Since the critical embargo was lifted, reactions to Napoleon (Napoleon), Ridley Scott’s historical fresco, go in all directions. This, like the performance of the film’s star, Joaquin Phoenix. However, whatever opinion one has of the film, its technical and artistic qualities are undeniable. This is particularly true of the remarkable costumes created by Janty Yates and David Crossman, whose The duty spoke ahead of the film’s November 22 release.
To summarize the roles of each, Janty Yates was responsible for city costumes, while David Crossman was responsible for military clothing, his specialty.
“My first instinct was to want to know Napoleon; know him from his birth to his death,” says Janty Yates, an Oscar winner for the costumes she designed for the award-winning Gladiator (Gladiator), by the same Ridley Scott.
“Consequently, I visited all the museums dedicated to him: in Provence, in Paris… I did careful research… All this to finally leave almost all of Napoleon’s costumes to David, since he proves that the emperor almost never took off his uniform.
For the record, Janty Yates is on his fifteenth collaboration with Ridley Scott. David Crossman reunites with the filmmaker for the fourth time.
“Janty called me and told me that Ridley would be making this film… Taken from the perspective of costumes, military costumes in particular, Napoleon, it’s a bit like a kind of distant dream that we don’t really think we’ll ever be able to realize. And then suddenly it’s a reality. It’s the epic tale of all epic tales,” summarizes David Crossman, who is also in the film credits. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) And The Batman (The Batman).
Artistic documentation
Knowing all of this, as much as the project was exciting, it was also intimidating.
“I wanted to do justice to the subject, I wanted to do things well,” continues David Crossman. I studied the script to determine the exact requirements, and we didn’t have access to a script for a while… Almost all military costumes had to be made from scratch. »
In fact, the few real ones that remain fall into tatters or are too fragile. As for those from previous films, they are not necessarily in good condition, or even historically correct. David Crossman opines:
“I dissected the battles, isolated the infantry, the cavalry, etc. I don’t know if people will notice, but we quietly gave the soldiers distinct looks for each battle, using both elements of the environment and period paintings for reference. It must be said that this period has been abundantly documented by artists of the time. »
Similar story from Janty Yates:
“At the Louvre, I gathered visual information for Joséphine, and I noticed how radical the costumes at that time were for women. During this period, noble women freed themselves from corsets — in crowd scenes, we can see that common women still wore them. Women then wore little or no underwear; they had nothing to support their breasts, except a wire running under their chest… The underwires under the dresses were abandoned… It was incredible! »
The rule of the unexpected
It is known that unforeseen events are inherent in the production of a film. That of Napoleon was no exception, as Janty Yates testifies.
“We changed actresses to play Joséphine six weeks before filming. Luckily, Vanessa [Kirby]who is superb in the film, and Jodie [Comer], who had to leave for a play where she performed a tour de force, have the same grandeur. However, it required a lot of rework. Added to this was a new storyline at Christmas, which included 35 new characters, including Napoleon’s mother and Joséphine’s daughter, who alone needed 12 dresses… All this to be accomplished in about five weeks…”
In terms of challenges, one of David Crossman’s main challenges was, in a way, to camouflage the excellence of his work. In that the uniforms could not look new: they had to appear to have been worn for a while by their respective soldier or officer.
For the sake of realism, all these military cast-offs also had to display, depending on the sequences, varying levels of wear, damage and/or soiling (mud, blood).
“The State was bankrupt, there had been the Revolution, poverty reigned: there was a lot of civilian clothing mixed with military clothing,” notes David Crossman. Gradually, it evolves towards Napoleon’s Grande Armée, at the Battle of Austerlitz, perhaps his most brilliant victory… Afterwards, we once again witness a certain decline in imperial uniforms…”
The eye in the viewfinder
We suspect it, if Janty Yates and David Crossman work so frequently with the director ofAlien (The stranger — the 8the passenger) And The Martian (Alone on Mars), is that they appreciate the man and the work.
“What distinguishes Ridley from all other filmmakers in my opinion is his very strong and very distinct visual style,” confides the second. He explains something to you, and then he starts to draw it for you and gives you the sketch, which you will then be able to recognize in the finished film. »
The said sketches are, it is well known in the industry, remarkable in their execution. David Crossman concluded:
“Ridley trusts his collaborators: you show him different possibilities, but he is very “day to day”. When the moment comes, he looks through his camera’s viewfinder, and that’s usually where you get your definitive answer as to what’s going to happen. »
And there it is, too, something as intimidating as it is exciting.
The film Napoleon hits theaters on November 22. Read our review published on November 14.