Napoleon, the Man of Destiny (1908)

Napoleon, the Man of Destiny (1908) - a Silent Film Review

Those who think this is a filming of George Bernard Shaw's play with the same name from 1897, I have to disappoint. This is a chronological record of the most important events of Napoleon's life.

The film begins with the introduction of the most important characters from Napoleon's life. As he dozes on his throne, he is dreaming about what he has made of his life. This 25-minute movie gets only a 4.4 on the Internet Movie Database. Although I understand this low appreciation, I do not really agree with it. I think you need to judge a movie in view of the time it was created.

Although the close-up was already invented, they were rarely used in 1908. Film was seen primarily as a recording of a play, but without sound. So also this production contains only total images. Precisely because the facial expressions were difficult to see, the emotion with great gestures had to be shown. Only after 1911, with Griffith's short film 'The Lonedale Operator', more use was made of close-ups.

In 'Queen Christina' from 1933 there is a scene where Christina, played by Greta Garbo, is crazy about Antonio, played by John Gilbert. Director Rouben Mamoulian doesn’t show Garbo making love to Gilbert, he lets her caress the interior of the hotel room. Garbo sensually touches the furniture and smells the flowers, but as a viewer, you know she actually thinks of Gilbert. I've always thought that this was the first movie in which such a scene came, but 'Napoleon, the Man of Destiny' has the same scene. Marie Louise of Austria is crazy about Napoleon. Even so much that she is dreaming of him. She kisses his bust, smells the flowers and caresses the strings of her harp, after which she sees him as a vision.

By showing Napoleon as a ghost, the film also uses a special effect. By putting together two images on top of eachother in the editing, the impression is made of a mental appearance. Not that special effects were new in 1908, since they were there since 1895, but the use of it makes the film more interesting.

I would say; Forget all the techniques that have become so common in the film industry in the last century and watch this movie as if you've gone back 109 years ago.

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