Amazon eBay: a well worn teddy-bear is cradled in the arms of napoleon, age 4, who dreamily sucks his thumb, listening to a bedtime story told by his young mother, letizia. his 5- year old brother, joseph, is already asleep, beside him. narrator napoleon was born at ajaccio in corsica on august 15th, 1769. he had not been a healthy baby and his mother, letizia, lavished him with care and devotion. in middle age, he would write about her from st. helena. napoleon (v.o.) my mother has always loved me. she would do anything for me. main titles int. dormitory brienne - night it is still dark on a freezing winter morning. the boys are being awakened by a monk, loudly ringing a bell. candles are lit. napoleon, age 9, sun-tanned, leaps out of bed, rubbing his arms and shivering. he tries to pour a pitcher of water, discovering that it has frozen solid. napoleon who has been putting glass in my pitcher? look here, someone has filled my pitcher with glass! dufour oh, my goodness! someone has filled bonaparte's pitcher with glass. now, who on earth would do a thing like that? bremond oh, heavens, look someone has filled my pitcher with glass too! monk silence! silence! you should not make fun of monsieur bonaparte, he comes from a country where it is never very cold. he has probably never seen ice before. dufour never seen ice before? oh, dear me -- how very odd. the boys snicker. napoleon glares at them. narrator at the age of 9, napoleon entered the royal military college at brienne, in france, under a royal scholarship. for the next five and a half years, he would devote himself to preparation for his military career. these were harsh and cheerless years for the lonely, impoverished provincial, among affluent french noblemen's sons. ext. farm brienne - day a lovely, late-summer afternoon. a small group of boys, in their school uniforms, are impatiently gathered around a rough table, covered with stacks of thick bread and jam and tin mugs of milk. the farmer's wife supervises things, collecting a sou from each boy. napoleon, 9, stands apart from the group, drinking his milk, a book under his arm, lost in thought, gazing across the cornfield at the school buildings, which are beautifully colored by the late sunlight. bremond (overly cheerful) good afternoon, bonaparte. napoleon ignores him. bremond what are you reading? no reply. dufour moves behind napoleon. bremond (angling his head to read the title) dear me, aren't we in an unfriendly mood. caesar's conquest of gaul. aren't we terribly conscientious about our studies? by the way, did the supervisor give you permission to take that book away from the school grounds? napoleon (quietly) fuck off, bremond. bremond oh, my goodness. what language! did you learn that from your mother, bonaparte? bremond is 4 years older and much bigger than napoleon. napoleon fuck off! at this moment, dufour gives him a violent bump from behind, spilling milk all over his uniform and splattering the book. dufour oh, goodness, my dear bonaparte -- i am clumsy. oh, and look at your book! napoleon hurls the tin cup, with all his strength, at dufour, hitting him squarely on the forehead, with a resonant pon-nnng! napoleon leaps on bremond, and the two boys go down in a tangle of bread, jam and milk. int. military tailor - day napoleon, age 16, being fitted for his smart, 2nd lieutenant's uniform, studies himself in the full-length mirror. narrator at the age of 16, he graduated a sub-lieutenant from the royal military school in paris, and was posted to the crack regiment de la fere, at valence. ext. firing range - day artillery firing range. a hot summer morning. napoleon is part of a group of young officers loading and firing a cannon. narrator the practical professional training that napoleon would receive for the next three years would give him a working knowledge of all arms, and expose him to the advanced military ideas of du teil, bourcet and guibert. ext. drill field - day a calm, winter day, snow on the ground. napoleon and group go through the ordered drill of loading and firing a musket. their targets are painted figures of soldiers. ext. field - day the edge of a wood near valence. a windy, spring day. napoleon and nine other young officers are gathered around a leathery-looking captain with steel spectacles, who is instructing them in the art of map reading. the map, about four feet wide, is flapping noisily in the heavy gusts of wind, despite the four pairs of knees and hands struggling to hold it flat against the ground.