Napoléon (1927)

Director:

Abel Gance

Writer:

Abel Gance (written by)

Release Date:

17 February 1929 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | History | War

Tagline:

Abel Gance's 1927 Masterpiece [reissue]

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Military | French Revolution | Campaign | Snowball Fight | Corsica

Awards:

3 wins

Cast

Albert Dieudonné	...	Napoléon Bonaparte
Vladimir Roudenko	...	Napoléon Bonaparte enfant
Edmond Van Daële	...	Maximilien Robespierre
Alexandre Koubitzky	...	Danton
Antonin Artaud	...	Marat
Abel Gance	...	Louis Saint-Just
Gina Manès	...	Joséphine de Beauharnais
Suzanne Bianchetti	...	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

Also Known As:

Abel Gance's Napoleon (USA)
Napoléon Bonaparte (France)
Napoléon vu par Abel Gance (France)
Napoleon (USA)
Napoleon (Austria) (Germany) [de]
Napoleón (Spain) [es]
Napoleon (Greece) [el]
Napoleon (Brazil) [pt]
Napoleon (Poland) [pl]
Napoleone (Italy) [it]
Napolyon (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]

Runtime:

Spain:222 min (DVD edition) | UK:330 min (2000 restoration) | USA:235 min (1981 restored version) | 313 min (20 fps) (cinémathèque française print)

Country:

France

Color:

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

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby (1981 re-release) | Mono | Silent

Certification:

South Korea:All (2004) | Finland:K-12 (1966) | Spain:T | Sweden:Btl | USA:G (1981 re-release)

Filming Locations:

Briançon, Hautes-Alpes, France

Company:

Films Abel Gance

Trivia:

Abel Gance remembered one scene that was removed by the censors, that of the civilian execution by soldiers. The camera is used like a bullet, zooming towards one human target, then another, then another. The sequence is lost, although a still photograph does survive.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Junoit makes a comment about not needing sand when an artillery shell dumps soil on the sign he is painting. This is based on an actual incident, but Junot was writing a letter for Napoleon not painting a sign.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "As Time Goes By: A Trip to Los Angeles (#3.8)" (1994)

an emotional extravaganza that reaches across time

I had the privilege of seeing the restored version of this film, to the accompaniment of a live orchestra under the baton of Carmine Coppola, in Los Angeles' un-air-conditioned war memorial. Despite uncomfortable seating and terrible heat, the experience of this four hour movie remains a watershed for anyone who attended. To think that because of the invention of sound, this masterpiece was partially destroyed by Abel Gance in a fit of depression, is heartbreaking. More shocking is that Gance's invention of Cinemascope - of which today only the end of the film retains in its triptych screen effect - was lost to filmgoers until its reinvention years later.

Obviously true art can't be hidden forever, and Gance did live to see Napoleon take its rightful place in cinematic history. Though it is many years later, I can still remember the tears and the ovation when the black screen with the white signature, "Abel Gance", signified the end of the film. A compelling and great work of art.