Stanley Kubrick's Napoleon: The Greatest Movie Never Made

The fascinating tale of Kubrick's unfilmed masterpiece Now available in an unlimited, single-volume edition! For 40 years, Kubrick fans and film buffs have wondered about thedirector's mysterious unmade film on Napoleon Bonaparte. Slated forproduction immediately following the release of 2001: A SpaceOdyssey, Kubrick's "Napoleon" was to be at once a character study and asweeping epic, replete with grandiose battle scenes featuring thousands ofextras. To write his original screenplay, Kubrick embarked on two years ofintensive research; with the help of dozens of assistants and an OxfordNapoleon specialist, he amassed an unparalleled trove of research andpreproduction material, including approximately 15,000 location scoutingphotographs and 17,000 slides of Napoleonic imagery. No stone was leftunturned in Kubrick's nearly-obsessive quest to uncover every piece ofinformation history had to offer about Napoleon. But alas, Kubrick's moviewas not destined to be: the film studios, first M.G.M. and then UnitedArtists, decided such an undertaking was too risky at a time whenhistorical epics were out of fashion. TASCHEN's tribute to this unmade masterpiece makes Kubrick's valiant workon "Napoleon" available to fans for the first time. Based on the original2009 limited edition which featured ten books hidden inside of a carved outreproduction of a Napoleon history book, this publication brings all theoriginal elements together in one volume. Herein, all of the books from theoriginal edition are reproduced in facsimile: correspondence, costumestudies, location scouting photographs, research material, script drafts,and more.Kubrick's final draft is reproduced in its entirety. The text book features the complete original treatment, essays examiningthe screenplay in historical and dramatic contexts, an essay by Jean Tulardon Napoleon in cinema, and a transcript of interviews Kubrick conductedwith Oxford professor Felix Markham. The culmination of years of researchand preparation, this unique publication offers readers a chance toexperience the creative process of one of cinema's greatest talents as wellas a fascinating exploration of the enigmatic figure that was NapoleonBonaparte. *Includes access to searchable/downloadable online research database:Kubrick's complete picture file of nearly 17,000 Napoleonic images*