Summary

Ridley Scott used a multi-camera setup and allowed actors to improvise, resulting in a funny sex scene in the Napoleon movie. Scott’s past historical epics have taken a serious approach, so the humorous approach in Napoleon has surprised audiences. Some scenes in the movie were intentionally meant to be funny, including the seduction scene and the moment when Napoleon crawls under the table.

Napoleon director Ridley Scott details how he made one particular sex scene funny. Released in theaters on November 22, the historical epic follows the rise and fall of the iconic French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, played by the Oscar-winning Joaquin Phoenix. The film, with a script written by David Scarpa, focuses on the many battles that Napoleon fought, but also his addictive and volatile relationship with Empress Joséphine (Vanessa Kirby), with the two sharing a vigorous sex life.

During a recent appearance on IndieWire’s Filmmaker Toolkit podcast, Scott detailed how he made the Napoleon movie’s sex scenes with Joséphine funny. The director famously uses a multi-camera setup which allows him to quickly capture many different angles, though it also gives his actors the freedom to improvise. This was especially beneficial for the sex scene when Napoleon crawls underneath the table which, because of Phoenix’s improvisation, became funny. Read Scott’s full explanation below:

Sex can get boring. Therefore we decided to make all the sensual scenes amusing — though by being amusing, it adds sensuality to them, strangely enough. The scene where he crawls underneath the table at breakfast time was unplanned. He just did that. I put a tablecloth on so I could maximize the shadow of this guy crawling underneath the table grunting like a little pig. So it becomes comical.

The Napoleon Movie Is Surprisingly Funny

Ridley Scott is certainly no stranger to the historical epic, having directed Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven, Robin Hood, and Exodus: Gods and Kings, the first of which features an Oscar-nominated, villainous performance from Joaquin Phoenix as Commodus. Because Scott’s past historical epics all took a serious approach to their subjects, the same was expected for his reunion with Phoenix 23 years later. In turn, Napoleon’s humorous approach has taken audiences by surprise.

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Many viewers were also confused by the comedy and left wondering whether the Napoleon movie was meant to be intentionally funny. However, in several interviews, Scott has confirmed that several scenes were meant to be comedic. For instance, the director says the scene when Joséphine first seduces Napoleon is “the funniest scene. It’s brilliant. And [the lines are] meant to be funny.”

The scene when Napeolon crawls underneath the table is another example of the movie’s unexpected comedy. Though Phoenix originally improvised it, Scott enhanced the humor by adding a tablecloth to create the image of Napoleon’s shadow crawling underneath the table toward Joséphine. It’s evident that the comedic elements in Napeolon, while unexpected, were just as carefully crafted as any other intentional choice by Scott.

Napoleon is playing in theaters and will be released on Apple TV+ at a later date.

Source: IndieWire’s Filmmaker Toolkit

Napoleon Release Date: 2023-11-22 Director: Array Cast: Array Rating: R Runtime: 158 Minutes Genres: Array Writers: Array Studio(s): Array Distributor(s): Array