NAPOLEON’S EMPIRE
IN FILM & SERIES
Phase I
1769 — 1799 AD
Revolutionary Rise
Corsican outsider · artillery genius in the Revolution · Italian campaigns · coup of 18 Brumaire
FILM Napoleon (1927)
MINI Napoleon (2002)
⟡ The 1927 silent epic is mythic and bold
⟡ The 2002 miniseries is the most complete linear biography
⚔ Character Spotlight — Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon is the engine of the era — brilliant, relentless, and destabilizing. The 2002 miniseries remains the most comprehensive depiction of his ascent.
Phase II
1804 — 1805 AD
Emperor & Austerlitz
Self-crowned emperor · the Grande Armée triumphs at Austerlitz · Europe stunned by tactical genius
⟡ The essential Austerlitz portrayal
Phase III
1806 — 1811 AD
Continental Wars
Spain and the Peninsular War · continental blockade strains Europe · Napoleonic rule spreads and hardens
FILM The Duellists (1977)
⟡ A character-level portrait of soldiers trapped in the era
Phase IV
1812 AD
The Russian Catastrophe
Grande Armée marches on Moscow · scorched earth and winter destroy the invasion · empire begins to fracture
FILM War and Peace (1966)
⟡ The definitive cinematic account of 1812
Phase V
1814 — 1815 AD
Exile & Waterloo
First abdication and Elba · the Hundred Days · Waterloo ends the empire for good
FILM Waterloo (1970)
FILM Napoleon (2023)
MINI Napoleon and Josephine: A Love Story (1987)
⟡ Waterloo is the battlefield core; Napoleon (2023) is the modern retelling
⟡ The miniseries adds the personal cost and political marriage story
FINIS IMPERII NAPOLEONICI
1815 AD
FILM Feature Film
SERIES TV Series
MINI Miniseries
DOC Documentary
DRAMA Docudrama
⟡ parallel / optional