The Battle of Biopics: MAESTRO, NAPOLEON, and PRISCILLA | Movie Reviews

[@zaramichelangelo605]

I stumbled upon your review by mistake--glad I did. Your review lit a fire under me--you are an excellent film reviewer--one of the best. Looking forward to watching Maestro and Priscilla.

[@ImpressionBlend]

Thank you so much! Glad you found me ))

[@zachpajak7493]

Love hearing about 3 biopics in one video - and you have absolutely sold me on ‘Maestro’. Wow - it sounds like a staggering movie and experience

[@ImpressionBlend]

For all of us TÁR fans ))

[@brokendoorknob3448]

had the chance to see Maestro at NYFF a few months ago and they played it in the theater of the new york philharmonic, where bernstein was the conductor for many years. they said they had installed the dolby atmos audio and screen in the last 16 hours... amazing. the sound was incredible and watching him conduct in the very hall we were sitting in was an incredible experience that very much brought the movie up imo. i liked the movie but had a few more problems with the script, but it's hard not to enjoy it when the performances are so good

[@dukeon]

That sounds amazing! I’m sure it really benefited from the Atmos upgrades. So cool that they did that.

[@GareBare90]

Welcome back again! Great to see ya before this year ends!

[@tnan123]

Excited to see Maestro! Always great to see your reviews.

[@ImpressionBlend]

Thank you!

[@rebeccag8589]

I've seen all 3. Maestro was absolutely my favorite. It's not a perfect film but I thought the acting, cinematography, and of course, the music, were all phenomenal.

[@fortabilar]

I really liked this one. I thought the idea to reviewing/comparing the three movies side by side was a fresh and creative idea. I have only seen Priscilla and had more or less the same feelings about it. Also what you said about Napoleon is sort of what I expect: great visuals on the big screen VS the directors cut at home. But was glad to you included Maestro since it had almost gone off the radar for me.

[@ImpressionBlend]

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed the video!

[@sihamwh]

Thanks!

[@ImpressionBlend]

Thank you for your support!

[@bodine57]

Excellent review. Always look forward to your critiques. On a "six degrees of separation" note; my great grandfather (and then my grandfather) owned Richard Bennett's Custom Tailors in Manhattan. Leonard Bernstein was a customer!

[@scottthemoviecritic8576]

Absolutely incredible video Marianna. Loved it. 3 fantastic reviews there. Definitely looking forward to watching Maestro. Hearing great things about that one. Definitely want to check out Napoleon as well.👍

[@dukeon]

Venessa Kirby is amazing! I hope Napoleon will benefit from the director’s cut (on TV+) the way Kingdom of Heaven did. I don’t mind spending 4 hours on a film if it is a substantial upgrade. Also, you fired me up to see Maestro. Great reviews of all three films!

[@SEAKPhotog]

Fun trio of reviews! I'm looking forward to Maestro, will likely wait for the Napoleon director's cut and have little interest in Priscilla. Like many, I was really hoping for a Ridley Scott and Joachim Phoenix masterpiece with Napoleon. It's disappointing that doesnt seem to be the case, at least with the theatrical cut.

[@mallaryroberts3346]

I was getting chills just listening you talk about Maestro! I cannot wait to see this, I’m a huge music person so this will be a must watch for me 😍

[@ImpressionBlend]

I’m excited for you to watch it! I hope you love it as much as I did!

[@HazyRita]

Was waiting for this! Need more videos from you in my feed

[@micaelagonzalez71]

Sofia Coppola fan here. Her last movie let me down a bit, so, looking forward to watching this in the big screen. A 7/10 from you means a lot knowing that you don't like Sofia's movies that much.

[@WhytheBookWins]

great reviews! I agree with a lot of what you said about Priscilla and I am so excited for Maestro!

[@ImpressionBlend]

Thank you! I'm actually really surprised we didn't get a better sense of this relationship in the movie - it's such a big part of the memoir.

[@boolocklock]

While I did like Priscilla, I do agree that at times you're not exactly sure if you got to know Priscilla enough since it's an observation of her life with Elvis. I might need to read the source material since it sounds like a good companion piece. Maestro is one I can't wait to catch up with since it was one of the bigger movies I missed when it played at NYFF back in October.

[@douglashagstrom9261]

Priscilla is glowing over Elvis in all her inteviews pre and post of this movie. In the end, was it neccesary？ To keep her in the news I guess, and that was her hope

[@ImpressionBlend]

She praised last year’s “Elvis” just as much - I think she’s just taking trips down memory lane and is happy about it at this point. Nothing wrong with that, good for her! She seems to be genuinely enjoying it.

