Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Vanessa Kirby, Tahar Rahim, Ben Miles, Ludivine Sagnier, Matthew Needham, Youssef Kerkour, Phil Cornwell
OUR RATING: ★★★☆☆
Story: Sony and Apple TV+ epic historical action drama directed by Ridley Scott. Napoleon (2023) details the checkered rise and fall of the iconic French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte (Joaquin Phoenix). We follow Bonaparte’s relentless journey to power through the prism of his addictive, volatile relationship with his one true love, Josephine (Vanessa Kirby), showcasing his famous battles, and his visionary military and political tactics.
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Best Challenging Napoleon Quotes
Napoleon Bonaparte: That might be what is most difficult in life. Accepting the failures of others. You must not do that. Encourage greatness.
Robespierre: Terror is nothing more than justice. Prompt, severe, inflexible. It is therefore an emanation of virtue.
Napoleon Bonaparte: Surprise is my advantage, but I will win by fire.
Napoleon Bonaparte: [to Barras] I promised you brilliant successes, and I’ve kept my word.
Paul Barras: The guillotine, my friend.
Lucille: [referring to Napoleon] Do you find him without appeal?
Josephine Bonaparte: No.
Lucille: Then perhaps that is enough. Do not underestimate your grace.
Josephine Bonaparte: My husband had more than one lover. And when his head was cut off, all his mistresses watched. When I was in prison, I was told the only way to survive was to get pregnant. So, General, do I need warn you of my indiscretions?
Napoleon Bonaparte: No, madame.
Josephine Bonaparte: [to Napoleon] If you look down, you’ll see a surprise. And once you see it, you will always want it.
Napoleon Bonaparte: Dear wife, This love I have for you is a kind of death. There is no survival for me except in you. What are you doing? No letters from you. If you loved me, you’d write me twice a day. Tell me there are no snakes in your bed, in your legs, inside what is mine. You must write me and tell me that you realize that I love you beyond the limits of imagination, that only you can please me.
Napoleon Bonaparte: [confronting Josephine about her affair] What kind of creature are you? How could you care so little for me and my feelings? You are a selfish little pig. Do you think so lowly of me?
Napoleon Bonaparte: [to Josephine] I want you to say that I am the most important thing in the world!
Josephine Bonaparte: [to Napoleon] You want to be great? Hmm? You are nothing without me. Say it. Say it. You are just a brute that is nothing without me.
Josephine Bonaparte: [to Napoleon] Don’t leave me. Please, don’t leave me. Just don’t leave me. You don’t have to forgive me. Just promise me you won’t leave again.
Napoleon Bonaparte: I have returned to France to find her bankrupt.
Sieyes: [to Napoleon] The only thing that every French citizen can agree on is that you are our Caesar.
Napoleon Bonaparte: So, you expect me to be your sword?
Sieyes: I expect that a coup d’état, well-timed, well-executed could transfer power into the hands of three consuls, myself, Ducos, and you. I’m inviting you to the winning side.
Napoleon Bonaparte: [to Josephine] All our harsh words are behind us. I need you to be my most tender friend. Over this door is our destiny.
Talleyrand: It is public opinion Napoleon is after. But my warning to you is that he’s as hungry for it as any man in the history of the world. So my suggestion, with respect, would be to take this little offering of peace from him, or suffer the consequences from a man bent on peace at any cost.
Napoleon Bonaparte: [to Lord Whitworth] Take this as a warning to your king. I will keep you guessing and scared. You will watch your borders, and your back, and your manners are bound, sooner or later, to be French. I will offer no more letters of peace, and I will take the lack of a swift reply as an act of disrespect! You think you’re so great because you have boats!
Napoleon Bonaparte: Why aren’t you pregnant?
Josephine Bonaparte: Is that a question, or is that an accusation?
Napoleon Bonaparte: It was a question. Now it’s an accusation.
Napoleon Bonaparte: [at his coronation] I found the crown of France in the gutter. I picked it up with the tip of my sword and cleaned it, and place it atop my own head.
Pope Pius VII: The most glorious, the most august Napoleon, emperor of the French, is crowned and enthroned. Long live the emperor!
Napoleon Bonaparte: I am not ambitious. I’ve never declared war with anyone.
