Ridley Scott is the patron saint of director's cuts. Nobody, save for George Lucas, loves to go back and tinker with their films more than Scott, who has done so 11 times over the course of his career. Bear in mind, he's directed 28 films, so that 40% of his total output. Napoleon is the latest Scott flick to join this prestigious list.
The historical epic was released to mixed reviews and muted box office in 2023, but Ridley Scott made it clear upfront that he was forced to cut a lot of material to make it audience friendly. The cut that played in theaters ran 157 minutes. Fortunately, for Scott fans, the cut he touted over a year ago is finally available on Apple Plus. And it's much, much longer.
Napoleon now has a runtime of 205 minutes
The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that the director's cut of Napoleon restores 48 minutes of cut footage, which brings the total runtime to 205 minutes. That's over three and a half hours of Joaquin Phoenix playing the titular ruler. The question, of course, is what comprises these 48 minutes?
There was lots of ground covered in the theatrical cut, especially with regards to the titular character. The director's cut, however, places more of an emphasis on Napoleon's first wife, Empress Josephine (Vanessa Kirby). There are scenes dedicated to Josephine's origins, and many more dedicated to her volatile relationship with Napoleon.
The director's cut focuses on Empress Josephine
Ridley Scott admitted that Josephine fascinated just as much, if not more, than his titular ruler. He told Empire that he kept being drawn to the Empress during his research, and this interest is what suffered most when it came time to make cuts in the editing room:
"It was very hard work, because it’s so easy to start talking about battles when I want to talk about Napoleon. So I kept reining it in, I kept going back to Josephine."
Other additions include the Battle of Marengo, which is a legendary military conflict that was not included in the theatrical cut of Napoleon. Scott is clearly thrilled to have his definitive vision put back together, as evidenced by his enthusiasm during the director's cut announcement video.
I'm thrilled to announce that Napoleon: The Director's Cut is now exclusively on Apple TV," he told viewers. Watch it now... "F**kin' great, that's good for me!"