Cheap Napoleon (PBS Empires Series) (DVD) (David Grubin) Price

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Customer Reviews of Napoleon (PBS Empires Series)

Excellent documentary
For some strange reason when I purchased this DVD I thought it was a film rather than a documentary. However I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of this 4 hour documentary which is all included on one double sided DVD. The documentary looks at Napoleon's life from the cradle to the grave and includes all facets of his life not just his military genius. That is not to say that Napoleons battles are ommitted as his major campaigns are examined and the reasons which brought them about (including his proposed invasion of Britain).

Napoleon who was of Corsican birth orginally despised the French but in time came to love France and saw himself not only as defender of the revolution but almost as the crusade againsnt monarchism in Europe. Napoleon strongly beleived in his star and will power.

The documentary makes great use of Napoleonic art work and historians from France, Russia, Germany, Britain and the USA (including Colonel John R Etling co author of "A Military History and Atlas of the Napoleonic Wars"). There are also some battle recreations but only on a small scale.

The documentary does a fine job of trying to cover everything or is much as it can in 4 one hour parts, from childhood, solidering, Josephine, the Grand Army, changes brought about in France, master of Europe, exile and death.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching this DVD and recommend it to anyone with an interest in history or the Napoleonic wars. The only disappointment was the colour quality, for red seemed to look more like purple on occassions. For that reason alone I have not given 5 stars.

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Profound documentary on a profound induvidual.
PBS is to be congratulated for their effort and end result with this documentary. It covers every detail of the emporer's life from cradle to grave. His life as a child is discussed detailing his attatchment to his mother and disattatchment if you will to his father for being to 'French'. All of this leading up to his military academy training in France and the beginning of one of the most spectacular military careers in modern history. The military campaigns are well documented and detailed as well as how his role in the military led to his involvement in revolutionary politics, his gaining control of France, then most of Europe, and eventually his defeat, twice. Keep in mind that the entire time you are told of what is going on in Napoleon's professional life, you are kept abreast of what is going on in his personal world as well. It is all held together with excellent commentary from several different historians, mostly French, from around the world which give the documentary a definite air of authenticity. A must for students of French history or those interested in the genre.

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Russian Winter Again . . . And Summer, Too
Oh, Josephine . . . flowers, gardens and harp-playing. An acute and penetrating analysis of historical events! Vive l'Empereur!

. . . It is amusing how even almost two centuries later, a French historian (!) refuses to admit that someone could have possibly understood The Great French Military Genius.

Why on Earth Mikhail Kutuzov 'possibly did not understand, but just sensed' Napoleon's intentions for the battle of Austerlitz? No wonder the General, who broke the backbone of Le Grand Armee in Russia, wasn't even mentioned again in this rather lengthy documentary. Why bother?

The Spaniards revolted against Bonaparte because 'they loved their country more than he loved his,' but the invasion to Russia turned out to be a mistake because Russian summer was too hot and Russian winter was too cold (same all too often applies to Hitler). According to the creators of the 'Empires,' Russians were able to give only one battle and burn their own (former) capital city down . . . um, yes, there were also cossacks, but that's it.

I'd expect something like that from the History Channel, but not from PBS . . .