#final report

The added material makes the film better but that doesn’t mean it’s good.

So I did it. I rewatched the Napoleon movie with the added material. I was wondering if a second view would salvage it, maybe it ages well.

That answer is no.

It has been awhile since I saw the theater version, so I am not 100% sure that what I will say isn’t maybe a few scenes that were in the movie and I just don’t recall. There are new scenes and old scenes that are longer now.

From the beginning to Toulon are about the same as far as I can tell. One thing I will note: it is curious that they chose as the Bonaparte family representative Lucien. I am happy to see Lucien get some love as he’s my favorite of the dysfunctional clan, but it seems a weird choice. Joseph is usually chosen because he and Napoleon do have a different dynamic of an elder brother who has such a stronger personality younger brother. But what is equally weird is that Lucien serves no purpose. He’s there in a military looking uniform listening to Barras talk about France’s military challenges, he just pops up in Toulon (as does Barras who apparently just hangs around on the perimeter of the battlefield) so Napoleon can hand him the cannonball he fishes out of his poor dead horse (I’m traumatized all over again), and then disappears completely after the coup d’etat.

There might be some new stuff in here but I am not remembering it.

The most backfill is the Josephine arc, and that does actually help the film somewhat. In the theater version Josephine launches on screen stumbling out of prison.

Scene one shows her at her home and some asshole guy is questioning a five year old Hortense about the whereabouts of her father and the Revolution. Eugene stands back with Lucille, the maid. Josephine watches the scene from the top of the stairs wrapped in a shawl. Little Hortense is obviously scared and says that her father is in prison and the Revolution is against the nobility. The man asks her about her and the father (I think) loyalty and is she a noble, and she looks to Josephine for guidance, Josephine nods at her to answer. She says she is noble, her father does support the Revolution, and so does she. The man warns her not to lie because he can tell. Josephine pipes in saying that she’s a five year old child leave her alone she tells the truth etc.

That scene bleeds to the next where Josephine is in the back of a cart of other prisoners and is being unloaded at Carmes prison. She is processed through by a gruff woman who strips her of her rings and demands to see in her mouth. She wanders around the prison and at all the chaos. A woman comes out and calls her name and they embrace. It’s Therese Tallien. She leads her through the prison and acts a bit of a tour guide. The watch some prisoners get in the cart to meet the guillotine. Therese says there is no tears….moving on. They pass cramped quarters where they pass a couple having sex. Therese says if a woman gets pregnant she can avoid the blade and “since when do men need a reason to fuck?”

The next scene is that night and Josephine lays in Therese’s bed and watches her doll herself in the mirror as much as she can. She ties a red ribbon around her neck and tells her how it represents the blade. Therese states she will survive this and Josephine can too or she can die pure. Josephine stays silent in all these scenes.

Next scene is Josephine cutting her hair short, looking a little more sexy in her dress and walking down to the lower part of the prison where she goes to a man waiting for her on a bed. And fade to black.

There is a rather powerful scene of an order of nuns being led to the guillotine. The crowd jeers and screams at them just like they did for Marie Antoinette. But these nuns look pristine in their habits and they go to their deaths calm and cool and singing a hymn in French. The last nun is just a young girl and she watches as all her order meets their end and she goes up the platform and they rip her veil from her and put her down on the bench for the blade and she never misses a note. Her song only ends when the blade falls. The crowd that was bloodthirsty just goes deathly silent and exchange looks with each other.

That follows the scene of Barras confronting Robespierre over his actions. Same as the theater version. Robespierre shoots himself again but the scene doesn’t end with Barras saying “the guillotine for you my friend” the added scene is Robespierre’s death as he is dragged with his bandaged face up to the guillotine with the crowd cheering. He is beheaded.

The scene with Josephine leaving prison is longer. She walks around the city and it’s rather strangely deserted and messy streets. She comes to her house and enters to find it’s been ransacked. She goes up the stairs calling out to her children and Lucille. She is eventually confronted by Lucille who takes her to be an intruder but then recognizes her and calls for her children. They appear and approach her slowly as Josephine takes off her hood and they all reunite.

