In 1812, after 15 years of victory, he met with disaster in the Russian Campaign. By 1813 defeated by the combined forces of Austria, Russia, Prussia and England at Leipzig, Napoleon was driven to the very gates of Paris-there to await his destiny.
[Scene 1
, The Emperor's Abdication]
FONTAINEBLEAU, WENTHDAY, APRIL, 20TH, 1814
Marshal NEY : "There's no hope, Sire."
Marshal SOULT : "We're defeated, Sire."
NEY : "For twenty years, we followed you. You marched with glory
through Europe."
SOULT : "We cannot even save a siege of the Paris."
NEY : "The Austrians...., they are in Versailles."
NEY : "The Cossacks are watering their horses in the Seine."
NEY : "They can hear the Prussian cannons in Montmartre."
SOULT : "There are four nations, four armies, four fronts against
us."
NEY : "Abdicate."
SOULT : "Your enemies will allow you retire to the island of Elba
with a personal-guard of thousand men."
"It is an honorable exile, Sire."
NEY : "There's nothing left you to do, but abdicate."
Marshal OUDINOT : "Sign, Sire. You must sign."
Emperor NAPOLEON : "Why?"
NAPOLEON : "So you all can keep the titles, these're titles I gave
you?"
"What were you before me? Nothing. I made you."
NEY : "You must abdicate, Sire."
SOULT : "Sire."
NAPOLEON : "Listen to me, Ney."
"If there's anything I despise, ... it's ingratitude."
NAPOLEON : "What can I do?"
"What?"
"I sent to the Emperor of Russia for peace. He refused me."
"What can we do?"
"What can we do? What can we do?"
"We can fight!"
NAPOLEON : "Fight! I fortify Paris. I disengage from Austria."
"I find a line and retreat to Italy."
"Above all, we must consolidate,
consolidate, mobilize, mobilize, train the recruits on the march!"
Marshal MACDONALD : "There are no more men to mobilize."
NEY : "The army doesn't want the same thing to happen to Paris
that happened to Moscow."
Marshal SAINT-CYR : "Wellington..."
NAPOLEON : "Wellington?"
"Why is it always Wellington?"
NAPOLEON : "Wellington, Wellington, Wellington, Wellington."
"Why're All so afraid of Wellington? Because he beat you in Spain?
That's why?"
SOULT : "France will not follow you."
NAPOLEON : "France will follow me to the stars, if I give her another
victory."
NEY : "You have no choice."
"You have to give up the throne."
NAPOLEON : "Oh, Ney, Ney, Ney, the throne?"
"Do you know what the throne is, Ney?"
"The throne........, is an over-decorated piece of furniture."
"It's what's behind the throne that counts."
"My brains, my ambitions, my desires, my hope,"
"My imagination, and above all,"
"..... my will."
NAPOLEON : "I can't believe my ears."
"You all stand before me waving a peace of paper crying: `Abdicate,
Abdicate`."
NAPOLEON : "I will not! I will not!, not!!, not!!!"
NAPOLEON : "All his men?"
NAPOLEON : "When?"
Col. LABEDOYERE: "This
morning."
NAPOLEON : [ There is nothing left to do.]
[.... Sign. ]
NAPOLEON : [ Elba, ... Why Elba? ]
LABEDOYERE : "Marshal Marmont has surrendered his army to the
Austrians."
"It was his last hope."
[Scene 2
, The Farewell at Fontainebleau]
NAPOLEON : "Soldiers!..."
"...of my Old-Guard!"
"After twenty years....."
"I have come....."
"to say....."
"goodbye!"
"France has fallen!..."
"...so remember me!"
"Though I love you all, I cannot embrace you all."
NAPOLEON : "With this kiss...."
"remember me."
"Goodbye, my soldiers!"
"Goodbye, my sons!...."
NAPOLEON : "Goodbye,....."
"my children."
MAY 1814, NAPOLEON GOES INTO EXILE ON THE SMALL MEDITERRANEAN ISLAND OF ELBA.
