Napoleon (Napoléon) (translated)

Napoléon is a 1955 French-Italian historical epic written and directed by Sacha Guitry, following the defining episodes of Napoleon Bonaparte's life. The emperor is embodied by two performers: Daniel Gélin during his younger years and Raymond Pellegrin in his maturity, with the handover unfolding in a barber shop sequence. Guitry appears as Talleyrand, the divisive diplomat, framing the tale from a drawing room as though the news of Napoleon's 1821 death on Saint Helena has only just reached him. The ensemble includes Yves Montand as Marshal Lefebvre and Maria Schell as Marie-Louise of Austria, while Erich von Stroheim and Orson Welles turn up in brief appearances as Beethoven and the British warden Sir Hudson Lowe. Running roughly three hours in its original form, the picture gathered an unusually glittering roster of stars and belongs to Guitry's series of opulent historical frescoes. An English-language dub was produced alongside the original, though it is notably shorter than the French cut.