The party scene where Napoleon and Josephine meet is longer. Napoleon runs into Barras who cheers him but Napoleon like the buzzkill he is refuses to show a smile and Barras eye rolls him off. The scene of the play that they are putting on is a bit longer with Josephine and Napoleon first noticing each other in this setting and exchanging glances. Josephine is sitting at Barras’ table. Napoleon is hanging out with Lucien.

An added scene is that after the party there is a scene of a naked Josephine having sex with Barras after the party. She watches herself in the mirror. Barras tells her she accumulated a lot of debt at the party that night and gets up to get some money for her debts. She quips she should charge him more for the attention she brings him. He tosses the money at her and says he will pay for her debts this time but he’s done. She needs to get to know Bonaparte.

Fast forward to Napoleon and Josephine courting. Lucille and Josephine talk about whether Josephine likes Napoleon that way or not. There is an extended scene of Napoleon receiving her invite but this time it shows him standing outside her door killing time in the street by reading a newspaper. Lucile watches him from the door discreetly. She closes the door when he come across the street. He rings the bell and Lucille stands inside the door smiling. She makes him knock again before she opens and smiles and welcomes him in. I am not sure what this is supposed to be implying? Lucille has a crush on him too?

The wiff of grapeshot is the same but there is an added scene of Napoleon, Barras and other random military men singing a song and toasting their success. They all congratulate Napoleon as the savior but he shrugs it off and plays humble.

The wedding scene is slightly longer I think. The guy talks about their birthdays that I don’t remember from the original.

Italian campaign is merely what they show in the released footage that I posted. There is the dinner where Napoleon notices Hippolyte and Josephine chatting it up at the dinner table.

There are more scenes with Hippolyte and Josephine. Mostly narrated by Napoleon writing to her his love etc. One scene of Josephine buying hats and Hippolyte sits in a chair and watches her. She looks sad like she does through most of this film. Hippolyte puts on a turban and clowns around. The two maids find it adorable and laugh. Josephine seems mortified and keeps telling him to stop and to take it off.

There is an extra scene of Napoleon and Josephine lying in bed and she tells him that the trouble is that he is always off to battle and she is alone and never knows if he will return or not. He assures her he will always return and not to worry. He kisses her all over her face and she looks on gloomy. I don’t remember where this scene is, but it’s around the Italian campaign scenes.

Another Josephine and Hippolyte scene where he is in her garden chatting up people and Josephine sits inside by the piano listening to the musician play. He watches her as she looks visibly upset.

Napoleon in Egypt is pretty much the same as the original. His return is slightly different. He returns to find the house empty and blows up at Lucille. There is an added creepy scene of Napoleon eating alone at the dining table and Lucille comes in with a plate. Napoleon stops her and apologizes for his outburst. She understands. Be great if they stop there. But no. Napoleon slides his chair out and asks Lucille to sit on his knee and she does. He tells her he’s sad and needs comforting what can be done? She tells him she can get him some desert or draw him a hot bath and she will console him. Napoleon just lays his head on her shoulder.

The scene where Napoleon confronts Josephine over the affair is for the most part the same except there does seem to be some added dialogue. Josephine the following day asks Napoleon if had affairs and he admits he did. She asks if they were pretty and did he love them etc. He says they were pretty because they didn’t cry. She then says she doesn’t care as long as he doesn’t leave her. Please don’t leave me. I don’t recall this in the original film but maybe it was there and I just blocked it out.

The scene where Napoleon confronts the directory is longer to me it seems with some additional dialogue but that could be wrong.

There is an additional scene of Napoleon cleaning his guns at the dinner table with Lucien. They are a bit drunk and Lucien says he doesn’t get why Napoleon is going along with the plotters plans. He doesn’t need them. Napoleon says he will need ladies in waiting, right? Lucien says they aren’t good except to lick your balls and Napoleon laughs and says that he will need one of those. Josephine stands on the balcony watching and listening. She leaves, Napoleon hears the sound and swings the gun in her direction but she’s gone.

There is a new scene I think of Napoleon designing the Consulate uniforms. There is also a scene of Napoleon and Josephine hosting a party and mingling along the table where Napoleon kinda flirts and Josephine watches him and the flirts with whoever she talks to.

