Ridley Scott Has a ‘Fantastic’ Cut of ‘Napoleon’ That Runs Four-and-a-Half Hours and Features Way More Joséphine

Ridley Scotts historical epic Napoleon clocks in at a whopping 158 minutes, but even at over two-and-a-half hours a lot of material was left on the cutting room floor. In the September 2023 issue of Empire Magazine, Scott reveals that he has a fantastic cut of the movie that runs nearly four-and-a-half hours.

As reported by Empire, Scotts near 270-minute Napoleon cut features more of Josphines life before she meets Napoleon. Hed love Apple (who funded the film) to eventually screen it. But what they have now is hardly slight. Its an astonishing story, Phoenix says of Napoleons life. Hopefully we captured some of the most interesting moments.'

Phoenix, who was last directed by Scott in 2000s Gladiator, stars as the French emperor opposite Vanessa Kirby as his wife, Josphine de Beauharnais.

Joaquin studies the psyche, and the psyche of Napoleon is so strange, Kirby told Empire. The film feels like that. Its kind of peculiar, and theres an intensity in that. Napoleon wasnt stoic and wonderful like Russell Crowe was in Gladiator. He was a dictator, a war criminal, really. It couldnt be rousing, because that man killed hundreds and hundreds of thousands of men, in my opinion needlessly. And for what? To get an empire, for what? In the end, it all disintegrated anyway. That psyche run wild is dangerous as hell, and very strange. And this is a portrait of that.

Scottpreviously toldEmpire magazinethatPhoenixfelt rather clueless two weeks before cameras were set to roll on Napoleon.

Hell come in, and youre fucking two weeks out, and hell say, I dont know what to do, Scott said about Phoenix. Ill say, What?! I dont know what to do. Oh God. I said, Come in, sit down. We sat for 10 days, all day, talking scene by scene. In a sense, we rehearsed. Absolutely detail by detail.

Scott went on to call Phoenix the best player of damaged goods, which is why he was so perfect to cast as Napoleon. The actor said it wasnt too tough of a decision to sign up for another film directed by Scott.

The truth is, there was just a very nostalgic idea of working with Ridley again, Phoenix said. I had such an incredible experience working with Ridley on Gladiator, and I was so young. It was my first big production. I really yearned for that experience again, or something similar. Hes approached me about other things in the past, but nothing that felt like it would be as demanding for both of us. And so I really liked the idea of jumping into something with Ridley that was going to be that.

Apple and Sony are releasing Napoleon in theaters on Nov. 22.