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Napoleon

Original title: Napoléon vu par Abel Gance
  • 19271927
  • 5h 30m
IMDb RATING
8.2/10
7.8K
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Albert Dieudonné, Vladimir Roudenko, and Edmond Van Daële in Napoléon vu par Abel Gance (1927)
A film about the French general's youth and early military career.
Play trailer1:31
2 Videos
73 Photos
  • Biography
  • Drama
  • History

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

IMDb RATING
8.2/10
7.8K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Abel Gance
  • Writer
    • Abel Gance
  • Stars
    • Albert Dieudonné
    • Vladimir Roudenko
    • Edmond Van Daële
Top credits
  • Director
    • Abel Gance
  • Writer
    • Abel Gance
  • Stars
    • Albert Dieudonné
    • Vladimir Roudenko
    • Edmond Van Daële
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 76User reviews
    • 49Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 5 wins & 1 nomination

    Videos2

    Trailer
    Trailer 1:31
    Trailer
    Sneak Previews Season 3 Episode 27
    Video 29:09
    Sneak Previews Season 3 Episode 27

    Photos73

    Albert Dieudonné in Napoléon vu par Abel Gance (1927)
    Albert Dieudonné in Napoléon vu par Abel Gance (1927)
    Annabella and Albert Dieudonné in Napoléon vu par Abel Gance (1927)
    Albert Dieudonné and Gina Manès in Napoléon vu par Abel Gance (1927)
    Napoléon vu par Abel Gance (1927)
    Napoléon vu par Abel Gance (1927)
    Napoléon vu par Abel Gance (1927)
    Napoléon vu par Abel Gance (1927)
    Napoléon vu par Abel Gance (1927)
    Napoléon vu par Abel Gance (1927)
    Albert Dieudonné in Napoléon vu par Abel Gance (1927)
    Vladimir Roudenko in Napoléon vu par Abel Gance (1927)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Albert Dieudonné
    Albert Dieudonné
    • Napoléon Bonaparteas Napoléon Bonaparte
    Vladimir Roudenko
    • Napoléon Bonaparte enfantas Napoléon Bonaparte enfant
    Edmond Van Daële
    Edmond Van Daële
    • Maximilien Robespierreas Maximilien Robespierre
    Alexandre Koubitzky
    • Georges-Jacques Dantonas Georges-Jacques Danton
    Antonin Artaud
    Antonin Artaud
    • Jean-Paul Maratas Jean-Paul Marat
    Abel Gance
    Abel Gance
    • Louis Saint-Justas Louis Saint-Just
    Gina Manès
    Gina Manès
    • Joséphine de Beauharnaisas Joséphine de Beauharnais
    Suzanne Bianchetti
    Suzanne Bianchetti
    • La reine Marie-Antoinetteas La reine Marie-Antoinette
    Marguerite Gance
    • Charlotte Cordayas Charlotte Corday
    Yvette Dieudonné
    • Élisa Bonaparteas Élisa Bonaparte
    Philippe Hériat
    Philippe Hériat
    • Antonio Salicettias Antonio Salicetti
    Pierre Batcheff
    Pierre Batcheff
    • Le général Lazare Hocheas Le général Lazare Hoche
    Eugénie Buffet
    • Laetizia Bonaparteas Laetizia Bonaparte
    Acho Chakatouny
    • Pozzo di Borgoas Pozzo di Borgo
    Nicolas Koline
    Nicolas Koline
    • Tristan Fleurias Tristan Fleuri
    Max Maxudian
    Max Maxudian
    • Barrasas Barras
    • (as Maxudian)
    Annabella
    Annabella
    • Violine Fleuri et Désirée Claryas Violine Fleuri et Désirée Clary
    Henri Baudin
    Henri Baudin
    • Santo-Ricci - le berger corseas Santo-Ricci - le berger corse
    • Director
      • Abel Gance
    • Writer
      • Abel Gance
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit
    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. —Michael Brooke <michael@everyman.demon.co.uk>
    • military uniform
    • french politics
    • french republic
    • french first republic
    • french history
    • 82 more
    • Plot summary
    • Add synopsis
    • Taglines
      • Abel Gance's 1927 Masterpiece [reissue]
    • Genres
      • Biography
      • Drama
      • History
      • War
    • Parents guide

    Did you know

    Edit
    • 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.
    • Goofs
      One of the Corsicans in the inn states "Our fatherland is Italy with the Duke of Savoy". The Duchy of Savoy had ceased to exist in 1713 (eighty years earlier), when the Duchy acquired the Kingdom of Sardinia and the Duke then bore the title of the King of Sardinia. Italy was a geographic place not a political entity at this time.
    • 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.
    • Connections
      Edited into Napoléon Bonaparte (1935)
    • 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 reviews76

    Review
    Top review
    9/10
    Excellent -- but where's the DVD?
    I saw this back in '81 or '82, on the Big Screen at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, with Carmine Coppola conducting a live orchestra -- there has never been anything like that in all my movie-going experience! The closest that's come since was _Intolerance_, restored, with another live orchestra performing under the baton of the composer, Gillian Anderson (no, not the one from the X-Files). That, too, was an occasion to remember ... but where is Napoleon on DVD?

    As many other reviewers have said, Napoleon was a relevatory experience. Certainly, other films to that point had used most of the devices Gance employed so brilliantly (except, of course, his three-screen-wide "Polyvision"), but then sound came in and the requirements of the microphone killed the recently mobilized camera. The camera became very static for at least the next ten years of films -- dynamic camera movements only returned when sound mixing came in to being, and scenes could be shot MOS (mit out sound), with foley and overdubbing replacing the missed sounds.

    For this reason, Napoleon is important to see -- as a technical achievement. But Gance's artistry wasn't limited to gimmicks. His pacing, editing, and direction of the actors (including Dieudonne as Nappy -- looking amazingly Rod-Stewart-like) is excellent as well.

    Highly recommended -- and when the DVD comes out -- hopefully, with the fuller, five-hour restoration, and Coppola's music on one track, with a reconstruction of the original music on another (and perhaps Gillian Anderson has a score of her own to share?) -- you'll owe it to yourself, as a student of Film, to see it, over and over again.
    helpful•22
    2
    • Bry-2
    • Jan 6, 2003

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • February 17, 1929 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • France
    • Also known as
      • Abel Gance's Napoleon
    • Filming locations
      • Environs d'Ajaccio, Corse, France
    • Production companies
      • Ciné France
      • Films Abel Gance
      • Isepa-Wengeroff Film GmbH
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • FRF 20,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross worldwide
      • $39,448
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      5 hours 30 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
      • Silent
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1
      • 4.00:1

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    Jan 20The Playlist

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