MovieChat Forums > Napoléon vu par Abel Gance (1929) Discussion > Napoleon

Napoleon

posted 19 years ago by markiparkinson87
2 replies | jump to latest

Abel gance is one of the most talented directors of all time, and yet he does not get the praise he so greatly deserves. Napoleon is a masterpiece not only in the silent film arena, but film alltogether. The only other silent film's that can compare to such a film like Napoleon is, Carl Dreyer,The Passion of Jeanne d’Arc, Murnau's, The last Laugh,Nosferatu, Sergei M. Eisenstein,The Battleship Potemkin,Fritz Lang's Metropolis, and other film that have high artistic quality from directors I have not mentioned. Napoleon should be released on DVD as fast as possible, and Francis Ford Coppola need's to relase the rights to this film, so the most updated version can be shown. As a film student I would love to see the full version of this movie;their's no need for me to mention how revolutionary this film is artistically, that has already been explained various times by critics and film fanatics such as myself. I hope that this film will eventually be released not only on dvd but in theaters.

[–] classicmoviecomedy 19 years ago

I actually think this whole film is underrated, if such a thing is possible. I'm not even as interested in the technical innovations (it is, though, perhaps the single most innovative film ever made in terms of how many new techniques it introduced), as I am with the fact that it's perhaps the biggest epic ever filmed but with such a strong central character at its focus.

And yes, Gance was hugely talented. Some may think he was sort of a one-hit wonder, seeing as how he's really only known as the director of NAPOLEON today, but he made many, many other great films, including LA ROUE and LUCREZIA BORGA among others. I am glad he lived long enough to see the restoration of NAPOLEON in 1981. I only wish he had lived long enough to direct his proposed epic on the life of Christopher Columbus that he was planning in the early 80s.

Matt

[–] forestar44 18 years ago

I think the term under-exposed is more suitable than underrated. Still Napoleon is the easiest to find. I haven't been able to find any of Gance's other films at my library or on Netflix. I hope his best films are restored and made available on DVd soon!