Joséphine ou la comédie des ambitions (1979)

Actors: Jean-Jacques Moreau (actor), Jean-Luc Moreau (actor), José Lifante (actor), Jean-Paul Farré (actor), Fernand Berset (actor), Jean Martinelli (actor), Daniel Mesguich (actor), François-Eric Gendron (actor), Féodor Atkine (actor), Bernard Farcy (actor), Bruno Balp (actor), Fernando Hilbeck (actor), Vernon Dobtcheff (actor), Gisèle Grimm (actress), Henri Tisot (actor),

Genres: Drama,

Madame Sans-Gêne (1961)

Actors: Ida Galli (actress), Analía Gadé (actress), Tomás Blanco (actor), Robert Dalban (actor), Carlo Giuffrè (actor), Robert Hossein (actor), Julien Bertheau (actor), Renaud Mary (actor), Fernando Sancho (actor), Gianrico Tedeschi (actor), Renato Terra (actor), Enrique Ávila (actor), Xan das Bolas (actor), Marina Berti (actress), Sophia Loren (actress),

Plot: Catherine, an out-spoken Parisian laundress follows Napoleon's army to the battlefront to be near her Sergeant Lefevre. The couple perform a deed of heroism which abets Napoleon's victory, so that after the war the grateful Emperor bestows on the now married couple the title of Duke and Duchess. Catherine squabbles with Napoleon's haughty sisters, scandalizes the nobility with her lack of courtly manners, flirts with the men - and consistently creates havoc as she remains true to her earthy background.

Keywords: based-on-book, based-on-play, battle, character-name-in-title, french-revolution, military-parade, remake, social-conflict
Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance, War,

Austerlitz (1960)

Actors: Georges Marchal (actor), Jean-Marc Bory (actor), Ettore Manni (actor), Jean Marais (actor), Guy Delorme (actor), Vittorio De Sica (actor), Fernand Fabre (actor), Rossano Brazzi (actor), Henri-Jacques Huet (actor), Jean Degrave (actor), Jacques Castelot (actor), Relja Basic (actor), Raoul Billerey (actor), Antun Nalis (actor), Pierre Mondy (actor),

Plot: Another of Napoleon's adventures in this epic reconstruction of the battle of Austerlitz, where he had the greatest victory of his career, over the Russians.

Keywords: 1800s, battle, battlefield, conqueror, emperor, french-army, french-soldier, napoleon-bonaparte, one-word-title, place-name-in-title
Genres: Drama, History,

Désirée (1954)

Actors: Alan Napier (actor), Cameron Mitchell (actor), Lester Matthews (actor), Richard Deacon (actor), Sven Hugo Borg (actor), Colin Kenny (actor), David Leonard (actor), Richard Garrick (actor), Marlon Brando (actor), Jack George (actor), Harry Carter (actor), A. Cameron Grant (actor), John Hoyt (actor), Kenner G. Kemp (actor), Joe Ploski (actor),

Plot: In Marseilles, France in 1794, Desiree Clary, a young millinery clerk, becomes infatuated with Napoleon Bonaparte, but winds up wedding Genaral Jean-Baptiste Berandotte, an aid to Napoleon who later joins the forces that bring about the Emperor's downfall. Josephine Beauharnais, a worldly courtesan marries Napoleon and becomes Empress of France, but is then cast aside by her spouse when she proves unable to produce an heir to the throne.

Keywords: 18th-century, ambition, arranged-marriage, atmosphere, balls, based-on-book, bridge, character-name-in-title, childlessness, citizenship
Genres: Biography, Drama, Romance,

Quotes:

Napoleon Bonaparte: I want my family to be well established. Joseph, particularly. The rest must wait until the victorious culmination of my campaign in Italy.::Desiree Clary: And you think you can do with people precisely what you want? That life is as you say it is?::Napoleon Bonaparte: Have you ever heard of a thing called destiny, Désirée?

Count Brahe: You will enjoy life in Sweden, madame. Stockholm is called the Venice of the north.::Desiree Clary: [Shivering] I prefer the Venice of the south!

Queen Hedwig: [after Desiree dozes off during a boring concert] I will tell you, my dear daughter, how a Crown Princess of Sweden does not behave. A Crown Princess does *not* fall asleep in public. At court functions, she remains awake and converses, graciously.

Desiree Clary: [shouting over an icy wind as they dock in Stockholm] I hope we get indoors soon, Jean-Baptiste! I've worn all my warmest underthings and I'm still freezing! [Her husband raises his eyebrows, a bit shocked but obviously amused] Don't worry, no one's going to pull up my skirts and look!

Napoléon (1927)

Actors: Henry Krauss (actor), Ernest Maupain (actor), Edmond T. Gréville (actor), Abel Gance (actor), Nicolas Koline (actor), Léon Larive (actor), Armand Bernard (actor), Jean Dréville (actor), Robert Arnoux (actor), Jean d'Yd (actor), Paul Amiot (actor), Pierre Ferval (actor), Joë Hamman (actor), Daniel Mendaille (actor), Max Maxudian (actor),

Plot: A massive six-hour biopic of Napoleon, tracing his career from his schooldays (where a snowball fight is staged like a military campaign), his flight from Corsica, through the French Revolution (where a real storm is intercut with a political storm) and the Terror, culminating in his triumphant invasion of Italy in 1797 (the film stops there because it was intended to be part one of six, but director Abel Gance never raised the money to make the other five). The film's legendary reputation is due to the astonishing range of techniques that Gance uses to tell his story, culminating in the final twenty-minute triptych sequence, which alternates widescreen panoramas with complex multiple- image montages projected simultaneously on three screens.

Keywords: 1780s, 1790s, 18th-century, assassination, battle, beach, brother-brother-relationship, bully, campaign, character-name-in-title
Genres: Biography, Drama, History, War,
Taglines: Abel Gance's 1927 Masterpiece [reissue]