AFTER TEN MONTHS NAPOLEON ESCAPES FROM ELBA. IN A DEPARTURE GAMBLE,
WITH LESS THAN A THOUSAND MEN, HE INVADES THE MAINLAND OF EUROPE.
[Scene 3
, The Monster's Escaped]
TUILERIES MARCH 1ST, 1815
Dr.Vitrolles : "Your Majesty!"
"The monster ... has escaped from Elba."
SOULT : "We can thank God! He is mad enough to land in France."
King LOUIS XVIII : "Well, let's not ... dramatise yet."
LOUIS XVIII : "Napoleon and his followers ... are thousand men."
"They are not really dangerous ... yet."
"Marshal Soult, You'll keep command of our troops here in Paris."
"Marshal Ney, ..."
"You will be the first to confront the werewolf."
LOUIS XVIII : "I know you love this man."
NEY : "I did. ..."
"Once!"
"But I promise you Majesty I'll bring him back to Paris in an
iron cage."
LOUIS XVIII : "............"
LOUIS XVIII : "How they exaggerate all this! ... The soldiers."
"'In an iron cage'?"
"Ha!" "Nobody asked for that."
[Scene 4
, Taking the Fifth]
Guard Soldier A : "There's no way around."
Guard Soldier B : "The way is forward."
Guard Officer : "The second column!, at a run, to the right, move!"
Royal Officer : "Present!"
NAPOLEON : "Soldiers of the Fifth! ... "
"Do you recognize me?"
NAPOLEON : "If ... you want to kill your emperor, ..."
NAPOLEON : "... here I am."
Royal Col. Delessart : "Fire!!"
The Cheer : "Vive l'emperor!" "Vive l'emperor!!!!"
NAPOLEON : "Follow me to Grenoble."
[Scene 5
, The Return of the Emperor]
The Proclaimers :
"It was the cry of injured honor that brought me back to France."
"From Elba, I saw the rights of France misprized and thrown aside."
"My victory is certain."
"My eagles will fly from steeple to steeple."
"From Elba, I saw the rights of France misprized and thrown aside.
..." (Repeat)
NAPOLEON : "Straight?"
NAPOLEON : "We'll come then. Show them your redhead."
People A : "Hurrah for the Emperor!"
People B : "Napoleon! Napoleon!"
NAPOLEON : "I have come back!"
NAPOLEON : "I have come back only to make France happy!"
Retired Soldier : "The Bourbons to the compost!"
People C : "Hang the traitors!"
NAPOLEON : "I am France and France is me!"
Retired Soldier : "Hurrah! Napoleon has come back to us. He's come back."
NAPOLEON :"I will never forget your face, Ney, the way used for
me, when you forced me to abdicate."
NEY : "I did have to do ... for France."
NAPOLEON : "I know what's good for France. I understand you made
a promise to the King."
NEY : "Yes, Sire."
NAPOLEON : "Something about a cage?"
NEY : "Yes."
NAPOLEON : "What was it? Exactly!"
NEY : "I said I'd bring you back to Paris ... in an iron cage."
NAPOLEON : "That's what I heard you said."
NAPOLEON : "The fat king must be carried from the throne!"
"He has corrupted the honour of Frenchmen!"
People C : "Hang the traitors!"
[Scene 6
, The Flight of The Bourbons]
LOUIS XVIII : "Perhaps the people ... will let me go ..."
"as they
let him come."
[Scene 7
, Bring the hero to home]
People D : "He is back, He's back! The Emperor is back!"
People E : "Now France will live again!"
People F : "Long live the Emperor!"
People G : "He will lead us to glory again!"
People H : "Our Emperor! Our emperor is back!"
People I :"Home! Home! Bring the hero home!"
Citoyenne :"Vive le Napoleon!"
[Scene 8
, The New Chief of staff]
NAPOLEON : "Caulaincourt, Mollien, Mole, Fouche."
"See me after half hour. We have a small problem to solve."
