Beystiman It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Huievest Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

BallWubba Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

Cooktopi The acting in this movie is really good.

Allegra Sloman Ian Holm brings his classic understated acting to the dual roles of Napoleon and his double Eugene.Minor quibbles... at 70, Ian is a tad old to be playing a 52 year old, and his relationship with the thoroughly yummy Pumpkin (Iben Hjejle, who turned down the role of Arwen for the Lord of the Rings (?! now THERE's an alternate history for ya)) is, erm, best glossed over swiftly. And I know it's a movie, but no street in Paris in 1821 was EVER that clean. Apart from that... in every other respect, the soundtrack, editing, casting, costumes, script and tone, it's great fun, and a suitable movie for when you want to be able to watch something that doesn't have explosions, gun play, anything resembling explicit sex or cursing. You know, over Christmas and Thanksgiving when you're trapped in the house with elderly relatives.Watch out for: Holm's face as his character peruses the booths selling Waterloo memoribilia; The 'melon attack plan' scene, which is going on my personal goodies reel and in which one glimpses what a blazing intellect Napoleon was when faced with a tactical and logistical problem; Iben's face as she addresses her dead husband (best crying I've seen by an actress in many moons); Holm's face as he realizes where the good Dr. Lambert (Tim McInnerny) has ditched him.Eddie Marsan as Marchand is great - he gets one little bit that is priceless; all the rest of the supporting cast, including Nigel Terry (I didn't recognize him from John Boorman's Excalibur) are great.Recommended.

Bill-1035 The basis of the film's is on one of those legends which crop up around great men like weeds on a driveway. This one concerns the Emperor Napoleon who, while in exile on the island of St. Helena after his defeat at the battle of Waterloo, was supposedly replaced in captivity by a lowly sailor doppelganger. Don't expect any major fighting or spy style action because things don't turn out exactly as the plotters expect.As an amateur military historian I found that the film's exposition was very slow as Napoleon's entourage plan to free him from St. Helena. Whether or not this slowness helps those who are unfamiliar with the life of the Emperor is hard to say. However as soon as the great man is free of the island the film gets into its stride and gives us some neat touches of humour and a few nasty jibes at both the tourist trade and bureaucracy. Once in Paris, in order to pass the time while he waits for the signal to start the rising that will see the overthrow of the Bourbon kings of France and his own re-ascension to the throne, Napoleon applies his organisational and tactical gifts to selling groceries with amazing results.The whole film is an exercise in feel-good. No stupendous insights into the character of Napoleon or what it feels like to be cast down from such an elevated position but it all makes for a couple of hours of pleasant amusement. Such a pity that the warm fuzzy feelings engendered by a film like this evaporate so quickly as we emerge from the darkness of the cinema into the harsh light of the car park.

Claudio Carvalho Napoleon Bonaparte (Ian Holm) is exiled in Saint Helena, after being defeated in Waterloo, and his loyal friends plot a daring plan to upraise Paris: Napoleon would swap place with the sailor and deck washer Eugene Lenormand (Ian Holm), and once in Paris with Napoleonic loyalists, Eugene would expose himself to the British troops. However, the ship where Napoleon is hidden does not harbor in Paris, and the impostor enjoys his new lifestyle and does not reveal his true identity. Meanwhile, Napoleon falls in love with Nicole 'Pumpkin' Truchaut (Iben Hjejle), the widow of a loyal soldier of his troops. 'The Emperor's New Clothes' is a great and delightful satire of the last years of Napoleon Bonaparte's life. The cast is magnificent, highlighting the performance of Ian Holm and the gorgeous Iben Hjejle (the young prostitute Liva Psilander of 'Mifune'). The reconstitution of the period and the photography of the streets of Paris are also amazing. The lunatics pretending to be Napoleon, symbol of crazy people, in the institution for mentally ill is one of the funniest parts of the movie. 'The Emperor's New Clothes' has comedy, drama and romance in right doses and is a great entertainment, recommended for the whole family. My vote is eight.Title (Brazil): 'As Novas Roupas do Imperador' ('The Emperor's New Clothes')

LaurieMann This is a charming movie, a shame it didn't get more notice when it was in the theaters.Ian Holm plays Napoleon who uses the old "switcheroo" to escape St. Helena.But his substitute enjoys the job so much that Napoleon's escape is never announced, and he eventually dies leaving "the real Napoleon" loose in France without an army.