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What a conundrum. Do I see this truncated cut of NAPOLEON this weekend like I planned or wait for the “complete” version to drop on Apple TV+ (whenever that’s slated to happen)?

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I mean, it’s probably your only chance to get the full big-screen spectacle.

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Napoleon is such a fascinating figure it's a shame to reduce him such as this movie seems to. Oh well, still excited to see it even if I will bore my movie companions afterwards with my historical complaints!

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Nov 25, 2023Liked by Scott Tobias

I really loved the performances in Maestro and was enjoying the film a lot while I was watching it - knowing essentially nothing about Bernstein coming in (save his perhaps misguided mentorship of Lydia Tár). But looking him up later I was struck by how the film omits the couple's political activism. It seems to have been a major part of their lives and yet you'd think watching that they were almost completely apolitical. It's such a weird choice to leave that out, particularly when including it could show the shared values that helped make their relationship work.

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And, as the title suggests, we learn more about Bernstein than Montealegre. Or at least have to fill in a lot of blanks ourselves, as with that fleeting reference to pills and the brief shot of her popping one.

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