Ridley Scott's 'Napoleon' : A quart into a pint pot?

 When I first saw the trailer for this film and having in mind his previous hits 'Gladiator' and 'Kingdom of Heaven' I thought this is a film I will enjoy.  Well, I went to watch it last Thursday and left feeling somewhat underwhelmed.  Overall, the film felt disjointed, scenes in Paris being followed without any explanation by battle action.  For instance, Napoleon was crowned (or crowned himself) emperor and before you know it, he is at Austerlitz.  The battle scenes were well presented, though, as usual, the cavalry charges were long distance gallops, rather than the more measured advance the regulations prescribed.  In addition everything felt rushed, perhaps the subject matter was too great for just one film?  One curious move was to have the infantry digging shallow trenches at Waterloo, not something I have ever come across when reading about the battle.  Also, at the end of the battle the Prussians seem to be coming from the French left (ie the west) rather than the right. 

Joaquin Phoenix is too old to play a 24 year old at the siege of Toulon (1793) indeed he doesn't seem to age at all between then and Waterloo, over 20 years later.  This again would support a two film approach, however, given the costs involved this is unlikely to happen.  As a spectacle the film succeeds, as a film about Napoleon, I feel it misses the mark. 

A day out to FIASCO at Leeds

 At the weekend, for the first time in over a decade, Steve and I visited Leeds to attend the Fiasco show.  In the foyer, Ken Riley (aka Yarkshire Gamer) was putting on an AWI game portraying the Battle of Germantown.

Once inside the show proper the majority of the games on offer were much smaller and often demonstrated particular rule sets.  One such was this Dark Ages game by the Wargames Shop.

Kirklees Wargames Club brought their Wars of the Roses, Battle of Ferrybridge game, using the Basic Impetus rules

A game I saw at Phalanx in June by All Hell let Loose, was also present.  Once again the dramatic presentation drew lots of attention.  

Legendary Wargames presented a Sudan game

There has been a lot of interest in the Black Seas models and rules  produced by Warlord Games and the SRWGC had a game on show.

A handy way of keeping track of the individual ship states

One thing I liked was the 'pared down' treatment of the ship models, no ratlines and reduced rigging.  Giving one of the models the suggested levels of rigging etc is a stretch for my meagre model making skills.  These models are still very presentable, so it may be a way I can at last tackle the backlog of work at the wargame amatuer shipyard.

The trade was well represented and I was particularly glad to see two particular traders.  Firstly Irregular Miniatures who provide an excellent service, but I normally only see at the Vapnartak show each February and secondly Stonewall Figures.  Now, I haven't seen Stonewall since the days of the Triples Show at Sheffield.  Their 15mm Napoleonic range is very extensive and the figures have a good 'presence'.  Chatting to the owner, it seems that the Fiasco show is the only one he attends in the North, being based in Cornwall, it is hardly surprising.  However, it was nice to be re-acquainted with the  range and it sparked an urge to fill some of the gaps (real or otherwise) in my Napoleonic collection.

The bonus of the Fiasco show is that the Armouries is very close and the two venues can be seen on the same day.  All in all, a Grand Day Out.