The assassination attempt scene is pretty much what has been released. It happens incorrectly and Napoleon yells at his advisors. They do show the execution of the Duc d’Enghein out in the forest and not in a moat. He’s some poor sweaty looking guy. He messes with the gravel he’s standing on and turns and there is the firing squad. He reminds them he is a Frenchman and some other nobles stuff and asks to command the execution. The guy who I assume is General Dumas ignores him and commands ready…aim…but then tells the duc that he can go ahead. The duc instructs to aim at the heart and the guns fire.

It’s the scene right after the coronation that Napoleon and Hippolyte Charles have their conversation.

A lot that comes after this is the same I think. There is a whole scene in Russian between the Czar and God knows who. And they only subtitle half of the scene. So you listen to the rest and don’t know what the fuck anyone is saying.

There is a scene of Napoleon huge ass map being painted by David. Napoleon wanders in in his nightgown and starts walking on the map. David tells him it’s not dry and if he must walk on it, he can step on Italy. Cut to the new scene of Napoleon and his generals on the map planning Austerlitz and Napoleon hopping on Italy so as not to disturb the now dry paint? I don’t know.

There is a scene of Napoleon on the toilet before battle, I believe it’s Austerlitz. He gets up and then buries his head in a bowl of water. He strips down and asks I guess the valet to brush him like a horse. Harder etc.

The next new scenes seem to be Napoleon on Elba. There is a scene of him walking down a street by himself and he draws his sword and starts practicing fencing moves but trips over his own feet and falls down in a doorway.

There is a scene of a boy bringing his boots that he shined in and dropping them unceremoniously on the floor. Napoleon chuckles and asks him to go get him wine. Napoleon sees in the paper Josephine is wining and dining Alexander. He gets mad but this time the boy enters the room and Napoleon asks him if he knows who Alexander is. The boy says no. He asks but you knew who I was? The boy says yes. Napoleon dismisses him.

There is a new scene of Napoleon and his mother serving him lunch. She quips she didn’t come all this way to sit and have lunch with her son who is a moody SOB. Napoleon doesn’t react but just broods. She tells him he wasn’t meant to die on this island and puts her arm around him. Napoleon tells her his wife is entertaining the Emperor of Russia in his home. Madame Mere hugs him.

Except she isn’t your wife. It isn’t your home. And she’s dead. And what has happened to his son and Marie Louise? Never mentioned again.

The scene where he learns of Josephine’s death seems longer. There is a scene where he goes into her bedroom and crawls into bed. That might be in the original and I forgot.

There is a small scene of him on the toilet again before Waterloo. He wipes his tush and look into the bowl to see nothing but blood.

There is an additional added on scene of Napoleon showing the St. Helena girls how to fence before he just drops dead at the picnic table.

I think those are all the added scenes. I may have missed a few.

This movie feels like a bunch of baggage the British have yet to unload from Napoleon to me. Like an angry ex who can’t understand why the guy they broke up with is still so popular and why we aren’t writing odes to Wellington. It also feels strangely like English cartoon propaganda come to life. Like all those English cartoons now filmed with people.

I say this because the obnoxious hit you over the head stats at the end tallying up the war dead is just so cringing. I am no war lover but laying the blame at Napoleon only seems the worst of takes. Not only does it ignore that a lot of history is people waging war and killing each other, it’s not as if Napoleon is a serial killer racking up all these deaths on his own. If Napoleon is to blame, then so is Wellington for dragging his army out at Waterloo. He could have stayed away and look how many people would have lived? And a nation that was at one time killing people left and right all over the globe as it expanded empire saying “yeah but Napoleon did…” seems a bit too hypocritical.

Second, if Napoleon is such a baddie, then why portray him as such a buffoon? It’s hard to hate him in this movie because he’s a cartoon. This Napoleon if anything makes me want to flick him off the screen. And that sucks because Napoleon is so much more compelling than this hot mess.

What story are they telling? That Napoleon was a warmonger but also a cartoon? That Napoleon was a serious threat? That Napoleon had mommy issues? That Napoleon and Josephine were toxic were they some great romance?

They keep trying to point to Napoleon having some weird Mommy issues but never follow the thread except for some characters making statements out of nowhere.