Joseph FOUCHE : "What?, Sire"
NAPOLEON : "What!?" "Why, when France wakes up tomorrow-morning,
it must have a government."
NAPOLEON : "Drouot!"
Gen. DROUOT : "Yes, Sire."
NAPOLEON : "Let me tell you something."
"The most precious quality of life .. is loyalty."
"Loyalty!"
"And you Drouot, are a man, a rare man,"
"untainted and true."
"Will you join me? I need you."
DROUOT : "With all my heart, Sire."
NAPOLEON : "Thank you Drouot."
NAPOLEON : "Soult."
NAPOLEON : "I see you got my invitation."
SOULT : ".... Yes, Sire."
NAPOLEON : "I understand you're no longer king's Minister of War."
SOULT : "Obviously not, Sire."
NAPOLEON : "Obviously not, Soult."
NAPOLEON : "Silence!"
"You're to be my chief of staff. Accept?"
SOULT : "..... I accept, Sire."
NAPOLEON : "Good Soult." "All's well that ends well."
[Scene 9
, The communiques]
NAPOLEON : "Madame ...."
"Your son Ferdinand was killed ..."
"when he fell off a horse" ".. at a review."
"No, no, no, no, Muses must go."
"We need more conscripts! We need more men."
"We must sweep the area again."
"Signature."
NAPOLEON : "Your son was very brave and persistent in his duties."
"I am sorry, Madame, .."
"that fate hasn't been more discriminating."
NAPOLEON : "To my dear Prince Alexis."
"I did not usurp the crown."
"I found it!"
"... in the gutter!"
"And I! ... I picked it up!"
"... with my sword."
"And it was the people, Alexis,"
"the people!"
"... who put it on
my head."
NAPOLEON : "He who saves a nation violates no law."
NAPOLEON : "To my beloved wife."
"I beg you not only my wife but as daughter of Austria, my enemy."
"Please return to me ... my most precious possession."
"My son."
NAPOLEON : "To the Prince Regent, England."
"Royal Highness, You have been my most generous enemy for twenty
years."
"But now I want, .... I want peace. ...."
"peace .."
"Therefore I protest the presence of Wellington ..."
NAPOLEON : "... My son ..."
"is my future. ..."
"And I would rather see him dead than raised as a captive Austrian
prince."
[Scene 10
, The declaration of war]
NAPOLEON : "Well, they've done it. To declare me an enemy of
humanity, all Europe has declared war against me."
"Not against France,
but against me."
Gen. LABEDOYERE : "They
dignify you, Sire, by making you a nation."
NAPOLEON : "Dignify!?"
"Dignify? They deny me the decency of law."
"They make it legal that any clown can kill me."
NAPOLEON : "What's a news of Wellington?"
SOULT : "Still in Brussels, Sire."
NAPOLEON : "Still with old Blucher? ..."
NEY : "They started the war."
"Let them bleed!"
NAPOLEON : "Yes, let'em bleed."
"Well," "I will discuss peace over
Wellington's dead body. That's my peace table."
[Scene 11
, Marshal Soult's News]
Valet CONSTANT : "Marshal Soult,
Sire." "It's urgent."
NAPOLEON : "It's always urgent."
NAPOLEON : "Well, show him in."
SOULT : "The armies of the Wellington and Blucher has separated,
Sire."
NAPOLEON : "Separated?"
SOULT : "Yes, Sire."
NAPOLEON : "Separated!?"
SOULT : "Yes."
NAPOLEON : "Ha, Ha. I wonder what history will say of them?"
"And what'd we do, Soult? We'll push Blucher aside and march onto
Wellington, won't it?"
SOULT : "Yes."
NAPOLEON : "Then it will be a bloody day."
SOULT : "Yes, Sire."
NAPOLEON : "Oh, yes, Soult. ..."
"Everything depends on one big battle, just like at Marengo."
"Thank you, Soult."
NAPOLEON : [ But at Marengo, I was young. ]