Napoleon (1927)

A film about the French general's youth and early military career.

Director:

Abel Gance

Writer:

Abel Gance

Stars:

Albert Dieudonné, Vladimir Roudenko, Edmond Van Daële

4 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Albert Dieudonné	...	Napoléon Bonaparte
Vladimir Roudenko	...	Napoléon Bonaparte enfant
Edmond Van Daële	...	Maximilien Robespierre
Alexandre Koubitzky	...	Georges-Jacques Danton
Antonin Artaud	...	Jean-Paul Marat
Abel Gance	...	Louis Saint-Just
Gina Manès	...	Joséphine de Beauharnais
Suzanne Bianchetti	...	La reine Marie-Antoinette
Marguerite Gance	...	Charlotte Corday
Yvette Dieudonné	...	Élisa Bonaparte
Philippe Hériat	...	Antonio Salicetti
Pierre Batcheff	...	Le général Lazare Hoche
Eugénie Buffet	...	Laetizia Bonaparte
Acho Chakatouny	...	Pozzo di Borgo
Nicolas Koline	...	Tristan Fleuri

Storyline

A massive six-hour biopic of Napoleon, tracing his career from his schooldays (where a snowball fight is staged like a military campaign), his flight from Corsica, through the French Revolution (where a real storm is intercut with a political storm) and the Terror, culminating in his triumphant invasion of Italy in 1797 (the film stops there because it was intended to be part one of six, but director Abel Gance never raised the money to make the other five). The film's legendary reputation is due to the astonishing range of techniques that Gance uses to tell his story, culminating in the final twenty-minute triptych sequence, which alternates widescreen panoramas with complex multiple- image montages projected simultaneously on three screens.

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Plot Keywords:

coup d'etat | napoleon bonaparte | french army | epic | french revolution | 

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Taglines:

Abel Gance's 1927 Masterpiece [reissue]

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History | War

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Details

Country:

France

Release Date:

17 February 1929 (USA)

Also Known As:

Abel Gance's Napoleon

Filming Locations:

Environs d'Ajaccio, Corse, France

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$39,448

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ciné France, Films Abel Gance, Isepa-Wengeroff Film GmbH

Technical Specs

Runtime:

222 min (DVD) 330 min (2000 restoration) 235 min (1981 restored) 313 min (cinémathèque française print) 333 min (Blu-Ray digital restoration)

Sound Mix:

Dolby (1981 re-release) Mono Silent

Color:

Black and White Black and White (tinted) (some sequences)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The snowballs in the snowball fight scene were actually balls of cotton. During shooting one of the child extras threw a real one with a rock in it. It hit Vladimir Roudenko square in the face and broke his nose.

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Goofs

When the teacher introduces the island of Saint Helena, Napoleon's quill varies between being in his hand and being on his book.

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Alternate Versions

There are apparently at least 19 different versions of this film, starting with the original 6-hours cut (in a "triptych" format, requiring three projectors on three screens, called Polyvision). It has been shown in various formats and different running times, including a 1934 version re-edited by director Abel Gance and featuring an added soundtrack.

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Connections

Referenced in The Wizard of Malta (1981)

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Soundtracks

The Thrill of Being In Love (Love Theme of Napoleon and Josephine)
Music by Carmine Coppola
Lyrics by Italia Coppola (USA version)
UK version: score by Carl Davis (based largely on works by Beethoven)

User Reviews

Different versions should be reviewed/scored separately

I was one of the thousands who were fortunate enough to see the fullest version of Napoleon at the Royal Festival Hall in early December 2004. As noted in 'alternate versions', this may prove to be the last showing until the second half of the Century (when copyright lapses) of what is so far the definitive version of the film.

It was a truly memorable experience. I had not seen 'Napoleon' for several decades, and that was a shorter version with piano accompaniment ~ though still played at the correct speed. This longer version at the correct speed with The London Philharmonic Orchestra and the RFH organ playing in full volume for the climax was a mind-blowing experience. I have not seen Coppola's 'keystone cops' version, but if the trailer on this website is any guide, with Napoleon strutting in Chaplinesque mode, it seems a travesty of what I saw; More 'Homage to Mack Sennett'.

It is clear that these two versions are radically different. It seems grossly unfair to score and review the two main versions in a single poll as if they were the same. The 95 minute difference in running time is longer than many complete films reviewed on this site ~ such as Bronenosets Potyomkin from the same era. There are clearly enough reports/votes to permit the two versions to be scored separately. I suspect the approval rating of the longer version would be significantly higher than for the Coppola version.

It there is ever another opportunity to see this latest version (or even better, an even fuller version) with the Carl Davis score, I shall do my utmost to seize the opportunity.