This has been an incredibly good year for film and filmmakers. James Cameron and James Mangold released new films. We are on the precipice of upcoming 2023 movies from Christopher McQuarrie, Greta Gerwig, and Christopher Nolan. And later this year, we get new movies from Denis Villenueve, Martin Scorsese, and Sir Ridley Scott! The last returns to history with Napoleon, casting Joaquin Phoenix, and we have the first full trailer above. But there’s a battle scene hinted at here that we were able to preview, and it’s pretty amazing.
Let’s start with Sir Ridley Scott. That title montage of movies he has delivered is enough to make anyone stand up and take notice. You tell me Napoleon comes from the director of Blade Runner, Alien, Gladiator, Black Hawk Down, and The Martian, and I’m there opening weekend. Those are just a few of Ridley Scott’s best movies. And this trailer for Napoleon certainly looks like it has the potential to rise to the level of those cinematic masterworks.
But while CinemaBlend was covering the annual CinemaCon convention in Las Vegas this year, Sony Pictures and Apple brought the full battle scene that is showcased at the end of this trailer. The one that takes place on a frozen lake. Only, Napoleon’s adversaries don’t realize that they are marching onto a frozen lake until it’s too late. And by that point, Napoleon has launched the cannonballs.
We wrote about the sequence in depth here, if you want to dig a little deeper. Because the moments leading up to this are nightmarish:
Sir Ridley Scott specializes in these historical epics. Think back just a few years, when he doubled down on House of Gucci along with The Last Duel, flexing his directorial muscle at the age of 85. We are still talking about the ending for The Last Duel, and what it meant for Jodie Comer’s character. Scott shows no signs of slowing down in the least with Napoleon, and pairing him with an enigmatic leading man like Joaquin Phoenix in the lead role instantly makes this one of our most anticipated films of the fall season. As well as the Awards season, which expects to be crowded thanks to all of the movies I mentioned at the top of this article.
We have to wait a bit for Napoleon to reach theaters and streaming (and you should note that Napoleon WILL get a theatrical release before playing on Apple TV+ for those with a subscription). Look for the movie in theaters on November 22, though we don’t have a clear indication on its window, or when it will reach the streamer. It’s a bold new world of theatrical distribution, with top streamers at the helm. Stay with CinemaBlend for updates as they arrive.
