Rating: 
Summary: Russian Winter Again . . . And Summer, Too
Review: Oh, Josephine . . . flowers, gardens and harp-playing. An acute and penetrating analysis of historical events! Vive l'Empereur!. . . It is amusing how even almost two centuries later, a French historian (!) refuses to admit that someone could have possibly understood The Great French Military Genius. Why on Earth Mikhail Kutuzov 'possibly did not understand, but just sensed' Napoleon's intentions for the battle of Austerlitz? No wonder the General, who broke the backbone of Le Grand Armee in Russia, wasn't even mentioned again in this rather lengthy documentary. Why bother? The Spaniards revolted against Bonaparte because 'they loved their country more than he loved his,' but the invasion to Russia turned out to be a mistake because Russian summer was too hot and Russian winter was too cold (same all too often applies to Hitler). According to the creators of the 'Empires,' Russians were able to give only one battle and burn their own (former) capital city down . . . um, yes, there were also cossacks, but that's it. I'd expect something like that from the History Channel, but not from PBS . . .
Rating: 
Summary: Profound documentary on a profound induvidual.
Review: PBS is to be congratulated for their effort and end result with this documentary. It covers every detail of the emporer's life from cradle to grave. His life as a child is discussed detailing his attatchment to his mother and disattatchment if you will to his father for being to 'French'. All of this leading up to his military academy training in France and the beginning of one of the most spectacular military careers in modern history. The military campaigns are well documented and detailed as well as how his role in the military led to his involvement in revolutionary politics, his gaining control of France, then most of Europe, and eventually his defeat, twice. Keep in mind that the entire time you are told of what is going on in Napoleon's professional life, you are kept abreast of what is going on in his personal world as well. It is all held together with excellent commentary from several different historians, mostly French, from around the world which give the documentary a definite air of authenticity. A must for students of French history or those interested in the genre.
Rating:
Summary: Profound documentary on a profound induvidual.
Review: PBS is to be congratulated for their effort and end result with this documentary. It covers every detail of the emporer's life from cradle to grave. His life as a child is discussed detailing his attatchment to his mother and disattatchment if you will to his father for being to 'French'. All of this leading up to his military academy training in France and the beginning of one of the most spectacular military careers in modern history. The military campaigns are well documented and detailed as well as how his role in the military led to his involvement in revolutionary politics, his gaining control of France, then most of Europe, and eventually his defeat, twice. Keep in mind that the entire time you are told of what is going on in Napoleon's professional life, you are kept abreast of what is going on in his personal world as well. It is all held together with excellent commentary from several different historians, mostly French, from around the world which give the documentary a definite air of authenticity. A must for students of French history or those interested in the genre.
Rating:
Summary: Great Documentary
Review: Studying the French Revolution in class, I decided to buy this DVD to further my education. After watching it, I was very pleased. I can truly say that this is a perfect documentary of Napolean. It's very informative and and at the same time entertaining. Weather you are studying Napolean, or just intrigued by him, this is a DVD to get. I personaly like documentaries to be lengthy as this one is measuring in at 4hrs. For those who don't have the time to watch this all at once, it conveniantly is composed in 4 episodes. Overall, this is a must buy.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent teaching tool
Review: This is a fine production. I purchased this video to use in a university European history class--summer sessions can be deadly! I showed only the first hour, but it provided the students with useful information about Napoleon. The video put Napoleon's Enlightenment thinking, the influence of the French Revolution on French society and his destiny, and his rise to power into context, in an interesting and colorful manner. I wish I had time to show the entire video. Beyond educational use, it was a "watchable" film.
Rating:
Summary: A cinematic coup !
