Sparks Commentary: A review of PBS Empires “Napoleon”

"Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever."

- Napoleon Bonaparte

He was the ruler of France, but learned French as a second language, and spoke it with an accent. He praised the egalitarian ideals of the French Revolution, but always considered himself a little more equal than everyone else (much like a Marxist that way). And he was a military genius whose victories brought him glory and power, but who lost it all through the tragic flaw of always wanting more, and never knowing where to stop.

How Napoleon is perceived in America

The man was Napoleon Bonaparte, and his name is well known to young and old. But few in America know much about him, or care. It's not only that he lived far away from the world we live in - Americans have a never-ending interest in (and horror of) Adolf Hitler, even though he too was across the Atlantic. But Napoleon is perceived to have had little or no effect on American history. Part of it may be that he was so long ago, but part of it may also be the perception that he was beneficial to our country - that his fighting our mutual enemy of that time (Great Britain) kept us from losing our War of 1812. There may be some truth in this; but regardless of one's feelings about it, he was a major foreign policy issue for the presidencies of John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison; and was the central fact of domestic life for the vast majority of the continent of Europe. He hit very close to home for them, and inspired a never-ending fascination with his life that lives on in Europe today.

Early life

So what is this documentary about him like? To begin with, this documentary is first and foremost a biography. There is discussion of the Napoleonic Wars, but the primary focus is on Napoleon himself, and this focus works well for their film. The man who would become emperor of France grew up on the Mediterranean island of Corsica, and spent much of his life hating France, considering it destructive of his homeland. He may have been right; but he and his family moved to France at a young age in search of economic opportunity, and his father got him a commission in the French army. He got an excellent military education at a French academy, but was ostracized somewhat because of his Corsican accent and provincial background, and spoke French only with great difficulty. It was the French Revolution that caused Napoleon to rise, allowing him to win early victories in France's campaigns in Italy, and showcasing both his military skill and extraordinary charisma - qualities that would serve him well throughout his life. This documentary has excellent coverage of his early career, and how the French Revolution affected him personally.

Battle of the Pyramids, Egypt 1798

Early career

He proposed an expedition to Egypt, to fight the British where the Royal Navy's influence was weakest, and won an important victory at the Battle of the Pyramids. But the Royal Navy cut off his supplies from home, and Napoleon's expedition ended in dismal failure, with Napoleon abandoning his troops and returning to France. The expedition was a strategic failure, but a propaganda success; owing to the many paintings that Napoleon commissioned to sweeten the campaign's image. He arrived back in France just in time to take part in a coup d'état that put him into power, taking advantage of his war hero image to make himself emperor of France. As the documentary notes, he would crown himself Emperor soon, with the Pope attending the ceremony to legitimize his coronation. The opening segment of the documentary, incidentally, begins with this coronation, and returns to it later when they finally reach that point in the story.

Napoleon's coronation, 1804

Josephine de Beauharnais, Napoleon's wife

Personal life

This documentary gives good attention to Napoleon's personal life, without going into more than the necessary amount of detail about certain aspects of it. For example, while Napoleon had been in Egypt, he had received news that his wife was cheating on him, and had begun some cheating of his own with the wife of one of his officers. Nothing of this is shown, but it is discussed briefly (and in an appropriate way). He fully intended to divorce his wife; but she turned on all her charm to persuade him not to divorce her, and he gave in and kept his marriage; but was never again faithful to her. As dictator of France, he was a promiscuous man; something that the Napoleon miniseries by A&E covers to a nauseating extent. But it is not covered for long in this wonderful documentary by PBS; a decision which allows them to focus on more important (and more interesting) things, like his military and political career. I'd rather hear less about the bedroom, and more about the battles; so PBS's focus is much appreciated here.

Battle of Austerlitz, 1805

"Napoleon crossing the Alps," a famous propaganda painting

The Napoleonic Wars

As I said before, this documentary is primarily a biography; but it does not ignore the Napoleonic Wars more generally. This program is excellent at covering the battles; and this may be its greatest strength. As far as the politics go, the documentary covers just enough of the complicated geopolitics of this time to communicate background information, but not enough to get confusing and overly long. Too much coverage, and it would be "war on, war off," and "nation A joins the war, nation B sues for peace" - a pattern repeated so often in the Napoleonic Wars that it's hard to find much stability in the era. I won't go into it all here; but suffice it to say that Napoleon tried to enforce a Continental System, or a stopping of all trade with Britain by his conquered territories. This would later get him into trouble. (Incidentally, Napoleon was at war with Britain throughout most of the Napoleonic Wars - but that's a subject for another post.)

