Ridley Scott; Joaquin Phoenix in “Napoleon”.Photo:Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images; Photo Courtesy of Sony Pictures/Apple Original Films
Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images; Photo Courtesy of Sony Pictures/Apple Original Films
Ridley Scottis firing back atNapoleoncritics.
Napoleonhad its world premiere in Paris on Nov. 14, and some French critics were unkind to the historical drama.
Historian Patrice Gueniffey wrote inLe Pointmagazine that he viewed the film as “very anti-French” and claimed there were “many historical errors.”
Scott, 85, responded, tellingBBC News, “The French don’t even like themselves. The audience that I showed it to in Paris, they loved it.”
BBC News recapped other negative reviews out of France, includingGQFrance calling it “deeply clumsy, unnatural and unintentionally funny,” andLe Figarodeeming the film “Barbie and Ken under the Empire.”
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(In regards to a viral TikTok that fact-checkedNapoleon’s scenes, Scott toldThe New Yorkerearlier this month, “Get a life.")
The British director, who lives in France, is behind films likeHouse of Gucci,Gladiator,Black Hawk DownandKingdom of Heaven. He toldTotal Filmabout his stance on historical accuracy in his big-screen spectacles.
“I’ve done a lot of historical films. I find I’m reading a report of someone else’s report 100 years after the event. So I wonder, ‘How much do they romance and elaborate? How accurate is it?’ " he said.
“It always amuses me when a critic says to me, ‘This didn’t happen in Jerusalem.’ I say, ‘Were you there? That’s the f—ing answer.’ "
He echoed a similar sentiment in a recent interview withThe Sunday Times.
“Like all history, it’s been reported. Napoleon dies then, 10 years later, someone writes a book. Then someone takes that book and writes another, and so, 400 years later, there’s a lot of imagination [in history books],” said Scott.
“When I have issues with historians,” he continued, “I ask: ‘Excuse me, mate, were you there? No? Well, shut the f— up then.' "
Napoleonis in theaters Wednesday.
source: people.com
