Fails the Bechdel test
Napoleon
2023. Directed by Ridley Scott, written by David Scarpa.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
2 / 3
Fails
-
Yes
1. At least two women
16 women characters. 7 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
Women do talk to each other. -
No
3. About something besides a man
Every conversation between women that our parser found mentions a man.
Second opinion
Not rated bechdeltest.com readers haven't rated this film.
The film
Napoleon is a spectacle-filled action epic that details the checkered rise and fall of the iconic French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, played by Oscar®-winner Joaquin Phoenix. Against a stunning backdrop of large-scale filmmaking orchestrated by legendary director Ridley Scott, the film captures Bonaparte's relentless journey to power through the prism of his addictive, volatile relationship with his one true love, Josephine, showcasing his visionary military and political tactics against some of the most dynamic practical battle sequences ever filmed.
- Released
- 22 Nov 2023
- Genres
- Action, Adventure, Biography
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 6.3 / 10
- Metascore
- 64 / 100
- Awards
- Nominated for 3 Oscars. 7 wins & 47 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Napoleon 250 lines, man
- Josephine 81 lines, woman
- Wellington 18 lines, man
- Paul Barras 17 lines, man
- Hippolyte 16 lines, man
- Talleyrand 14 lines, man
- Francis Ii 13 lines, man
- Hortense 11 lines, woman
- Alexander 10 lines, man
- Barras 10 lines, man
Full cast, 90 people
- Joaquin Phoenix as Napoleon Bonaparte
- Vanessa Kirby as Josephine Bonaparte
- Tahar Rahim as Paul Barras
- Rupert Everett as Duke of Wellington
- Mark Bonnar as Junot
- Paul Rhys as Talleyrand
- Ben Miles as Caulaincourt
- Riana Duce as Lucille
- Edouard Philipponnat as Tsar Alexander
- Miles Jupp as Emperor Francis I
- Scott Handy as Marshal Berthier
- Youssef Kerkour as Marshal Davout
- John Hollingworth as Marshal Ney
- Abubakar Salim as General Dumas
- Thom Ashley as La Bedoyere
- Jannis Niewöhner as Hippolyte Charles
- Julian Rhind-Tutt as Sieyes
- John Hodgkinson as Fouche
- Erin Ainsworth as Hortense I
- Isabella Brownson as Hortense II
- Benjamin Chivers as Eugene I
- Sam Meakin as Eugene II
- Sinéad Cusack as Letizia Bonaparte
- Harriet Bunton as Pauline Bonaparte
- Charlie Greenwood as Caroline Bonaparte
- Audrey Brisson-Jutras as Elisa Bonaparte
- Matthew Needham as Lucien Bonaparte
- Sam Crane as Jacques-Louis David
- Sam Troughton as Robespierre
- Edward Bennett as Royalist Supporter
- Julian Wadham as Jean de Cambaceres
- Ludivine Sagnier as Theresa Cabarrus
- Catherine Walker as Marie Antoinette
- Honor Kneafsey as Marie Antoinette Kid #1
- Alexander Shaw as Marie Antoinette Kid #2
- Phil Cornwell as Sanson the Bourreau
- Harry Taurasi as Citizen Lacombe
- Edward Mercieca as General Carteaux
- Arthur McBain as General Marchand
- Andy Burse as Drunken British Guard
- Jonathan Rice as Dealer | Victim's Ball
- Emeric Bernard-Jones as Barras' Friend #1
- Bay Bryan as Barras' Friend #2
- Michael Twaits as Barras' Friend #3
- Michael O'Connor as Charles Leclerc
- Dominic Coleman as Clerk | Storage Room
- Ian McNeice as Louis XVIII
- Richard McCabe as Lord Whitworth
- Tom Godwin as Austrian Ambassador
- Gavin Spokes as Moulin
- Catherine Harvey as Moulin's Wife
- David Verrey as Gohier
- Benedict Martin as Roger Ducos
- Edward Hogg as Citizen Gilbert
- Ed Hughes as Lucien's Associate
- Jonathan Barnwell as Bourrienne (Napoleon's Secretary)
- Robin Soans as Pope Pius VII
- Abigail Weinstock as Eleanore
- Bart Lambert as Cosack Scout (Lake)
- Joshua Leese as French Signal Man #1 (Austerlitz)
- Nicholas Shaw as French Signal Man #2 (Austerlitz)
- Anna Mawn as The Duchess Marie Louise
- Imogen Slaughter as Nurse | Baby Napoleon
- Mitchell Baggott as French Corporal
- Ned Costello as French Grenadier (Butcher)
- John Mula as Fisherman | Golfe-Juan
- Kevin Eldon as Dr Corvisart
- Henry Morgan as Little Boy | Grasse
- Logan Truter as Little Boy #2 (Grasse)
- Saxon Fox as Little Boy #3 (Grasse)
- Richard Leeming as Messenger | Tuileries
- Billy Byers as Napoleon's Boy Waterloo
- Tim Faulkner as Blucher
- Peter Sandys-Clarke as British Lieutenant | Waterloo
- Tim Delap as Imperial Guard | Waterloo
- Charlie Barrett as French Scout Waterloo (Horses)
- Olivia Juno Cleverley as Girl St Helena
- Sophie Wohlfeld as Girl #2 St Helena
- Cormac Hyde-Corrin as Mid Shipman #1
- Hal Gavin as Mid Shipman #2
- Michael Nardone as Plotter (Jacobin Club)
- Chris Barltrop as Elderly Male Vagrant #1 | Moscow
- Robert Goodman as Elderly Male Vagrant #2 | Moscow
- Sophie Lund as Nanny
- Oliver Phillips as British Express Rider
- Morgan Watkins as Prussian Officer
- Ed Eales White as Duke D'Enghien (uncredited)
- Jacob Marshfield as Cannon Commander (uncredited)
- Jean-Pascal Heynemand as 5th Musket Regiment Drummer (uncredited)
- Theodore Zammit as Local (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 5 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 7% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 229
Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.
