Empires - Napoleon - Region 1 DVD

The best bet is to not watch it all in one take. PBS aired the show in two two-hour segments, which is about right. The piece is polished and dramatic but lags during some lengthy battle scenes. Yet by the end, viewers will feel like they've just finished a quickie college history class--a very good one. Watching Napoleon is like stepping into a glorious painting, one that tells in vivid brush strokes the story of a man determined to be master of the universe. --Joni Balter

For nearly two decades he strode the world stage like a colossus -- loved and despised, venerated and feared. From his birth on the rugged island of Corsica to his final exile on the godforsaken island of St. Helena, NAPOLEON brings this extraordinary figure to life. NAPOLEON bears passionate witness to a man whose charisma swayed an empire and sparked his exalted belief in his own destiny.