Napoleon: The Director’s Cut Gets a Surprise Release on Apple TV Plus, But I Still Refuse to Watch It
Ridley Scott fans can rejoice, as Apple has just released a director’s cut of the iconic filmmaker Napoleon movie on his streaming service.
Five months later Napoleon‘s theatrical release, which was initially billed for Apple TV Plus, the historical epic is getting a runtime upgrade with a load of never-before-seen footage. Indeed, Napoleon: The Director’s Cut will be 48 minutes longer than the film that hit theaters last November. This means that the running time of this version is a whopping three hours and 26 minutes.
Napoleon: The Director’s Cut is now available to stream with 48 minutes of new footage. Only available on Apple TV+ pic.twitter.com/b64x4DkfA0August 29, 2024
A cut that’s nearly an hour longer than its predecessor? What on earth did Scott put into this version that the legendary auteur previously left on the cutting table? I’m glad you asked, dear reader—and for your trouble, here’s a peek at what to expect from this expanded cut, courtesy of an Apple press release.
“Napoleon: The Director’s Cut stars Joaquin Phoenix as the French emperor and military leader,” the press release reveals. “The film is a fresh and personal look at Napoleon’s origins and his rapid, ruthless rise to emperor, viewed through the prism of his addictive and often volatile relationship with his wife and true love, Josephine, played by Vanessa Kirby.
“The director’s cut delves deeper into Josephine’s origin story and features more extravagant costumes, new larger-than-life sets and the previously unreleased Battle of Marengo scene. Audiences will also be given more details about Napoleon’s downfall, from his attempted assassination to his failed invasion of Russia.”
That’s… a lot of new content, but I doubt it’ll be enough to improve Napoleonis on our list of the best Ridley Scott movies, and I don’t think it will completely change people’s opinion of the film as a whole.
Why is that? Because from what I’ve read and heard, it’s not very good. Now I haven’t seen Napoleonso I can’t list the issues I had with it, but there are many others who were disappointed by the movie starring Phoenix and Kirby. A quick look at the review aggregation website Rotten tomatoes confirms this, with mixed reviews from critics (the film currently has a critical score of 58%) and the general audience (59%).
Rotten Tomatoes isn’t the universal authority on whether a movie is good or bad. The cross-section of opinions is pretty small in the grand scheme of things, but it gives us an idea of the general consensus surrounding new movies as they come out. If enough people have said Napoleon is a very average flick, chances are that’s the case. That’s despite the fact that Napoleon received three Oscar and four BAFTA nominations during the 2024 awards circuit (NB: (it also didn’t win any awards for which it was nominated).
So, as much as I admire many of Scott’s films, I’m a huge fan of Gladiator, Stranger, Blade Runner, The Martian, American gangster, HannibalAnd Thelma and Louise in particular – I couldn’t bring myself to watch Napoleon. When faced with the prospect of spending an extra 50 minutes streaming a movie I’m unlikely to like, I just can’t face the prospect of streaming. Napoleon: The Director’s Cutno. Sorry, Ridley, it’s nothing personal, but not only is this one of your movies that I won’t be downloading on any of the world’s best streaming services, but I also doubt the extended version has enough to make it back onto our list of the best Apple TV Plus movies. I’m sure Gladiator II I’ll make it up to you, you hear!
