{"id":40275,"date":"2023-11-22T12:45:06","date_gmt":"2023-11-22T11:45:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1931441"},"modified":"2023-11-22T15:46:28","modified_gmt":"2023-11-22T14:46:28","slug":"napoleon-true-story-how-accurate-is-the-historical-epic","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/napoleon-true-story-how-accurate-is-the-historical-epic\/","title":{"rendered":"Napoleon true story: How accurate is the historical epic?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ridley Scott’s film has come under fire from some historians for playing fast and loose with the truth. <\/p>

By Patrick Cremona\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 22 November 2023 at 11:45 AM<\/p>

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Ridley Scott has never been one to shy away from speaking his mind, and on the promotional trail for his new epic Napoleon<\/a>, the veteran director has been rather blunt when responding to claims of historical inaccuracies.<\/p>\n

Discussing the response from historians and others in a recent interview with The Sunday Times<\/a>, he said: \u201cExcuse me, mate, were you there? No? Well, shut the f**k up then.\u201d<\/p>\n

While in a New Yorker<\/a> profile piece, he argued those worried about nitpicking should \u201cget a life\u201d.<\/p>\n

But even if sticking to events exactly as they happened wasn\u2019t Scott\u2019s primary concern, some viewers may be curious to know just how much this account of the Corsican military commander\u2019s life differs from reality \u2013 which aspects were embellished and invented?<\/p>\n

The film stars Joaquin Phoenix in the title role, and chronicles his life both professional and personal, taking in many of his most famed military campaigns and battles, including the Siege of Toulon, Battle of the Pyramids and Battle of Austerlitz, while also dissecting his volatile marriage to Empress Jos\u00e9phine (Vanessa Kirby).<\/p>\n

Read on to find out just how closely the film resembles his true rise and fall \u2013 and where the greatest exaggerations lie.<\/p>

Napoleon true story: how accurate is the historical epic?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The simple answer to this question is that, while the film does offer a broadly truthful overview of Napoleon\u2019s life, a great degree of artistic license has been taken at almost every stage of the process<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

This is clear from the very beginning: the film opens with Napoleon watching on as Marie Antoinette is beheaded, but there is no evidence to suggest he was actually present during this highly significant historical event.<\/p>\n

In actual fact, Napoleon was playing a key role at the Siege of Toulon at the time \u2013 another event which is dramatised in the film \u2013 and so it would have been impossible for him to be in two places at once.<\/p>\n

This loose approach to events is taken for much of the film: For example, the scenes in which Napoleon and his men fire at the Pyramids is an invention, the tactic he deploys of luring enemy soldiers onto a frozen lake during the Battle of Austerlitz is largely believed to be based on myth and his face-to-face meeting with the Duke of Wellington is a fabrication.<\/p>\n