Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #166563 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-06-27
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Running time: 110 minutes

Customer Reviews

a good solid historical romance
although not totally historically correct, desiree is the story of the spirited daughter of a silk merchant who was napoleon's first love. she went on to marry jean-baptiste bernadotte when napoleon married the more politically beneficial josephine. the marriage was better for desiree since jean-baptiste was a soldier who rose from the ranks, became one of napoleon's marshals, one of his biggest detractors, one of his conquerors, and eventually king of sweden. all through this time is the rivalry involving desiree as well as the struggle for power and the thrones of europe. jean simmons gives her usual good performance, marlon brando is a convincing napoleon, and michael rennie shines as bernadotte. a very watchable movie.

Overall Faithful Production
Although there are some historical inaccuracies [Napoleon did not surrender his sword to Desiree, and some other small "enhancements"], and Jean Simmons is something of a drawback to the film, it's definitely worth watching. Marlon Brando's performance manages to capture the historical idea of Napoleon very well- the great intensity of his personality, the underlying brilliance and insatiable ambition. Napoleon is both repellent and fascinating at the same time. One can understand how, at his best, he hypnotized almost the whole of Europe. But he is perfidious also, dismissive of the death and destruction he caused on his way to accomplish his aims. Really, the character of Napoleon and Marlon Brando's rendition of it is the only reason to watch this film. Jean Simmons' Desiree is lovely and winsome, but kind of vapid. One wonders what Napoleon and Bernadotte saw in her. Michael Rennie's performance is very good in his role as Bernadotte, and he is not overshadowed at all by the strength of Brando's performance. His scenes with Napoleon are wonderful. Until something better comes along [unlikely...] this is the one to watch for a period piece about Napoleon.

Overall worth watching
Having read some of the other reviews of this movie I felt compelled to submit my own. I have long been fascinated by Napoleon and I have read and watched just about everything on his life that I can get my hands on. I found Brando's portrayal of Napoleon subtle and powerful. After having seen at least a half dozen different actors play Napoleon in various movies, Brando's has always stood head and shoulders above the rest to me. The story is not entirely accurate, but all the main elements of the story are pretty close (except Napoleon surrendering his sword to Desiree). The costumes and sets are outstanding in a way that seems to be captured only in old movies. This is not an in-depth analysis of Napoleon's life, rather, it focuses on Desiree, a one-time fiance of Napoleon. While that story is interesting, I find myself waiting for the next Brando scene. Brando does a magnificent job capturing the eneregy and confidence of the young Napoleon, and the fatigue and desperation of the defeated Napoleon. Brando's scene when he considers Bernadotte's request to renounce his French citizenship is brilliant. The movie is almost worth this scene alone.