne, and political necessity dictated that Napoleon divorce her to marry someone who could. He was quite generous in his treatment of Josephine, giving her a palatial home and a large pension. One of the most interesting and debatable points in the tape concerns the changes that came over Napoleon after his son was born. There is no question that he was a devoted husband and father and there are suggestions in the tape that the time spent performing these duties kept him from ruling effectively. I believe that the empire was largely doomed anyway, any reduction in his effectiveness due to family obligations could only have hastened the fall.
There have been three great revolutions in the last three centuries, one that spawned the United States, another in France and the third that created the Soviet Union. While the last two led to dictatorships, terror and empires, the difference was that the French empire was led by a man who exhibited many human traits and whose life is interesting in the human as well as historical sense. No one could ever say that about Joseph Stalin. This tape captures all the grandeur and humanity of Napoleon, the passion for war, the passion for Josephine and his boundless energy that drove him beyond what even he could achieve. Since it is not possible to understand nineteenth century Europe without learning about the Napoleonic era, any study of that century should begin with a viewing of this tape.