The actors do the best with this crap, but they all suck including Vanessa Kirby who usually gets praised. Sure, she does alright if you don’t know the real character of Josephine.

Kirby and Phoenix seem to try to be overly serious about these characters to the point that they become melodramatic jokes. You can make an argument that Josephine did suffer some form of PTSD after the Revolution. She probably did. Except it didn’t last her whole life. The historical record of her is as gracious, cheerful, warm, loved to spend and party, happy for the most part. She also could be a drama Queen and manipulator. Did Kirby just not read this and instead picked up some emo biography that I’m not aware of? He constant “fuck off and fuck you and the horse you rode in on” is so unlike the real woman.

Phoenix I think honestly doesn’t give a shit. He was way too old for the part but he is a gifted actor so I though he might be able to pull it off. Clavier was way too old too but somehow shines better than Phoenix. And Clavier wasn’t that great of a Napoleon either. But when Phoenix was quoted as sort of saying Napoleon was a little weirdo with a small coat that he wasn’t really concerned with playing a historical figure but just a cartoon character.

It could be also because I think the chemistry between Vanessa and Phoenix is in the negative territory that the characters fall flat.

In closing, this a film I can’t see myself really watching again. It has its moments, and it does look like an Assassin’s Creed Unity decorated set (and that is a compliment). It’s just too much for a mess and not really a fun mess. I’m glad I got to see it in the theater because Lord knows when that will happen again, the opportunity to see a movie about something that I live with in my head.

But this is a British cartoon take on a man that they seem to still be angry with and they want you to remember he is a villain, a terrible killer but also a silly man child who is a buffoon somehow.

We thank you for your patience and understanding during the last month. We highly emphasize ‘understanding’ as it is likely that forgiveness will not be found for a long while. Unfortunately, that’s what happens when you choose to ask for a retrospective forgiveness instead of permission. The fallout from Pleasant Hill has been expansive, which should not come as a surprise to anyone. In the last two week reports have been published by both S.H.I.E.L.D. and the United States Government regarding Pleasant Hill. Due to varying access levels we are unable to release them all to the public, but can present a synthesized version. Please see below.

001. PERSONNEL.

Director Maria Hill has been under investigation for negligence, abuse of power and failure to comply with government regulations and orders. S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Board of Oversight Affairs, S.W.O.R.D.’s Committee of Internal Review and the U.S. National Security Counsel have all been conferring as the Trustee Alliance and came to the consensus that Director Hill will not lose her title but all administrative decisions will have to be approved by the three councils. Hill contested the ruling, but it is to remain in effect for the next twelve months before being reevaluated. 

Other personnel associated with Pleasant Hill have also been subject to investigation and trial. Head scientist Dr. Erik Selvig has been cleared of criminal charges along with Dr. Kavita Rao and Dr. Randall Jessup. All research conducted for Project KOBIK has been confiscated and will be reviewed and distributed. Dr’s Rao and Jessup will continue to contract with S.H.I.E.L.D. and Dr. Selvig is expected to resume independent study.

Pleasant Hill Administrators Sharon Hill (Agent 13) and Barbara Morse (Agent 19/Mockingbird) were placed on leave while their cases were reviewed. Due to her primary affiliation being the C.I.A., Agent Carter was pardoned by the government but they maintain that they had no involvement with the situation. She is expected to continue her actions as the liaison between S.H.I.E.L.D. and the C.I.A. Dr. Morse, primarily a Mighty Avenger now, was pardoned on the grounds that her actions as a whistleblower for the Avengers acted as a turning point that led to the dissolution of  Pleasant Hills. Morse has gone under oath that she will continue as an Avenger but report to S.H.I.E.L.D. when called for assignment. There will be no infractions to her record or change in rank.

On-Site Specialists and embedded agents have been vetted and cleared by the Committees. Agents Avril Kincaid and Daisy Johnson (Quake) were both called in to testify along with five others. Although culpable in participation, actions within the town during the day the border fell have been regarded as exemplary in preventing additional deaths. Agent Kincaid will continue to contract with S.H.I.E.L.D. while Johnson will be declared inactive and return to duty with the Ultimates.

