Series Description

The Napoleon Miniseries was an epic historical drama miniseries on A&E that aired for 6 hours in Europe and in an edited 3 hour format in the U.S. When released on Dvd in the U.S., however, the entire 6 hour version was included. It explored the life of Napoleon Bonaparte from his amazing victory over the French Royals in 1795 and victories in Italy and Egypt that enabled him to seize power in France and crown himself Emperor in 1804. He ruled with continuing success for the next eight years and installed his relatives as Kings of the countries he conquered. Then in 1812 he made a crucial error that several dictators have made throughout history. He attempted to conquer Russia! The Russian people burned their homes and crops as Napoleon's army advanced, preventing them from living off the land. Every mile Napoleon advanced, his supply lines grew longer. Then the notorious Russian winter struck and Napoleon with his starving troops had to retreat. The other Europeon nations saw their opportunity to eliminate Napoleon and attacked, defeating him in 1814 and exiling him to the Island of Elba. In 1815 Napoleon managed to return to try and re-take his empire but was quickly defeated by the now free people of France.

Napoleon Miniseries Cast

Christian Clavier .... Napoleon Bonaparte
Isabella Rossellini .... Josephine de Beauharnais
John Malkovich .... Charles Talleyrand
Gerard Depardieu .... Joseph Fouche
Anouk Aimee .... Letizia Bonaparte
Sebastian Koch .... Marshal Jean Lannes
Heino Ferch .... Armand Augustin Louis de Caulaincourt
Ennio Fantastichini .... Joseph Bonaparte
Alexandra Maria Lara .... Countess Marie Walewska
Toby Stephens .... Tsar Alexander I of Russia
Mavie Horbiger .... Marie Louise of Austria
Marie Baumer .... Caroline Bonaparte
Claudio Amendola .... Marshal Joachim Murat
Charlotte Valandrey .... Madame Coigny
Florence Pernel .... Theresa Tallien
Julian Sands .... Klemens von Metternich
Ludivine Sagnier .... Hortense de Beauharnais
John Wood .... Pope Pius VII
David La Haye .... Duc d'Enghien
Jessica Pare .... Eleanore Denuelle
Guillaume Depardieu .... Muiron
Jean-Gabriel Nordmann .... Roederer
Serge Dupire .... Vicomte de Cambronne
Florence Darel .... Madame Recamier
Andre Chaumeau .... Louis XVIII
Alain Doutey .... Marechal Ney
Vincent Grass .... Charles IV of Spain
David Francis .... Hudson Lowe
Sylvain Corthay .... Dr. Corvisard
Yves Jacques .... Lucien
Roc LaFortune .... Marchand
Jacques Brunet .... Roger Ducos
Fabienne Babe .... Madame de Staehl
Tamsin Egerton .... Betzy
Natacha Amal .... Madame Bertrand
Michael Cella .... Valet
Jacky Nercessian .... Roustam
Andre Oumansky .... Sieyes
Julian Rachlin .... Paganini
Philippe Volter .... Barras
John Rado .... General Waterloo
Derrick Brenner .... Napoleon's Engineer

Napoleon Miniseries Trivia

At the time it was produced, the Napoleon Miniseries was the most costly European project for television to date at a cost of over $46 million!

The Napoleon Miniseries was based on a series of bestselling novels by Max Gallo that were adapted for television by Didier Decoin.

One of the costs that mounted on the project was undoubtedly travel expenses. The miniseries was filmed in Austria, Canada, the Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Morocco, Switzerland and on the Island of St. Helena!

In addition to all of the on-location filming, matte paintings and computer graphics were used to create a realistic and historically accurate setting.

Many fans probably know actor Julian Sands (Klemens von Metternich) better from his role as Russian terrorist Vladimir Bierko on the sixth season of the "24 TV Series".

Unlike many historical figures, Napoleon ensured that he would be remembered throughout history by recording a huge amount of records of the events in his life. This made it relatively simple for the writers, set designers, etc. to achieve historical accuracy. The French Army was also helpful in providing documents in their archives.

Costume designer Pierre-Jean Larroque won the only Emmy for the Napoleon miniseries in the category, "Outstanding Costumes for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special" for his work on part 2. The show did get an additional 6 Emmy nominations though.

When Napoleon was first exiled to Elba he was given a palacial estate with a large annual budget, servants, and even a personal armed guard that was almost a mini army! It was almost like he had a small empire right there on the island. After his attempt to return to power he was sent to St. Helena with a small house where he lived in near solitary confinement with a very meager budget and the Governor of the island as his own personal dictator.

Napoleon is only one of many great historical drama miniseries that have been acclaimed by critics and viewer alike. Some of them include: A Band of Brothers, Centennial, From the Earth to the Moon, I, Claudius, John Adams, Masada, North And South, Roots, War And Remembrance, and The Winds of War.

Episodes List With Original Air Dates

1. Part 1 (4/8/2003)
2. Part 2 (4/9/2003)