[@micpta16]

I can’t wait to see Maestro. Thanks for your review 👍 Napoleon was so bad at sex that I nearly burst out laughing, and then I thought “poor Josephine.”

[@ImpressionBlend]

Listen, I don't buy it. They're so in love with that kind of sex? Please...

[@irlshrek]

thanks for this! cant wait to watch maestro

[@ImpressionBlend]

Thanks for watching! Enjoy "Maestro"!

[@Kakki82]

Looking forward to Maestro! Looks so good

[@ImpressionBlend]

I hope you enjoy!

[@Brian_Boru]

Like Kingdom of Heaven, I hope Napoleon can be redeemed by its director's cut. Yet I can't shake the feeling that it will all be to no avail. The onscreen relationship between Napoleon and Jospehine is totally inert, that is, when it's not crude and weird. It runs the entire picture aground.

[@sneakpeeker]

Great insights as always, here's hoping 'Ferrari' can also be considered among the year's best biopics.

[@ImpressionBlend]

Watched it last night actually (quick review is on letterboxd) - sadly, wasn’t a big fan.

[@kirdot2011]

Never even heard about Priscilla or maestro before this one

[@kosmosyche]

This year I finally realized that I kinda never really liked biopics. I think, Oppenheimer was more than enough for me, I'll skip the rest. 😂

[@colegwyn9393]

please review poor things once you see it!! i’d love to hear your thoughts

[@ImpressionBlend]

I've seen it, review next week.

[@colegwyn9393]

@@ImpressionBlendcan’t wait!! one of my most anticipated movies of the year!

[@carter_lovejoy]

The only biopic I want to see made that isn’t just made solely for Oscar bait and whatnot is one about Steve Irwin. As long as they have the right director(s), writer(s) and his family, Terri, Bindi and Robert, involved and overseeing everything to make sure it’s all factual, accurate, and honors both him and his legacy, it’ll be a massive success for sure. The biggest question is: who would be the right actor to play Steve? My vote would be Chris Hemsworth, but I don’t know if he’ll be too old to play him by the time they make it.

[@looney1023]

My "dream biopic" would be Shelley Duvall, played by Mia Goth. Shelley has such a unique story and career. Literally plucked from nowhere, became a muse, because a highly acclaimed actress and producer, and then left Hollywood entirely to be with her family. It would be called "Hello, I'm Shelley Duvall."

[@Mike_v_E]

Finally someone that didn't hate Napoleon! I really liked it for what it was, can't wait for the extended cut #ReleaseTheRidleyCut

[@mepedro]

Nice reviews, even though the movies don't seem perfect, I wanna watch them hahahha it seems like a nice experience.

[@ImpressionBlend]

Thank you! No movie is ever perfect, imo ))

[@dukeon]

@@ImpressionBlendWas JUST thinking this a few hours ago! I rewatched 2001: A Space Odyssey yet again, but this time I had just (finally) read the book by Arthur C. Clarke. And though the film is still breathtaking in so many ways…I hate to say it but I’m not sure it’s a 10/10 for me anymore. Definitely still a 9/10, but there’s just something not quite there in all the spectacle that makes me not consider it ‘perfect’ anymore. Maybe I’m getting old?

[@kevinbrasher5588]

As big a Ridley Scott fan I am, the last films he directed I like was the Alien Prequels the last of which released in 2017. I think he has lost his edge and eye for a good content to produce.

[@tushargautam01]

I love your reviews ❤ From India Looking forward to watch Maestro.

[@lavenderbee3611]

I've only watched Maestro but really want to see all of these movies. Thanks for a great overview, I was a little disappointed in Maestro and would have welcomed more about the music and artistry. Lenny was a larger than life figure, and a great man. I understand that being married to someone like Lenny would be extremely difficult and you'd be playing 2nd fiddle most of the time as a wife. Lenny was probably married to his music firstly and then to contend with his bisexuality and cheating would be a huge cross to bear. They didn't get into how hard he actually worked to be this legend, it was constant with little sleep. I thought the makeup was good, but I think they should have toned down Bradley's natural eye color (it was distracting and didn't match Lenny's). Thank you.

[@devonmunn5728]

And also that damn prosthetic nose. The real guys nose doesn't even look like that

[@dukeon]

Marianna! Oscar noms? Vanessa Kirby, Bradley Cooper, Carey Mulligan. What do you think?