Review: This is a marvelously evocative and breathtakingly detailed look at the life of "the little Corsican" who rose from nowhere to shake the very foundations of early 19th century Europe.The life of Napolean has held me spellbound ever since I first read Emil Ludwig's biography of Bonaparte when I was 13.Nothing has diminished that sense of awe and wonderment over the intervening years.Grubin's documentary has superlatively captured the sense of mystery that Goethe must have felt when he wrote that there has to be something more to Bonaprte's life than is conveyed in a standard biography . Grubin starts off with Corsica where Napolean was born to Italian parents who had fallen on hard times and follows in his footsteps to school in Paris where he was a lonely, miserable & poor foreigner with a bad French accent .His quick rise through the ranks in the post revolutionary France is explained with some magnificent photography of the seige of Toulon (where he came to prominence for the first time).His love affair & marriage to the coquetish & fickle Josephine , campaigns in Italy and Egypt and his assumption of the French throne in 1805 are recreated against the background of breathtaking period costumes , paintings ,music and marvelous commentary from Napolean scholars .The latter half of the documentary deals with the consolidation of his power and the beginning of the end for him with the Peninsular war in Spain and the disastrous Russian campaign .His abdication and brief exile to Elba followed by his heroic escape to France and the "100 day reign" is probably the best part of the documentary .The battle of Waterloo is recreated in minute detail followed by his defeat and banishment to Elba where he died in 1821.This docudrama is a must see for all history buffs & Bonaparte aficianados !
Rating:
Summary: The best documentary I've ever seen
Review: This is by far the best historical documentary I've seen so far, and I've seen a lot of documentaries. Everything you'd expect to find in a good documentary is provided, and then some, and then some more! Historical content: It begins by giving you a picture of the events taking place when Napoleon was born, and then takes you through the developments as it tells the story of a growing Napoleon and how the circumstances he lived in shaped his personality and thus, the future of France. It tells the story of the ascend and descend of Napoleon in detail with all its political, social, and even economical aspects. A lot of French historians are involved in the telling of the story, which gives the documentary great credibility. When the DVD finished I was left satisfied because the story was very well told. Visual presentation: GREAT! It shows you a lot of art paintings of that era of Napoleon, other famous people, and the battles and events of that era. It also takes you to the actual location of the battles which enables you to live the story being told. Many battles were acted as well, and the acting was really good. In the end, the visual presentaion was nothing short of amazing in this documentary. Sound track: This is the only documentary I'd be interested to buy its sound track if they have it for sale! The music is really good and it helps only in supporting the events being described and it doesn't give you the feeling that it's in the way. In other words, the music being played was always appropriate to the event being showed. Special features: This is something that this DVD falls short in. The only special feature provided is the making of the documentary. But after watching the documentary I realized that there wasn't any extra feature they could've actually provided. Everything was told perfectly in the documentary itself. Length: By now you must've guessed that the documentary is a bit lengthy. But they managed even that very well. The documentary is recorded on both sides of the DVD, hence you don't have to buy two DVDs. Plus, the documentary was broken down into chapters, which enables you to watch a chapter and then turn it off and continue some other time. Each chapter covers a phase of the story and therefore you won't feel that the documentary have been abruptly cut off. In the end, if you're thinking of buying this documentary then go ahead. It will not fail you at all. I know it didn't fail me.
Rating:
Summary: Glossy, professional, well-crafted, and honest
Review: This is what a documentary should be. PBS' penchant for heavy handed propaganda was entirely absent as the excellent scholars, military re-enactments, art, and music breathed life into the complex subject. I was impressed with the high levels of energy, tension, and forward movement the film makers produced. I salute the skilled team that could pack so much fascinating information into 4 hours and make the cohesive finished product look effortless. I'll never forget the amazingly sad rainy-window photography of St. Helena that echoed the bleakness of Napoleon's boyhood school.
Rating:
Summary: Glossy, professional, well-crafted, and honest
Review: This is what a documentary should be. PBS' penchant for heavy handed propaganda was entirely absent as the excellent scholars, military re-enactments, art, and music breathed life into the complex subject. I was impressed with the high levels of energy, tension, and forward movement the film makers produced. I salute the skilled team that could pack so much fascinating information into 4 hours and make the cohesive finished product look effortless. I'll never forget the amazingly sad rainy-window photography of St. Helena that echoed the bleakness of Napoleon's boyhood school.
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