Talleyrand: No. You are the greatest leader in the history of the world, and the world’s only chance at peace. The security of the empire and peace in the world depends upon an heir.
Josephine Bonaparte: You’re fat.
Napoleon Bonaparte: I enjoy my meals. I do. Destiny has brought me here. Destiny has brought me this lamb chop.
Napoleon Bonaparte: [to Josephine] I love your talents and your taste. And while I’m away, I will miss your grace. And your dignity. And I will come back to you.
Napoleon Bonaparte: If I succeed in making the birth of a boy that I shall call my own son, I want you as a witness to pretend the confinement of the empress.
Dr. Corvisart: Your Highness, you are asking me to lie about the status of the mother of your heir.
Napoleon Bonaparte: That is another way of putting it, yes.
Napoleon Bonaparte: My good Josephine. You know how I’ve loved you. It is you, to you alone, that I owe the few moments of happiness I have known in this world. My destiny is more powerful than my will. And my affections must yield to the interests of my people.
Napoleon Bonaparte: [to Josephine, after declaring the dissolution of their marriage] You have embellished my life for fifteen years. The memories of which will remain forever etched in my heart.
Josephine Bonaparte: Emperor, you have just pronounced the word which separates us forever. Your mistaken ambition has ever been and will continue to be the guide of all your actions. Nevertheless, you can never doubt the sincerity of my wishes for your happiness. May it at least afford me some consolation for my sufferings. Yours, Josephine.
Napoleon Bonaparte: Once, an English ambassador challenged my reasons for war. He said, “You French, you fight only for money, while we English, we fight for honor.” I replied, “Everyone fights for what they lack.”
Napoleon Bonaparte: The English lack honor. We can agree on that.
Josephine Bonaparte: [to Napoleon’s new born son] Oh, sweet child. One day, you will understand what I have sacrificed for you.
Napoleon Bonaparte: There’s dignity to be had in defeat.
Josephine Bonaparte: Napoleon, your letters are a soothing balm to my heart. I fear for you. Remember that I alone know your health, your fears. I thank you as tenderly as I will always love you.
Napoleon Bonaparte: My friend, Josephine. “Friend”. It is strange to write that word to you. You have always been so much more.
Napoleon Bonaparte: Josephine. Fortune has abandoned me. I know that it is what fate has for me. Your words rattle in my head. I am nothing without you.
Napoleon Bonaparte: I love France too much. All I’ve desired was its glory. I would never bring her misfortune. They want me to abdicate. Fine, I’ll abdicate.
Napoleon Bonaparte: Dear Josephine, You are mine. You will always be. I cannot stand it any longer. It has been three hundred days on this rock, and I’m ready to come home and reclaim what’s mine, you and France.
Napoleon Bonaparte: If you do not provoke me, you do not have to fear me.
Josephine Bonaparte: [just before she dies from diphtheria] Napoleon, I’m a flower that opens its petals and smiles to the sunshine, unconscious that the storm is near which will lay me low and scatter leaves to the heavens. Come quickly, my friend.
Duke of Wellington: [referring to Napoleon] This vermin has routed the farmyards of Europe while the farmers snored. We should have struck this blow long ago. He has held the world hostage with his egotism, his insatiable hunger for power, and his lack of simple good manners. We will all sleep again without him. I believe I speak for all of us when I say that the only regret we all share is that we allowed this vermin to live at all.
Napoleon Bonaparte: I’ll have Wellington by lunch.
Duke of Wellington: Generals commanding armies have better things to do with their time than to shoot at one another.
Napoleon Bonaparte: I am the first to admit when I make a mistake. But I never do.
Josephine Bonaparte: What will you do now? I hate to see you alone. Will you come to me? Will I forgive you? My sweet, stubborn Emperor. I let you loose and let you come to ruin. Next time, I will be Emperor, and you will do as I say.
Napoleon Bonaparte: [thinking of Josephine] Well, you were right. Every night I beg to see you in my dreams. And when I do, you turn me away.
Josephine Bonaparte: Can I tell you what I have waiting for you? It is a secret. And I will show you when you arrive. Come to me, Napoleon. And let’s try this again.
[Napoleon Bonaparte’s final words] France… Army… Jospehine.