Napoléon

Quite a successful TV adaptation of Napoleon’s life that is spoiled terribly by the casting of the central character. Clavier is unarguably a character actor, but here his performance completely misses the target. Given that he appears in almost every scene in the course of the nigh-on 360-minute running time, not even the other high quality elements can do much to cure the overall rather shaky impression this gives. (05/10/2004)

The standard of co-production miniseries adaptations under French sponsorship has reached the end of its downward journey. And Gerard Depardieu was always a part of it. First with the fantastic The Count of Monte Cristo, then with the skillfully made Les Misérables, and finally with this striking decline in quality. The fragmented dialogue and disjointed storyline are so evident that I literally pitied the perfect actors. (22/05/2005)