Marie-Louise of Austria, Napoleon's second wife

Divorce and second marriage

After briefly covering his divorce with Josephine after failed attempts to produce a male heir (she had grown old and barren), they mention his marriage to a beautiful young Austrian princess - a marriage with political significance, because of the alliance between Napoleon's France and her father's Austria. The king of Austria ordered his daughter to marry this "Corsican upstart" to prevent him from making war on Austria; and despite a hatred of Napoleon, she obeyed. Napoleon managed to charm her into liking him, though, and the marriage did produce a male heir - something Napoleon took great satisfaction in.

Napoleon's retreat from Russia, 1812

End of Napoleon's career

But Russia was now refusing to enforce the Continental System, with its embargo on British goods; and Napoleon retaliated with an invasion of Russia. Like Hitler some generations later, though, Napoleon was defeated by the harsh Russian winter; and lost nearly all of his army to the cold. This coverage of his invasion of Russia is one of the most dramatic parts of the documentary. The conquered nations of Europe sensed weakness at this time, and all began to declare war on him - including, eventually, the very Austria whose princess he had married; all moving in for the kill. Napoleon was ousted from power, as they cover here, and allowed to rule only the tiny Mediterranean island of Elba. This did not suit the massive ego and ambition of Napoleon, and so he escaped from Elba to try to restore his empire; only to be defeated again by the Allies at Waterloo, this time for good.

Napoleon returning from Elba, 1815

Battle of Waterloo, 1815

Imprisonment through his death on St. Helena

This time, he was sent to the remote Atlantic island of St. Helena, and was not allowed to rule anything. Instead, he was a prisoner, and the only campaign left to him was the public relations campaign of writing his memoirs. I won't say much for Napoleon's character, but I think it was a service to history that he was forced to write his memoirs; for it put him on the record about the important events of his time. I won't vouch for any of his conclusions (I haven't even read it), but I'm told that it's an interesting read, and that he had a gift for self-expression. Like other biographies of Napoleon, this program makes extensive use of quotes from his memoirs; which help to give one a feel for what he was thinking. This is one of the strengths of the series.

Conclusion: A "rise and fall" story

So now, some miscellaneous comments about the storytelling style of PBS: They tell the story in Ken Burns style, using the many paintings from the time to tell the story, with added sound in the background, and occasional re-enactments to fill in the visual gaps. It uses some of the best paintings of the era to tell the story, and allows you to draw your own conclusions about what Napoleon's legacy was. If you're after some epic re-enactments, you'd be better off looking elsewhere - to the A&E miniseries, for example, or to the Rod Steiger "Waterloo" movie. But if you're just after a good story with some detailed analysis of Napoleon's rise and fall, then this film may be up your alley. The movie covers all of the events I've just talked about, and tells the epic story of Napoleon with the dramatic flair that the story deserves. The documentary is not always sympathetic, but nor is it always unflattering, as it has some moments of sympathy for the man. Moreover, the story is of great importance to world history. This film is highly recommended to anyone interested in him, or the Napoleonic Wars more generally.

Excerpts from the peace treaty:

"The Allied Powers having by their united efforts, and by the success of their arms, preserved France and Europe from the convulsions with which they were menaced by the late enterprise of Napoleon Bonaparte, and by the Revolutionary system reproduced in France, to promote its success;

Participating at present with his Most Christian Majesty [the King of France] ... in the object of restoring between France and her Neighbours those relations of reciprocal confidence and goodwill which the fatal effects of the Revolution and of the system of conquest had for so long a time disturbed;

Persuaded, at the same time, that this last object can only be obtained by an arrangement framed to secure to the Allies proper indemnities for the past ... They have, in concert with His Majesty the King of France, taken into consideration the means of giving effect to this Arrangement ... "

- Preamble to the "Definitive Treaty Between Great Britain and France" (20 November 1815), one of a number of peace treaties negotiated at Paris that day to end the Napoleonic Wars

DVD at Amazon

Related movies:

"War and Peace" (1956 movie)