The Wyngarde Sisters (Martinique & Regan) were both apprehended and returned to Krakoa. Because the mutant nation is a sovereign one, the Trustees had no say in their trial or assessment. S.H.I.E.L.D., however, sent a lawyer on their behalf that explained that their actions were sanctioned by the government. Krakoa has confirmed that Mastermind and Lady Mastermind will be subjected to disciplinary actions.

OO2. INMATES.

As it stands, 90% of the inmates have once again been apprehended and distributed between the Raft and Ravencroft Institute of the Criminally Insane. Some have been placed on wanted lists, some have returned to monitored areas and some are acting independently. Statuses are as follows:

 Agatha Harkness, Karla Sofen (Moonstone) and Norman Osborn (Green Goblin) all escaped the town and have not been seen since. They are currently on S.H.I.E.L.D., S.W.O.R.D. and the U.S. Government’s wanted list. Please call in any sightings of them.

Cain Marko (Juggernaut), Elektra Natchios, Felicia Hardy (Black Cat) and Wilson Fisk (King Pin) all left Westview independently and the government is not currently seeking to arrest them once more. Their actions prior to Pleasant Hill were not severe enough to warrant internment, and while we will occasionally observe their behavior we apologize for their arrests. 

We also would be remiss if we did not extend a sincere apology to Roger Gocking (Porcupine), While investigating Pleasant Hill, Roger’s history as a former felon was flagged and he was mistakenly placed into Pleasant Hill. Claims have been made that he was turned into a literal porcupine to stop him from exposing the operation, but S.H.I.E.L.D. denies the accusations. They will privately be settling the matter with Jessica Drew (Spider Woman) and the Avengers.

Following Ripley Ryan (Star)’s departure of Pleasant Hill, the Council has been unable to reach a unanimous decision on how to proceed. Ryan is still listed as a high level threat and a rostered member of the Thunderbolts but it has not been determined if restorations need to be made or if time needs to be removed from her probation. For more on the Thunderbolts under Section 003.

003. THUNDERBOLTS.

AIM’s taskforce the Thunderbolts were some of the earliest inmates inserted into the town. The six members -- Anthony Masters (Taskmaster), Georges Batroc (the Leaper), Helmut Zemo (Baron Zemo), John Walker (U.S. Agent), Melissa Gold (Songbird), Ripley Ryan (Star) and Yelena Belova (White Widow) -- have all been approached separately about how to move forward. In exchange for lighter sentences, Masters, Batroc and Walker have agreed to work with the Thunderbolts again on a probationary level. As mentioned above, Ryan is still a rostered member of the team but has refused to sign any paperwork thus far. Belova, meanwhile, has had her record expunged in a deal with the C.I.A., similar to the one made with the Black Widow, Natasha Romanoff. Despite this, she has elected to work with the Thunderbolts under the agreement that she is able to break contract and leave at her own discretion. 

After the staged rebellion in Pleasant Hill, the Trustees were divided in how to move forward with Zemo. While Wakanda still wishes for him to be in their prison for the murder of King T’Chaka during the U.N. Bombing, it was narrowly agreed upon that Zemo will either have to work with the Thunderbolts under a handler or be sent to the Raft. The selected handler for the team is Melissa Gold, who contracts directly with S.H.I.E.L.D. Pre Pleasant Hill, Gold was offered a lighter sentence pending her ability to go undercover and resume her former relationship with Zemo. As an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., Gold was instructed to pretend as if her personality had been rewritten so that she could monitor the inmates on a closer level. Her ability to do so, along with her help in removing a fragment of the Mind Stone from Zemo’s possession has increased her rank and qualified her for a handler position.

We have high hopes for what the Thunderbolts can do as a rehabilitated unit working in tandem with A.I.M. on a probationary basis. Any member who fails to uphold their contract will be interred in the Raft for a time and a half of their original sentence.

004. AIM.

The agency has passed under various leadership over the years, but is currently being run by Scientist Supreme Monica Rappaccini. As it stands, the Alliance is unsure about how to interact with them in the long run. It would be beneficial to make peace, but we are hesitant that all motives may not be properly expressed. Allowing them to handle the Thunderbolts team with S.H.I.E.L.D. / C.I.A. liaison Sharon Carter overseeing it is a hopeful step in the right direction. Classified documents will not be shared between the agencies, and S.W.O.R.D. / S.H.I.E.L.D. will continue to work on a more intimate basis while allowing agents at A.I.M. outposts. The situation will be reassessed at the quarterly debriefing. 

