Central Coast captain Taren King could be seen gesturing for a card, and both commentators were unanimous in their belief it warranted a red. Perhaps even more notable is the elegant clarity of Scott’s direction of the decisive victory at the snowbound battle of Austerlitz, regarded by many historians as a tactical masterpiece. In this, and indeed many of the battle scenes, Scott leaches out much of the colour (the film veers towards a Napoleonic laundry basket palette of murk and mud throughout), leaving only the throbbing crimson of blood in the icy waters where so many men meet their deaths. It's safer to buy a gift card online, send an e-gift card, or just go old school and avoid the issue altogether as one shopper told me. The first, a key moment in the young Napoleon’s career, is during the siege of Toulon. British ships (something of a bugbear for Bonaparte throughout his military career, as one unexpectedly funny line reveals) are moored in the harbour. British troops occupy a strategically important fort, from which they amuse themselves by shouting abuse at goats. The catch of Napoleon’s breath is high in the sound mix, making us subliminally aware of the rattled nerves of a young man who has yet to fully prove himself (Napoleon was only 24 at the time, but little attempt is made to de-age Phoenix, who looks solidly middle-aged throughout). Everything rests on this military operation. Failure, Bonaparte writes in a letter to his brother Lucien (Matthew Needham), will mean that they will be dismissed as “Corsican ruffians unfit for high office”. Fortunately, Napoleon’s nascent brilliance as a commander pays off, with an exhilarating, explosive victory and a promotion, from captain to brigadier general.

It was a bit of an innocuous incident to be honest, but she looked like she was in a bit of pain, so hopefully she’s all right and comes through,” Phoenix coach Paul Temple said afterwards. Like Napoleon himself, the film is rather casual about the sheer scale of loss of life, failing to develop any of the characters of the men in the infantry, the lowly, disposable cannon fodder in Bonaparte’s grand schemes. In fact, the only death that comes close to being mourned by Napoleon is the horse that takes a cannonball to the chest and is blasted from underneath him.