Search a film or person :
FacebookConnectionRegistration
Napoleon is a french film of genre Drama directed by Abel Gance released in USA on 11 february 1929 with Albert Dieudonné

Napoleon (2024)

Napoleon
If you like this film, let us know!
Released in USA 11 february 1929
Length 5h30
Directed by
OriginFrance
Genres Drama,    War,    Biography,    Historical
Rating81% 4.0944054.0944054.0944054.0944054.094405

Napoléon is a 1927 epic silent French film directed by Abel Gance that tells the story of Napoleon's early years. On screen, the title is Napoléon vu par Abel Gance, meaning "Napoleon as seen by Abel Gance". The film is recognised as a masterwork of fluid camera motion, produced in a time when most camera shots were static. Many innovative techniques were used to make the film, including fast cutting, extensive close-ups, a wide variety of hand-held camera shots, location shooting, point of view shots, multiple-camera setups, multiple exposure, superimposition, underwater camera, kaleidoscopic images, film tinting, split screen and mosaic shots, multi-screen projection, and other visual effects. A revival of Napoléon in the mid-1950s influenced the filmmakers of the French New Wave.

The film begins in Brienne-le-Château with youthful Napoleon attending military school where he manages a snowball fight like a military campaign, yet he suffers the insults of other boys. It continues a decade later with scenes of the French Revolution and Napoleon's presence at the periphery as a young army lieutenant. He returns to visit his family home in Corsica but politics shift against him and put him in mortal danger. He flees, taking his family to France. Serving as an officer of artillery in the Siege of Toulon, Napoleon's genius for leadership is rewarded with a promotion to brigadier general. Jealous revolutionaries imprison Napoleon but then the political tide turns against the Revolution's own leaders. Napoleon leaves prison, forming plans to invade Italy. He falls in love with the beautiful Joséphine de Beauharnais. The emergency government charges him with the task of protecting the National Assembly. Succeeding in this he is promoted to Commander-in-Chief of the Army of the Interior, and he marries Joséphine. He takes control of the army which protects the French–Italian border, and propels it to victory in an invasion of Italy.

Gance planned for Napoléon to be the first of six movies about Napoleon's career, a chronology of great triumph and defeat ending in Napoleon's death in exile on the island of Saint Helena. After the difficulties encountered in making the first film, Gance realised that the costs involved would make the full project impossible.

The film was first released in a gala at the Palais Garnier (then the home of the Paris Opera) on 7 April 1927. Napoléon had been screened in only eight European cities when Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer bought the rights to it, but after screening it in London, it was cut drastically in length, and only the central panel of the three-screen Polyvision sequences were retained before it was put on limited release in the US. There, the silent masterpiece was indifferently received at a time when talkies were just starting to appear. The film was restored in 1981 after twenty years' work by silent film historian Kevin Brownlow.

Synopsis

The scenario of the film as originally written by Gance was published in 1927 by Librairie Plon. Much of the scenario describes scenes that were rejected during initial editing, and do not appear in any known version of the film. The following plot includes only those scenes that are known to have been included in some version of the film. Not every scene described below can be viewed today.

Actors

Albert Dieudonné

(Napoléon Bonaparte)
Gina Manès

(Joséphine, Viscountess of Beauharnais)
Antonin Artaud

(Jean-Paul Marat)
Edmond van Daële

(Maximilien Robespierre)
Abel Gance

(Louis Antoine Léon de Saint-Just)
Trailer of Napoleon

Bluray, DVD

Streaming / VOD

Source : Wikidata

Comments


Leave comment :

Suggestions of similar film to Napoleon

There are 81 films with the same actors, 44 films with the same director, 63603 with the same cinematographic genres (including 124 with exactly the same 4 genres than Napoleon), 13750 films with the same themes (including 0 films with the same 7 themes than Napoleon), to have finally 70 suggestions of similar films.

