Ridley Scott releases surprise 'Napoleon' director's cut with whopping 3.5-hour runtime (original) (raw)

Napoleon just got a lot taller… er, longer.

Apple TV+ released a surprise director's cut of Ridley Scott's Napoleon Thursday. The new cut of the movie incorporates an additional 48 minutes of previously unreleased footage, which brings the new running time to a staggering 205 minutes, as the version that hit theaters in November already ran 157 minutes.

Joaquin Phoenix as Napoleon Bonaparte in 'Napoleon'.

Courtesy of Sony Pictures/Apple Original Films

Scott announced the new Napoleon cut in a cheeky video (see below). "Hello, people of the internet!" the director says before questioning the script. "'Hello, people of the internet'? Really?" The filmmaker goes on to express his enthusiasm for the film. "I'm thrilled to announce that Napoleon: The Director's Cut is now exclusively on Apple TV+, complete with the newly added scenes that expand the scope of this epic production. Watch it now."

"F---in' great, that's good for me," Scott adds as he signs off, ever the curmudgeon.

Incredibly, the director's cut's 205-minute runtime might actually be shorter than Scott's initial plan for an alternate version. While promoting the movie's theatrical release in October, the filmmaker told Total Film that his personal cut of the film ran 250 minutes, or 4 hours and 10 minutes.

Napoleon stars Scott's Gladiator collaborator Joaquin Phoenix as Napoleon Bonaparte. The film highlighted the French emperor's tense relationship with his wife Josephine (played by Vanessa Kirby), and also depicted several intense battles throughout Bonaparte's military career. Napoleon was ultimately nominated for three Oscars: Best Costume Design, Best Production Design, and Best Visual Effects.

The director's cut of Napoleon comes shortly before Scott releases his next project, Gladiator II. The long-gestating follow-up to the filmmaker's iconic Best Picture winner stars Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, and Joseph Quinn.

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Joaquin Phoenix as Napoleon Bonaparte in Ridley Scott's 'Napoleon'.

Sony Pictures

Few filmmakers have made as extensive use of director's cuts as Scott has. Of his 28 feature-length directorial efforts, 11 have now received some version of an extended cut (though not all of them are specifically labeled director's cuts): Alien, Blade Runner, Legend, Gladiator, Black Hawk Down, Kingdom of Heaven, American Gangster, Robin Hood, The Counselor, The Martian, and Napoleon. Fans insist that some of these alternate cuts — Blade Runner and Kingdom of Heaven in particular — are vastly superior to their theatrical alternatives. Additionally, Scott and his collaborators have claimed to have much lengthier cuts of his movies that haven't yet received director's cuts, including Black Rain, 1492: Conquest of Paradise, The Last Duel, and House of Gucci.

Napoleon: The Director's Cut's 3.5-hour runtime makes it the longest movie in Scott's filmography, beating out the transformative Kingdom of Heaven's director's cut, which clocked in at 189 minutes (or 194 with additional elements during roadshow presentations).

Napoleon: The Director's Cut is now streaming on Apple TV+.