By Michael Trueswell Staff Writer Ridley Scott’s “Napoleon” explores the victories and failures of Napoleon Bonaparte and the relationship between Napoleon and his first wife, Josephine. The film follows Napoleon through the French Army, revolutionary turmoil, and his fluctuating grip on power. Ridley Scott's director’s cut of “Napoleon” was released in August and attempts to deliver a deeper look into this complicated historical figure's personal life and professional experiences. Anything but short, the director’s cut of “Napoleon” drags out the film, an extra 45 minutes making it nearly three-and-a-half hours long. Regrettably, this added runtime slows the already sluggish period film which contributes to audience disinterest and exacerbates the original issues of the film. One of the largest issues in the original “Napoleon” was its underwhelming cuts between important moments in Napoleon’s life. At the cost of not mending these issues, the "Directors Cut" instead includes more of Napoleon's personal struggles and historical information. It portrays a more authentic life of Napoleon while further dragging out the events, making the work less concise than the original. Joaquin Phoenix's most notable contribution in the “Director's Cut” was an extension of the failed Russian invasion. This was the beginning of the end of Napoleon's domination of Europe, and the “Director's Cut” correctly displayed this as brutal and extremely costly for the Napoleonic Armies. These added scenes raise the stakes of Napoleon's blunder and help convey the human impact of the Napoleonic wars. At the cost of slowing an already leisurely story, Phoenix's added performance was able to convey the exhaustion and the personal toll the Russian invasion took on Napoleon as a character. Although it would be impossible to make a film encapsulating all aspects from decades of someone's life without emitting massive portions of it, it was my hope that the added runtime in the “Director's Cut” would contribute to showing other vital moments in Napoleon's career that were left out from the original. To my disappointment, The Peninsular War was excluded in its entirety from the original, despite this theater's impact on Napoleon and decline of his political dominance. This is among many cuts of defining moments in Napoleon's life. Vanessa Kirby's performance as Josephine was one of the most engaging of the original cut of “Napoleon.” In her added scenes of the “Director's Cut” she surpasses the expectations she set in the original. Mostly added at the start of the movie, she again is able to connect with the audience with her emotional vulnerability, giving new depth to the character of Josephine. Her character’s experiences and trauma went mostly unaddressed in the original cut. By following Josephine before she met Napoleon, her added scenes are able to emotionally express the traumatic experiences that living through the revolution often entailed. This served the purpose of showing how chaotic and tyrannical the state had become before the establishment of Napoleon's empire. It also allowed the audience to care about and understand Josephine's perspectives more as a character as the film follows her through the decades. Sadly, these added performances are not enough to justify the nearly three-and-a-half hour runtime. Despite the attempt, Ridley Scott's Director's Cut of “Napoleon” fails to fix the many issues of the original. The added runtime does not provide enough substance and leaves the audience unaware and confused of the importance of historical events shown. For the audience members who are familiar with the life stories of Napoleon and Josephine, they too are left unrewarded by the film’s overfocus on irrelevant details and an exhausting runtime. Although an improvement, Ridley Scott's “Director's Cut” still falls short of engaging the audience or providing an accurate depiction of its characters. All that can be said, the Director's Cut of “Napoleon” left me simultaneously wanting for more and wishing for less. Rating: C- An exhausting film battling against the runtime