Show the numbers
| Scenes | Women's lines | Men's lines |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 5 | 0 | 5 |
| 6 to 10 | 0 | 9 |
| 11 to 15 | 0 | 1 |
| 16 to 20 | 0 | 3 |
| 21 to 25 | 12 | 15 |
| 26 to 30 | 11 | 0 |
| 31 to 35 | 0 | 6 |
| 36 to 40 | 0 | 2 |
| 41 to 45 | 14 | 27 |
| 46 to 50 | 12 | 5 |
| 51 to 55 | 4 | 18 |
| 56 to 60 | 4 | 8 |
| 61 to 65 | 0 | 4 |
| 66 to 70 | 0 | 15 |
| 71 to 75 | 5 | 11 |
| 76 to 80 | 7 | 18 |
| 81 to 85 | 3 | 11 |
| 86 to 90 | 0 | 17 |
| 91 to 95 | 1 | 2 |
| 96 to 100 | 0 | 15 |
| 101 to 105 | 7 | 18 |
| 106 to 110 | 10 | 28 |
| 111 to 115 | 2 | 41 |
| 116 to 120 | 1 | 4 |
| 121 to 125 | 0 | 1 |
| 126 to 130 | 0 | 4 |
| 131 to 135 | 0 | 0 |
| 136 to 140 | 1 | 23 |
| 141 to 145 | 9 | 6 |
| 146 to 150 | 2 | 8 |
| 151 to 155 | 0 | 20 |
| 156 to 160 | 1 | 0 |
| 161 to 165 | 0 | 10 |
| 166 to 170 | 0 | 16 |
| 171 to 175 | 0 | 1 |
| 176 to 180 | 0 | 4 |
| 181 to 185 | 3 | 8 |
| 186 to 190 | 2 | 9 |
| 191 to 195 | 1 | 3 |
| 196 to 200 | 4 | 11 |
| 201 to 205 | 0 | 9 |
| 206 to 210 | 0 | 13 |
| 211 to 215 | 0 | 6 |
| 216 to 220 | 0 | 12 |
| 221 to 225 | 0 | 14 |
| 226 to 229 | 4 | 14 |
The evidence
- Straight from the script
- Counted from the script and the credits
Tap an exhibit to open it.
Exhibit A: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 20 are women's.
120 lines from women, 475 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit B: who's in it
16 women and 58 men in the cast. 7 women and 47 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 25 of 643.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 67 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 17% of the words (1,543), men 83% (7,308). Women have 20% of the lines, so their lines run shorter than men's.
Exhibit D: the test the other way
Two named men talk to each other about something besides a woman. It passes the reverse test.
Conversations between two named characters
Two women
2
Two men
46
Exhibit E: behind the camera
3 of the 14 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 27% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Ridley Scott (man)
- Written by
- David Scarpa (man)
- Produced by
- Mark Huffam (man), Joaquin Phoenix (man), Ridley Scott (man), Kevin J. Walsh (man)
- Shot by
- Dariusz Wolski (man)
- Edited by
- Claire Simpson (woman), Sam Restivo (man)
- Music by
- Martin Phipps (man)
- Production design by
- Arthur Max (man)
- Costumes by
- David Crossman (man), Janty Yates (woman)
- Cast by
- Kate Rhodes James (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Sound
2 women, 14 men, 5 not listed
-
Art
4 women, 6 men, 8 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
6 women, 4 men, 8 not listed
-
Other crew
5 women, 11 men, 2 not listed
-
Camera
0 women, 9 men, 7 not listed
-
Production
6 women, 9 men, 1 not listed
-
Visual Effects
0 women, 5 men, 2 not listed
-
Directing
0 women, 2 men, 1 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit F: how old the stars were
Women: 33 on average. Men: 49 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Riana Duce 30, Vanessa Kirby 35
Men
Edouard Philipponnat 24, Tahar Rahim 42, Miles Jupp 44, Joaquin Phoenix 49, Mark Bonnar 55, Ben Miles 57, Paul Rhys 59, Rupert Everett 64
Exhibit G: the money
It made 1.3 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $165 million
- Box office
- $222 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 229 scenes and 643 lines of dialogue. How the test works
