Film explores rise and fall of France's emperor

As the first Hollywood epic to hit domestic theaters in December, British director Ridley Scott's highly anticipated outing, Napoleon, will be released across the country on Dec 1. 

Starring Joaquin Phoenix, winner of the Oscar for best actor in Joker in 2020, the movie also features Vanessa Kirby, known to Chinese audiences for her portrayal of the White Widow in Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning, as Bonaparte's wife, Josephine.

Over the course of 157 minutes, the film chronicles the life of the French emperor, covering major chapters from his shining military performance during the Siege of Toulon in 1793, and being crowned as emperor in 1804, to his defeat by the Duke of Wellington at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. The story is interwoven with Bonaparte's close but volatile relationship with his only true love, Josephine.

Scott, who turned 86 on Thursday, expressed excitement at his new movie's release in China in a video.

He said that the movie, which reunites him with Phoenix after 23 years, depicts some of the most famous battles in French history through intense and realistic war scenes, which he believes will allow the audience to feel as if they are there on the battlefield.