Stanley Kubrick's Napoleon Screenplay

My initial reaction to reading the script is that it seems unfinished.  I'm a huge Kubrick fan, but I didn't see the greatness in the script.  It has Kubrick touches, but just seems to be a disconnected biography of Napoleon consisting of his love life and his political life.  The script is dated September 29, 1969 and I think this must not be the completed version.  I didn't fully understand the history or story of Napoleon as a historical figure.  I could see why Kubrick liked him as a character because they seem to have similar personalities.  

One tendency for writer/directors is to not fully explain everything in the screenplay.  Perhaps this is what was going on with Kubrick in this script.  This was his passion project and I'm sure there is much more that is not contained in this version of the screenplay that Kubrick had in mind.  Kubrick said in an interview, "There'll be no screenplay of Barry Lyndon published, because there is nothing of literary interest to read."  If you see the attached picture of one of the screenplay pages from Barry Lyndon found in the Stanley Kubrick archives, you'll see why this is true.  I'm sure the same would be true of Napoleon if it would have ever been produced.  

Barry Lyndon screenplay page from Stanley Kubrick Archives.

Kubrick did enormous amounts of research on Napoleon including costumes, european locations and historical information.  The story is that when the Napoleon movie was shut down, he moved all the work he had done i

nto making Barry Lyndon.  There are many similarities between this Napoleon script and Barry Lyndon.  There is is similar progression in the plot.  It's hard to imagine that Kubrick thought of Barry Lyndon after Napoleon.  Maybe he had read the book series before or during his preparation on Napoleon.  The picture below is from the Kubrick exhibit at LACMA and consists of the books dedicated entirely to researching Napoleon.  It's hard to imagine that this library produced only this current screenplay.  

Books used for Kubrick's research of Napoleon.  At LACMA.

I wasn't impressed with the screenplay of Napoleon, but I'm sure if he had made the film it would have been amazing and epic.  Kubrick, at the hight of his powers, working on his most passionate project, would have certainly produced one of the greatest films of all time.  

Parables and Screenplays

Parables

The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”
He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them." 
Matthew 13:10-17

Jesus spoke to people in parables because that was how he could get his message across.  Basically he was teaching people something they didn't understand yet.  The way he did that was by telling people stories they could relate to with the meaning he was trying to get across to them.

This is a great lesson for Christian screenwriters who want to get a message out in their screenplays.  One mistake screenwriters can fall into when trying to write a screenplay with a strong message in it is to make the message obvious and preachy.  Within a few minutes of watching the movie, it'll be obvious that the story is teaching a lesson.  It kills the art of the screenplay because it might as well be a sermon not a screenplay.

Just like Jesus taught people in parables, so should Christian screenwriters hide their messages in the story of the screenplay.    If a screenplay is for Christians with a Christian message, it's preaching to the choir.  The audience already knows the message.  There's no reason to tell the story.  If there is a message you want your audience to grasp, it needs to be something they don't know yet.  If they don't know it yet, then do what Jesus did and tell it in a parable.  As a screenwriter, the job is to tell the story in a unique way that plays out and adds up to message you are trying to get across.

Sometimes talking directly to people about the message doesn't work because maybe they don't want to hear it or don't understand it.  A story or screenplay can get through that without the audience even realizing it.  This is one of the reasons stories are so powerful.  Jesus knew what he was doing.  Try being like him and write your screenplay as a parable.