Ridley Scott has responded to criticism of the historical errors in his next film “Napoleon” (EFE/Étienne Laurent).
Renowned film director Ridley Scott has caused a lot of controversy thanks to his upcoming film “Napoleon,” a historical drama starring him Joaquin Phoenix And Vanessa Kirby. The film, which hits theaters in November, has been criticized since its preview for alleged historical inaccuracies, although the production team strives to achieve as much accuracy as possible.
The television historian Dan Snowhe said in a TikTok video that has already garnered nearly 10,000 reactions “Napoleon didn’t shoot at the pyramids”, while a fragment of the film trailer is shown behind him. Snow added that Marie Antoinette “His hair was cut short for his execution.”at which Napoleon was not present.
Dan Snow, famous historian, found several errors in the previews of “Napoleon”, such as Marie Antoinette’s haircut and the Napoleonic army’s shooting at the pyramids of Giza (Source: TikTok/historyhit)
Scott has already had the opportunity to hear Dan Snow’s criticism, to which he responded bluntly: “Do not you have anything else to do”.
The director had previously told Empire that his film did not want to be a historical documentary and urged the most discerning to do their own research on the famous emperor if they wanted to find out the historical truth.
“If you really want to understand Napoleon, you should probably study and read for yourself.. Because when you see this film, this experience is told through my eyes,” said the person responsible for the Alien saga.
“Get a life,” said Scott in the face of criticism from Dan Snow (EFE//FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA)
In fact, the historical errors in the film were largely intentionally incorporated. Throughout the film, Scott had the help of Michael Broers, a history professor at Oxford who was responsible for infusing the film with as much truth as possible. The historian considered that Ridley had certain Napoleonic qualities that made him an excellent director, able to move hundreds of people without major problems.
“He himself is not a bit Napoleonic. When he is there, he commands, and you have complete trust in him. He distributes it and holds it“.
An example of this is that the film crew spent five days filming the Battle of Waterloo, attempting to faithfully depict the military operations of the time with their characteristic discipline.
Michael Broers, historian at Oxford University, helped Ridley Scott make the film as historically accurate as possible (Source: LMH Oxford)
“At Ridley, uniformity is very important, even among the men, who make sure their hats fit straight. “There wasn’t a bayonet that wasn’t synchronized,” explained production designer Arthur Max, who made sure that each of the soldiers formed a “human square” with their bayonets, which required him to spend sleepless nights.
The film Napoleon will be in cinemas on November 22nd Manzana And Sony in theaters, and as Ridley Scott awaits its arrival, he continues to crave recognition from the Academy. “They haven’t given me an Oscar yet. And if they ever give it to me, I’ll say, “It’s about time!”the director told the New Yorker.
Ridley Scott assures that he deserves to win the Oscar for best director (EFE/EPA/CLAUDIO ONORATI)
Ridley Scott has been nominated four times for the Academy Awards for Best Director. The films “Alien” in 1979, “Gladiator” in 2000, “Black Hawk Down” in 2001 and “The Martian” in 2015 were nominated. Some media outlets assume that this year was thanks to his work with Napoleon Scott could be.
It’s worth noting that Scott has already been attacked for the inaccuracy of his films. In 2021, a journalist told him that his film “The Last Duel” was the most realistic in his catalog. The comment, which was supposed to be a compliment to Ridley, ended up angering him and he insulted the reporter.
“Sir, go to hell. Go to hell. Thank you. Go to hell. Go to hell, sir. Get out,” the director said in that famous interview.