Personal apologies have also been made to Dr. Rappaccini for the arrest and imprisonment of A.I.M. members such as Carmilla Black and Jeanne Foucault without advising the agency.

005. IMPORTANT -- POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS.

It has come to our attention that there may be some changes post Pleasant Hill that had not been originally accounted for. Although the transition from inmate to resident was precise, the return to true form was not. Following the splintering of the Reality Stone, one fragment went to Baron Zemo and was used to create a device that was passed around to various inmates, effectively ‘waking them up’ from their Pleasant Hill personas. The changes later made by Star when she reclaimed the Stone counteracted -- in some instances -- what had been done.

Please be alert  to any sort of physical or personality changes in inmates or absorbed Avengers. All inmates who are in custody are being subjected to biweekly sessions with our specialists and weekly doctors check-ups. The same applies for the Thunderbolts, who are on-field and under more scrutiny. So far, increased or reduced aggression has been noted in some inmates. Physical changes have been minor, but not all effected have yet to go through testing. Because Ryan’s Stone is based in Earth-616, we believe it may be a multiversal glitch that has caused these changes. At the moment we do not believe the changes to be life threatening or dangerous but should be monitored nonetheless. 

006. IN CONCLUSION.

What happened in Pleasant Hill was a colossal mistake that should never have been allowed to progress for as long as it did. S.H.I.E.L.D. apologizes to all who were negatively impacted but stands by the decision to look into more creative ways to inter inmates in the long run. The inaugural group of Pleasant Hill residents consisted of thirty inmates, and 90 were ultimately removed from the town by the time everything was said and done. It is with heavy hearts that we announce that we lost the lives of ten S.H.I.E.L.D. ground agents, but are also grateful that the count stayed low considering the 184 agents assigned to the town.

Some have asked what the criteria was to be selected for Pleasant Hill and how it began. After reading S.W.O.R.D.’s research report on Westview and seeing Wanda Maximoff’s decision to leave Agatha Harkness in a friendlier ‘role’ of sorts, it was decided that the Pleasant Hill experiment would be elaborated upon. In order to minimize the risk of injury, Ryan was drugged and intubated in the town before any residents were brought on. The Database had already been established and was waiting for use, and one of its commands were to keep her comatose. The Thunderbolt’s Belova, Walker, Masters and Batroc were then sent on a rigged mission into the town, where they were apprehended and transformed into their resident roles. That took place in the beginning of May, with the following residents being Natchios, Zemo and Gold. After that, the Database proved to be functioning efficiently and more inmates were transitioned consecutively, instead of one a day during the initial experiment. Criteria was criminals who were in custody, those with active warrants or those who posed ‘potential threats to a devastating degree’. All inmates have been redistributed between Ravencroft’s Institute for the Criminally Insane, Ryker’s Island and the Raft.

Moving forward, we hope to put Pleasant Hill behind us to focus on future conflicts that may arise. The Trustee will continue to meet when need be, and classified Pleasant Hill documents will officially be sealed. Pleasant Hill, CT will be rezoned and no longer used by S.H.I.E.L.D. Please directly reach out to the Trustees for any further information or unanswered questions.

SIGNED, 

This is the result of the last drawpile session I was able to join this weekend. I accompanied @peanutable while she drew, and talked a little with the other users, it was a very enjoyable session.

In short, this new friend still has no name, only you can know that he is bigger than my first OC, Meeneko. (btw, don’t tell Asriel that Meeneko took his T-shirts without permission, again)

And in other news, my final report was approved, I just have to correct some details, but what I needed most was the approval of my teacher, and I got it! So the final straight is on the way with very good results.

See ya!!

Esta semana estuve inmerso con este reporte, y la próxima semana se viene la entrega final, y con ésto, también el inicio del fin de mi carrera universitaria...y me tiene algo nervioso todo esto, así que por eso no he dibujado mucho (lo siento)