[@SteveNaranjo]

Waiting for this review

[@ImpressionBlend]

Well... Here you go then :D

[@nancykerrigan]

Curious about Priscilla: Who did you think gave the better Elvis impression, Austin or Jacob?

[@ImpressionBlend]

Austin, by a mile

[@looney1023]

He looks spot on in his 60s, but I can't not see Bradley Cooper in young Bernstein. I'm not sure. I guess I have to see it to believe it but I almost think Cooper without makeup/prosthetics, looks more like young Bernstein than with them.

[@ImpressionBlend]

Cooper definitely looks very much like himself when we're in Bernstein's younger years, but it's not particularly distracting or anything - it's a fantastic performance.

[@telmuunb5988]

Another Lydia Tár for you: watch Maestra: Strings of Truth.

[@okay5045]

I enjoyed this film . The acting wa superb and the dircyion creative. Bravo and Brava.

[@tuscanyjc]

Good review as always thx u. But as a man who thinks about the Roman Empire weekly this movie just killed me with the terrible battle scenes with 0 historical accuracy or strategy, N-Apollo-eon was one of the greatest minds ever & I dare say not a sprinkle of that was found in this movie :(

[@ApricusInaros]

I might give Maestro a watch because of your glowing review. I'm not interested the least in Priscilla's life, so I'll skip that one. I watched Napoleon and I'm in disbelief how horrible this movie is 🤯😳. To focus on the relationship of Napo and Josy instead of his legendary skills in military tactics is ludicrous. And Scott does not even nail that relationship (wrong age for both actors among many inaccuracies). I will never ever pay one penny to watch a Scott movie in the future.

[@TheRICKY85]

I get too frustrated watching biopics that don't stay true to the facts.

[@ErikVanRent]

Maestro suffers from the biggest movie sin of all. It's boring. Yeah, the acting and cinematography is good. The score is superb, as it should be. Cooper really did this movie with Oscar-gold in mind. But my god. What a boring movie where you see and feel almost nothing.

[@Jody654321]

It started out nicely...but as it went on and on, I felt sadness for Mrs Bernstein.

[@thomasbradley2225]

Maestro, by all means hands down. Priscilla was quite gorgeous but iconic elevation a la Coppola bella signorina, absolutely not. However, Napoleon seems a Scott Tolstoyan War and Peace production. A study of the Corsican on Saint Helena would have been altogether digestible but not the whole book chapter and Waterloo verse. Nada Napoleon zip zero this.

[@manavtanna3000]

Make Top 10 films of 2023

[@ImpressionBlend]

Still a whole month of movies left ;)

[@ajaynarayanaswamy3073]

Have you removed your video ranking ASOIAF books ?

[@filmpositive6601]

I always seem to have the minority opinion when it comes to biopics. Emily (about the life of author Emily Bronte) is easily my favorite biopic of the year. It's mostly fabricated but I say it counts. To me, it's one of the best films I've seen this year and hardly anyone is talking about it. Check it out if you haven't.

[@ImpressionBlend]

"Emily" is great, it's definitely one of my favorites of the year. Needs a lot more love from audiences!

[@mhawang8204]

Huh. Of the three, Maestro is the only one that I have no interest in seeing. Maybe I'll check it out when it's on Netflix. I don't think it's playing anywhere near me.

[@seangerant653]

Marianna is pretty !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@RachelsReviews]

I didn't like any of them except Oppenheimer

[@azadmajors2098]

A Priscilla Presley cash grab is embarrassing to be spoken of with those other biographies..

[@elvis78ale]

Exactly... 😂😂😂😂

[@brianmelendy1194]

I have only seen Maestro. It's just OK.

[@milanmirkovic4420]

Napoleon is a disgrace in Scotts resume, It is inaccurate and offensive.

[@ttttiiimmy10bit]

♥

[@SleepFan771]

Priscilla & Napoleon are in my top 5 of the year. Amazing films. Sofia Coppola & Ridley Scott rarely disappoint me.

[@elvis78ale]

Maestro and Napoleon. Priscilla did not deserve even a movie so I don' consider it 😂 From a book of lies, we can't expect something interesting. Just a move to make money again.👎🏻

[@PhotoTrekr]

Looking forward to seeing Napoleon. The other two, not so much.

[@harveyjane321]

❤🎉😊

[@domcoke]

Maestro is tripe

[@LoveandButter]

Grammar alert! "Her and Cooper have chemistry? "No. Nope. SHE and Cooper. She has chemistry. She and Cooper.

[@Brian_Boru]

How is your Ukrainian?