The Emperor's New Clothes

20012001
PGPG
1h 47m

Ian Holm in The Emperor's New Clothes (2001)

Comedy Drama Romance

During Napoleon's exile on St. Helena, some loyalists hire a look-alike to swap places with the deposed Emperor. While the impostor lives in luxury on the island, the real Napoleon returns t... Read allDuring Napoleon's exile on St. Helena, some loyalists hire a look-alike to swap places with the deposed Emperor. While the impostor lives in luxury on the island, the real Napoleon returns to Paris in order to retake the throne.During Napoleon's exile on St. Helena, some loyalists hire a look-alike to swap places with the deposed Emperor. While the impostor lives in luxury on the island, the real Napoleon returns to Paris in order to retake the throne.

Director
- Alan Taylor
Writers
- Simon Leys(novel "The Death of Napoleon")
- Kevin Molony(screenplay)
- Alan Taylor(screenplay)
Stars

See production, box office & company info

See production, box office & company info

See more at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 win

Ian Holm in The Emperor's New Clothes (2001)

Ian Holm in The Emperor's New Clothes (2001)

Ian Holm and Iben Hjejle in The Emperor's New Clothes (2001)

Iben Hjejle in The Emperor's New Clothes (2001)

Ian Holm in The Emperor's New Clothes (2001)

Ian Holm, Sergio Ercolessi, and Alan Taylor in The Emperor's New Clothes (2001)

Iben Hjejle and Alan Taylor in The Emperor's New Clothes (2001)

Ian Holm and Alan Taylor in The Emperor's New Clothes (2001)

Promo poster

Ian Holm in The Emperor's New Clothes (2001)

Ian Holm in The Emperor's New Clothes (2001)

Ian Holm in The Emperor's New Clothes (2001)

Director
- Alan Taylor
Writers
- Simon Leys(novel "The Death of Napoleon")
- Kevin Molony(screenplay)
- Alan Taylor(screenplay)
All cast & crew
See more cast details at IMDbPro

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Napoleon, exiled, devises a plan to retake the throne. He'll swap places with commoner Sergeant Eugene Lenormand, sneak into Paris, then Lenormand will reveal himself and Napoleon will regain his throne. Things don't go at all well. First, the journey proves to be more difficult than expected, but more disastrously, Lenormand enjoys himself too much to reveal the deception. Napoleon adjusts somewhat uneasily to the life of a commoner while waiting, while Lenormand gorges on rich food. —Jon Reeves <jreeves@imdb.com>

horse drawn carriage horse carriage melon campaign dual identity st. helena 36 more

Taglines
- The world's most powerful man is about to fight his greatest battle... between love and glory.
Genres
Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
- Rated PG for brief language
Parents guide
- Add content advisory

Trivia
Sir Ian Holm also played Napoléon Bonaparte in Time Bandits (1981) and Napoleon and Love (1974); in the 1970s, Stanley Kubrick approached him to star in his aborted biopic.

Goofs
While on board ship Napoleon is beckoned to go top side by the black sailor to watch the sun rise, the ship is then seen heading from left to right across the sea with the rising sun breaking the horizon behind it, completely wrong because the ship was heading North towards France so the ship should have been going right to left with the sun rising behind in the East.

Quotes
Eugene: My guts have been troubling me of late.
Montholon: Perhaps Your Royal Highness would not suffer such pains if he did not sit around on his fat arse all day, stuffing his face like a pig.
Eugene: [through a mouthful of sweets] I wish to consult a doctor.
Montholon: Do you indeed?
Eugene: An Italian doctor. No, German! The best there is!
Montholon: You'll have your doctor when you've done your duty, not before.
[Eugene reaches for another sweet]
Montholon: [shouts] And stop stuffing your damn face!
[Eugene stands up abruptly, gasping, and keels over]

Connections
Referenced in Film Geek (2005)

Top review

7/10

The true story of Napoleon Bonaparte's final days

"The Emporer's New Clothes" is a revisionist historical romantic comedy which tells of Napoleon Bonaparte's escape from exile on St. Helena and return to France to reclaim his throne. Traveling incognito, Bonaparte (Holm) hooks up with a comely widow Pumpkin (Hjejle) who takes some of the starch out of the "Little Corporal's" skivvies while setting his crusty old heart aglow. A charming period piece with exotic locations, this film pairs a tour de force by Holm with an all too rare performance by versatile beauty (Hjejle) in a happy mix of drama, subtle comedy, and light hearted romance. (B)

helpful•21

1

=G=
Dec 14, 2002

Release date
- December 7, 2001 (Italy)
Countries of origin
Language
- English
Also known as
- My Napoleon
Filming locations
- Turin, Piedmont, Italy
Production companies
See more company credits at IMDbPro

Gross US & Canada
- $661,903
Opening weekend US & Canada
- $7,474
- Jun 16, 2002
Gross worldwide
- $1,236,182

See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

Runtime
1 hour 47 minutes
Sound mix
- Dolby Digital
Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1

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