If you liked Napoleon, you will probably like those similar films :
The Battle of Austerlitz, 2h46
Directed by Abel Gance
Origin France
Genres Drama, War, Historical
Themes French war films, Political films, Histoire de France, Napoleonic Wars films, French Revolution films
Actors Pierre Mondy, Martine Carol, Claudia Cardinale, Leslie Caron, Elvire Popesco, Georges Marchal
Rating63% 3.152063.152063.152063.152063.15206
The first half of this film covers Napoleon's coronation as Emperor and political manoeuvrings while the second half covers the actual battle, where he beat both Austrian and Russian forces in his drive eastward.
J'accuse
J'accuse (1919)
, 2h46
Directed by Abel Gance
Origin France
Genres Drama, War, Horror, Historical, Romance
Themes French war films, Political films
Actors Romuald Joubé, Séverin-Mars, Maryse Dauvray, Maxime Desjardins
Rating76% 3.839993.839993.839993.839993.83999
In a Provençal village in the south of France, the villagers welcome the declaration of war with Germany in 1914 and flock to enlist. Among them is François Laurin, a man of jealous and violent temperament, who is married to Édith, the daughter of an upright veteran soldier Maria Lazare. François suspects, correctly, that Édith is conducting an affair with the poet Jean Diaz who lives in the village with his mother, and he sends Édith to stay with his parents in Lorraine - where she is subsequently captured and raped by German soldiers. François and Jean find themselves serving in the same battalion at the front, where the initial tensions between them give way to a close friendship that acknowledges that they both love Édith.
I Accuse
I Accuse (1938)
, 1h44
Directed by Abel Gance
Origin France
Genres Drama, Science fiction, War, Horror
Themes French war films, Ghost films, Political films
Actors Victor Francen, Line Noro, Sylvie Gance, Paul Amiot, Jean-Louis Barrault, Marcel Delaître
Rating69% 3.4806753.4806753.4806753.4806753.480675
The married Edith Laurin has a love affair with her husband's best friend. When both men serve together at the front her spouse realises he's cuckolded. Because his old friend is also his comrade who fights at his side again the mutual enemy, Laurin doesn't take action against him. After Laurin has died his friend returns home as a cripple.
Tower of Lust, 2h
Directed by Abel Gance
Origin France
Genres Drama, Historical
Themes Politique, Political films, Films about royalty
Actors Pierre Brasseur, Silvana Pampanini, Paul Guers, Jacques Toja, Constant Remy, Michel Bouquet
Rating57% 2.8971952.8971952.8971952.8971952.897195
Sous Louis X, la tour de Nesle est le théâtre des orgies de la reine Marguerite de Bourgogne et de deux princesses de ses amies qui font assassiner leurs amants au matin.
La Roue
La Roue (1923)
, 4h33
Directed by Abel Gance
Origin France
Genres Drama
Themes Transport films, Rail transport films
Actors Pierre Magnier, Séverin-Mars, Ivy Close, Max Maxudian, Gabriel de Gravone, Abel Gance
Rating74% 3.742533.742533.742533.742533.74253
Railroad engineer Sisif (Severin-Mars) rescues a small orphan, whose name he learns is Norma (Ivy Close), following a disastrous crash. He raises the little girl as his own, along with his son Elie (Gabriel de Gravone), whose mother died during his birth.
Lucrezia Borgia, 1h33
Directed by Abel Gance
Origin France
Genres Drama, Historical, Romance
Actors Edwige Feuillère, Gabriel Lelièvre, Antonin Artaud, Maurice Escande, Roger Karl, Aimé Clariond
Rating60% 3.0465353.0465353.0465353.0465353.046535
César Borgia, fils du pape Alexandre VI, veut marier sa sœur Lucrèce Borgia à des fins politiques. Mais Lucrèce se rebelle contre son frère...
Mater Dolorosa
Directed by Abel Gance
Origin France
Genres Drama
Actors Antonin Artaud, Gaston Dubosc, Samson Fainsilber, Jean Galland, Line Noro, Jean Servais
Rating64% 3.232983.232983.232983.232983.23298
L'un des films de mélodrame les plus populaires réalisé par Abel Gance. Un mari paranoïaque, fanatique et obsessionnellement jaloux enlève son propre fils pour intimider sa femme.