Napoleon

It portrays Napoleon as a very human yet distinct messianic figure, full of prophetic utterances, images, and even a call to enter the promised land at the end of the film! The acting ranges from very good to typical silent film fare...a bit theatrical, since the actors spent the majority of their careers on the stage in the early days of cinema. But overall, it is quite good with memorable characterizations, especially the part of Napoleon as both child and adult.

The camerawork is amazing, close-ups, extreme long shots,superimpositions, hand held, on horseback, or swinging over a riotous crowd...and of course, the "polyvision".

There are so many vivid images here..from the young dejected Napoleon trying to sleep on a cannon on the school attic in winter, Toulons, Napoleon asleep on the field of battle while being promoted, a sea storm worthy of most films for the next half a century and intense battle sequences. There are moments that are intensely patriotic and prophetic along with several that are genuinely comical.

The score added by Carmine Coppola in the early 80's is also quite memorable. A score for a four hour silent film requires something of near Wagnerian proportions, and Coppola does well in creating a coherent score filled with French patriotism and some of the classics as well as his own inventions. The opening titles are vivid. A vigorous drum corp approaches steadily as a horn fanfare builds dramatically and with growing dissonance, building in intensity and finally blazing out in a glorious major chord....and the strings don't appear until the Napoleon theme, proud, youthful and full of optimism.

This is one of the great cinematic feats of the century, as well as being one of the great restorations of all time. It is great to watch....and hear!


THIS IS INDEED THE GREATEST FILM EVER!!!   January 1, 2007
Richard J. Oravitz
5 out of 5 found this review helpful

...At least I thought so when I first saw this MASTERPIECE at the Colony Theater in Shaker Heights (Cleveland), Ohio back in the early 1980's ( I still have the program guide ). It ran nearly 4 hours!!! I was mezmorized. It was presented by Francis Ford Coppola of GODFATHER fame. The score was by Francis's father Carmine Coppola, which I thought was fantastic!!!
Please, Francis...if somehow you are preventing the future release of a superior version of this great masterpiece simply because of legal rights pending your father's score, then shame on you many times over!!! Get it done!!! You've got the money, you've got the fame...I've even enjoyed DEMENTIA 13!!!! & I want to see as complete a version of this film as possible!!! I loved your father's score. I bought the album. I bought the cd. It will probably always be THE NAPOLEON SCORE to me as well as to others!!!
Francis,...I really want the most complete version of Abel Gance's NAPOLEON as possible...Don't screw this up.


an awesome masterpiece with futuristic effects.   September 22, 1999
johnwayne50@earthlink.net (Somerville, Massachusetts)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

I first saw the movie Napoleon in the theater and I was amazed at the effects Abel Gance was able to come up with that appear to be the way movies were to be seen today for widescreen effects. The montage at the last twenty minutes of the movie when the screen appeared regular size for a theater then the side curtains go up to make the battle scene appear lifesize and the eagle with wings spread across the screen when the montage appeared was pure genius. I would highly recommend this movie for any silent movie buff or anyone interested in Napoleon.


Mesmerizing and Unforgettable, even in Video   February 22, 2001
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

There are very few movies I've had to watch again immediately after a first viewing. Napoleon is one of them. I came to this movie expecting to force-sit through it. What I found was a compelling, moving, endlessly fascinating work of art, rich with emotion and humor, and surprising for the overall quality of acting. Even without the many technical effects, this would be a great film. With them, it offers a platform for a host of questions as to why so few films since this film have celebrated the possibilities of the medium so fully and gone the full length of risk-taking. If you are at all interested in the history of film, or film as medium, by all means see this video. I'm sure it can't measure up to a theatrical showing, but it's all we have unless we get lucky and a showing comes to town. The scoring is not bad for this silent, either; I found it rousing in the right places, with some good choices from symphonic works (I believe Berlioz and Beethoven) along the way.


Why I didn't give it five stars   September 13, 2002
William Marut (GLASTONBURY, CT United States)
4 out of 6 found this review helpful

I've read the other reviews. I agree with them, and I won't bother to repeat what they say. This is a great film. However, I chose to award the film four stars instead of five because of Gance's tendency to fixate and belabor. For example, the snowball fight scene at the beginning made its point long before Gance allowed the scene to end. Even people who don't have short attention spans might justifiably wonder when the movie is going to move on. Gance stops and smells the roses so much that in four hours he gets only up to Napoleon's first major campaign. Other directors could have gotten us up to Moscow and back in four hours (although perhaps they could be criticized for not stopping to smell the roses enough). If you are looking for a film whose plot sweeps you along, this is not it. (Don't get me wrong -- the music, scenery, costumes, camera action, etc. do sweep you along -- but not the plot.) If you are looking for a film that picks and finely crafts one scenario after another, this is it.