Ridley Scott‘s latest historical epic Napoleon, which stars Joaquin Phoenix in the titular role alongside Vanessa Kirby, already looks like a surefire awards contender. The film, which is almost three hours long, covers a lot of Napoleon’s life and legacy, but Scott has now revealed that there’s a lot more of the story to tell.
Speaking with Empire (via World of Reel), Scott says he’s got a “fantastic” cut of Napoleon which clocks in at an almighty 270 minutes long, which gives added depth to the portrayal of Kirby‘s Joséphine.
‘Napoleon’ is almost three hours long, although Scott has a “fantastic” near four-and-a-half-hour cut, which features more of Joséphine’s life before she meets Napoleon. He’d love Apple (who funded the film) to eventually screen it. But what they have now is hardly slight. “It’s an astonishing story,” Phoenix says of Napoleon’s life. “Hopefully we captured some of the most interesting moments.”
An Extension of Ridley Scott
Certainly, Ridley Scott has a history of revisiting his movies and releasing longer versions later on. Sometimes, these extended versions turn out to be better than the versions shown in theaters. For instance, take Blade Runner: The Final Cut. It’s a version of the film that removes the poorly done original voice over by Harrison Ford, which was unnecessary. Another example is the extended version of Kingdom of Heaven which greatly improved the critical assessment of the historical epic starring Orlando Bloom.
We don’t know for sure if Apple or Sony Pictures will go along with Scott‘s idea to release an extended version of Napoleon. But it doesn’t seem like too big of a request, and it might encourage people to watch the movie again just out of curiosity. After Napoleon, Scott is going back to his love for making Roman epic films. He’s currently well underway on the making of a sequel to Gladiator, although filming on that has been held up as a result of the ongoing industrial action being taken by the WGA and SAG-AFTRA.
The film is expected to debut in theaters on November 22, then will be streaming exclusively on Apple TV+. Apple released the following synopsis of the movie along with the trailer.
Napoleon is a spectacle-filled action epic that details the checkered rise and fall of the iconic French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, played by Oscar®-winner Joaquin Phoenix. Against a stunning backdrop of large-scale filmmaking orchestrated by legendary director Ridley Scott, the film captures Bonaparte’s relentless journey to power through the prism of his addictive, volatile relationship with his one true love, Josephine, showcasing his visionary military and political tactics against some of the most dynamic practical battle sequences ever filmed.
via Collider