La roue (1923)

Director:

Abel Gance

Writer:

Abel Gance (writer)

Release Date:

17 February 1923 (France)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Sisif, a railwayman, and his son Elie fall in love with the beautiful Norma (whom Sisif rescued from...

Plot Keywords:

Train | Railwayman | Blindness | Freeze Frame

Cast

Séverin-Mars	...	Sisif
Ivy Close	...	Norma
Gabriel de Gravone	...	Elie
Pierre Magnier	...	Jacques de Hersan
Max Maxudian	...	Le minéralogiste Kalatikascopoulos
Georges Térof	...	Machefer
Gil Clary	...	Dalilah (as Mme. Gil-Clary)

Directed by
Abel Gance

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Abel Gance		writer

Produced by
Abel Gance	....	producer
Charles Pathé	....	producer

Original Music by
Arthur Honegger
Robert Israel		(2008)

Cinematography by
Gaston Brun
Marc Bujard
Léonce-Henri Burel
Maurice Duverger

Film Editing by
Marguerite Beaugé
Abel Gance

Art Direction by
Robert Boudrioz

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Blaise Cendrars	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Paul Fosse	....	sound effects

Editorial Department
David Block	....	colorist (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Films Abel Gance

Also Known As:

"The Wheel" - USA (literal English title)

Runtime:

273 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Filming Locations:

Mont-Blanc, Chamonix, Haute-Savoie, France

Company:

Films Abel Gance

Trivia:

Was the first feature film to end with a freeze frame.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Cinema Europe: The Other Hollywood: The Music of Light (#1.4)" (1995)

Too Long, Too Dark - but interesting

I agree with just about everything that's been written in the reviews (many of which, however, seem as monstrously long as the film, itself!). I think it was my interest in trains and railroading that sustained me for 4-1/2 hours, although the characters and action were interesting, if too, too progressively dark, dark. Those locomotive models were particularly interesting to me - so sad when that locomotive slipped from Sisif's hands . . . . That "slide valve vaporization" device that Sisif was working on caught my attention at once, but I'm not clear if the civil engineer, Hersan, profited by getting credit for it. Overall, a fascinating, if overlong, ride!