I have not read the novel and have no desire to do so. This film is a sort of summit of 1950's opulence, and to a certain extent with its Cinemascope and lavish rooms it is more or less in the same league of similar Cinemascope epics dealing with ' history ', and they were mainly Biblical. There is no violence on battlefields which unlike King Vidor's non-Cinemascope ' War and Peace ' does visually show us the appalling nature of those suffering after the retreat from Moscow. This is a major flaw in my opinion as the film rests solidly in drawing rooms, decorative Balls and endless conversation. Marlon Brando after his great roles in films such as ' A Streetcar Named Desire ' tries hard at being Napoleon and I am convinced I saw a smile on his face when it should not have been there. It seemed to say I am not really buying this fantasy. Jean Simmons gives it her all, and her acting is splendid, but then she was truly one of the 1950's greatest presences on screen. The rest of the cast are adequate, and the film no doubt was great entertainment at the time. I am no authority on Napoleon, except he missed out on an united Europe. To sum up this film just avoids being dull, and sadly I found the final scene to be problematic to say the least. Its one virtue was its horizontal stairs and balcony. Excellent Cinemascope. .
Review of Désirée
