"Napoleon Rising: An epic drama charting Napoleon Bonaparte's meteoric rise in the early years of the French revolution, set against his tumultuous relationship with Josephine. Written by Anthony Burgess but never performed in his lifetime and now adapted for radio by Anjum Malik. Part of Radio 3's Napoleon season, marking 200 years since his famous retreat from Moscow.
Burgess was fascinated by Napoleon and wrote a novel, Napoleon Symphony, using the structure of Beethoven's Eroica symphony, originally written in honour of the French leader. Burgess approached director Stanley Kubrick about using the novel as the basis for a film Kubrick planned about Napoleon - the two had worked together on Burgess's A Clockwork Orange. Kubrick politely declined. Burgess then wrote the play: Napoleon Rising - but it never reached the stage."
Tomorrow at 8.30pm.
Burgess was fascinated by Napoleon and wrote a novel, Napoleon Symphony, using the structure of Beethoven's Eroica symphony, originally written in honour of the French leader. Burgess approached director Stanley Kubrick about using the novel as the basis for a film Kubrick planned about Napoleon - the two had worked together on Burgess's A Clockwork Orange. Kubrick politely declined. Burgess then wrote the play: Napoleon Rising - but it never reached the stage."
Tomorrow at 8.30pm.
), clunking characterisation, bedroom scenes with Napoleon competing with a dog for Josephine's affections, awful dialogue (interesting to hear Napoleon using the word "proleptically" in a speech) and though ostensibly punctuated by extracts from the Eroica, strangely accompanied in an Austrian scene by a waltz from the younger Johann Strauss. I'm not surprised that Kubrick did not go ahead with it as the basis of a film. Devised originally as a novel, then rewritten as a stage play, then adapted as a radio play - not a good foundation for radio drama.
Comment