Napoleon
A biopic of Napoleon Bonaparte, tracing the Corsican's career from his schooldays (where a snowball fight is staged like a military campaign) to 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.
- Year: 1927
- Country: France
- Genre: Drama, History, War
- Studio: Société Westi, Ciné France, Films Abel Gance, Isepa-Wengeroff Film, Pathé Consortium Cinéma, Société générale des films
- Keyword: epic, civil war, france, paris, france, italy, french revolution, biography, napoleon bonaparte, based on true story, guillotine, black and white, political campaign, silent film, 18th century, french government, la marseillaise, military school, war in europe, revolutionary war, monochrome, robespierre, reign of terror, national hero, french impressionism, republic, toulon, france, french history, 1790s, historical epic, history
- Director: Abel Gance
- Cast: Albert Dieudonné, Vladimir Roudenko, Edmond van Daële, Alexandre Koubitzky, Antonin Artaud, Abel Gance
Where to start? Carl Davis' recently composed inspiring score provides a wonderful accompaniment to the truly epic silent retrospective on the life of Napoleon. I saw a digital restoration recently and the quality of this over 90 year old film (in 2 parts) has lost none of its vivacity and vigour. We start with a snowball fight and end with high drama via some magnificent battle scenes. The tints and hues are subtle and vibrant and Abel Gance directs this with real flair and accomplishment. True, it is long; but compellingly so and if you are at all interested in the story of himself; the French reinvigoration that he led and inspired and of the subsequent historical events that gripped the whole of Europe then this is just the film. It seems way too brief a review for such a masterpiece, but in this case - less is definitely more. His megalomania and shrewd determination is writ large with excellent performances and grand cinematography well ahead of it's time. A big screen must if ever there was one - though take a cushion! (It is also worth acclaiming the skills of those responsible for the preservation and restoration of this film - it is astonishing how much of it has still survived, and in such great quality).