英國名導演列尼史葛的人物傳記電影「拿破崙」，上映之後毀譽參半，批評的人說選角錯誤，男主角太老、與史實不符，而且過分著重與其妻約瑟芬的關係，反而削弱了龐大的時代感。 The biographical film “Napoleon” by the famous British director Ridley Scott was released to mixed reviews, with critics saying that the casting was wrong, the actor was too old, inconsistent with historical facts, and the excessive emphasis on the relationship with his wife Josephine weakened the huge sense of the times.

拿破崙是很重要的歷史人物，這個人物卻似乎沒有甚麼電影緣。70 年代初期，美國演員洛史德加飾演過拿破崙，加拿大小生基斯杜化龐馬出演威靈頓公爵，賣座反應平平。 Napoleon is an important historical figure, but this character seems to have little cinematic connection. In the early 70s, American actor Rod Steiger played Napoleon, and Canadian actor Christopher Plummer played the Duke of Wellington, which was a mediocre hit.

拿破崙之所以難拍，因為是過分複雜的人物。他出身於法國大革命之時，是一名小炮兵，在大革命期間，奉命維護初生的革命政權，又以無比的天才，擊退歐洲的侵略軍隊，從而開創了他自己的時代。 Napoleon is difficult to adopt on screen because he is an overly complex figure. Born in the French Revolution as a small artilleryman, he was ordered to defend the nascent revolutionary regime during the Revolution, and with great genius, he repelled the invading armies of Europe, thus inaugurating his own era.

然而拿破崙本人的政治思想並不突出。雖然他是革命的得益者，卻並無太大的理想，反而有個人的軍事野心，令他利用時勢，率領法國軍隊橫掃歐洲、開拓埃及。 However, the political ideas of Napoleon himself did not stand out. Although he was a beneficiary of the revolution, he did not have much ambition but had personal military ambitions, which led him to take advantage of the situation and lead the French army to sweep through Europe and open up Egypt.

對於法國人，拿破崙固然是民族英雄，令法國的帝國主義精神，相比英國後來居上。然而法國大革命的基本精神卻是自由、平等、博愛，不論在法國，還是歐洲，還是歐洲以外的世界，理應人人平等，他自己卻稱帝，違背了法國大革命廢除王室的基本原則。 For the French, Napoleon was certainly a national hero, and the imperialist spirit of France was superior to that of England. However, the basic spirit of the French Revolution was freedom, equality, and fraternity, and everyone should be equal in France, in Europe, and in the world outside Europe.

拿破崙對歐洲和非洲的侵略，又陰差陽錯，將法國革命的自由平等思想廣為散播。然而，如果自由平等就是拿破崙的價值觀，他自己為何要稱帝？這一切，相信當兵出身的拿破崙自己，也不甚了了。 Napoleon’s aggression against Europe and Africa, by mistake, spread the ideas of freedom and equality of the French Revolution. However, if freedom and equality were Napoleon’s values, why did he himself claim the title of emperor?

因此將這個人物搬上銀幕，在定位的問題上，就有很大困難。況且 21 世紀，躺平的下一代不喜歡思考，對歷史的複雜也不甚了了，左右兩種思想激烈衝突，在英語世界，發展成性別戰爭之極端，恐怕對於拿破崙這個人，能深入分析者也寥寥無幾。 Therefore, it is very difficult to put this character on the screen in terms of positioning. Moreover, in the 21st century, the next generation does not like to think and does not know much about the complexity of history, and the two ideas of the left and right are in a fierce conflict, in the English-speaking world, it has developed into an extreme of gender wars, and I am afraid that there are very few people who can analyze Napoleon in depth.

既是如此，拿破崙對於玩手機遊戲長大的一代，未免吸引力大減。不過挑戰困難，是電影大師的誘惑。鬼才導演寇比力克生前想拍拿破崙，列尼史葛則繼承遺志，卻因為選角年紀太老，以至此片功虧一簣。 That being the case, Napoleon’s appeal to the generation that grew up playing mobile games was much less appealing. However, the challenge is difficult, which is the temptation of the master of cinema. The genius director Kubrick wanted to shoot Napoleon before his death, and Ridley Scott inherited the legacy, but because the casting was too old, the film fell short.

況且拿破崙的愛情故事，與激烈的戰爭場面相比，又略嫌俗套，缺乏波折。拿破崙死後，餘威影響深遠，促使王室的波旁王朝復闢，但又被法國人民再次推翻。1830 年爆發的七月革命，此時拿破崙已經逝世超過 5 年，路易十六的弟弟查理十世回朝，封閉報館、取締創作自由，法國的知識分子想起了革命的思想，為拿破崙的精神鼓舞，將王室再次推翻。 Moreover, Napoleon’s love story, compared with the fierce war scenes, is a little cliché and lacks twists and turns. After Napoleon’s death, the aftermath was far-reaching, prompting the restoration of the Bourbon dynasty of the royal family, only to be overthrown again by the French people. When the July Revolution broke out in 1830, more than 5 years after Napoleon’s death, Louis XVI’s younger brother Charles X returned to the court, closed the newspaper and banned creative freedom, the French intellectuals remembered the revolutionary ideas, inspired Napoleon’s spirit, and overthrew the royal family again.

然而拿破崙影響了後來德國的鐵血宰相卑斯麥，卑斯麥又隔代影響了希特拉。直至今日，侵略烏克蘭的普京，以狂熱的民族愛國主義為號召，也不無拿破崙的影子。拿破崙定位忠奸之困難，即在於此。 However, Napoleon influenced the later German iron-blooded prime minister, Bismarck, who in turn influenced Hitler from generation to generation. To this day, Putin, who invaded Ukraine, has called for fanatical national patriotism, and there is no shadow of Napoleon. This is where Napoleon’s difficulty in locating loyalists lies.

不過今日的世界，黑白二分，誰是好人、誰是壞人，再沒有人願意詳細研究。科幻與未來的狂想，遠遠比對歷史的反省更有吸引力。列尼史葛的新作，就注定吃力不討好了。 However, in today’s world, there is a dichotomy between black and white, and no one wants to study in detail who is the good guy and who is the bad guy. Science fiction and the rhapsody of the future are far more appealing than the reflection on history. Ridley Scott’s new work is destined to be thankless.

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