Napoléon (Abel Gance, 1927)

[HerrSchreck]

I can't believe that for a film of this importance which would constitute such a no brainer for the core audiences of so many quality arthouse labels across the regions that a joint funding effort couldn't be put together resulting ultimately in am HD master to be used for each respective market.

I hope after years of bemoaning the rights situation which has now been hurdled, Brownlow is only trying to scare people into a cognizance of what the repercussions will be if some serious logistical financial thinking is not endeavored upon. . .

I mean seriously we have equally long orchestral scores for Lang epics, serials like Judex Fantomas and Les Vampires. .
With these last three enjoying a far smaller fan base..

[neilist]

If the score is being performed live next year in London, musicians would be being rehearsed for this; it seems obvious to say that using these same musicians (assuming they're available) to record a score in a studio around the same time for a DVD/Blu-ray release would remove a significant part of the music cost if they're already rehearsed. That's not to say though that it still wouldn't cost a vast amount of money...

[MichaelB]

If the score is being performed live next year in London, musicians would be being rehearsed for this; it seems obvious to say that using these same musicians (assuming they're available) to record a score in a studio around the same time for a DVD/Blu-ray release would remove a significant part of the music cost if they're already rehearsed. That's not to say though that it still wouldn't cost a vast amount of money...

Oh yes, there are definitely ways of cutting the cost, but no ways of reducing it to the point where it becomes negligible: inescapably, it's going to be very, very expensive, and I doubt very much that the BFI could afford to put up the money single-handed (especially not with the recent grant cut). So if it happens at all, some sort of collaborative effort would be more or less essential.

[Gregory]

I'd be surprised if a Kickstarter project wouldn't be able to quickly raise tens of thousands of dollars, with backers ultimately receiving a DVD or Blu-ray, thanks in the booklet, or any other number of perks based on level of support.

[Calvin]

It would obviously be difficult to sort out but if money can be raised for a release of Manos: The Hands of Fate it seems preposterous that the cinephile community couldn't do the same for something like Napoleon.

[jheez]

I suggested on NitrateVille about Kickstarter, hoping maybe David Shepard or someone that could get it started would take notice. I really wish they would record the live screenings, but in addition to the financial reasons I bet they'd be up against some musician union rules

[antnield]

German DVD of the 1981 version in May.

[MichaelB]

German DVD of the 1981 version in May.

...in what appears to be an almost certainly non-English-friendly double bill with Austerlitz.

Interestingly, Optimum was supposed to put out those films in Britain a few years back, and even got to the checkdisc stage before Napoleon was withdrawn for rights reasons and they decided that Austerlitz wasn't strong enough to release on its own.

[jwd5275]

Napolean on Criterion website.

[HerrSchreck]

When he mentions that Gance took thr money that he was supposed to use for six pictures and sink it into one grand spectacle, thus not making waterloo or St Helena, It should be noted that Lupu Pick.DID make NAPOLEON AT ST HELENA, a very good film starring Werner Krauss as Nap., using Gance's original material as a starting point.

My god, if CC puts this film out in a lavish edition, I'll collapse inta spurting epileptic flops of joy. Print of the new restoration here in states, CC connecting w Brownlow and going public about it, etcetc. . .

Also would love to see the definitive edition of CABIRIA that was rumored by Ebert then poo pooed aa a mistake.

[Drucker]

Could it be at all possible that at least part of their rationale behind promoting the restoration would be to show the rights-holders just how good of a job they can do? ie. look how much traffic we can generate about this on our website alone with a mere 7 slides?!

[nsps]

Well, a Criterion release would be a great achievement for both the label and the awareness of the film. The post on the website has me optimistic, but I've heard so much conflicting back-and-forth stories about a home release that I'll wait for an official announcement.

I'm flying to Oakland tomorrow morning and extremely excited.

[Saturnome]

So, so, so jealous. It's a dream of mine to see this film on the big screen. I even made a crappy, french webcomic about it. I really hope Criterion is seriously considering this one, and that they're working on it right now, because if they want to get an orchestral score, it should be right now. Have a good time

[WorstFella]

I won't waste too much time talking about the film, suffice to say it met my unreasonably high expectations.

I met Kevin Brownlow after going backstage. I asked him (among many other things), if any DVD labels were biting at Napoleon. He said: "No. Well, Criterion is biting now."

[gcgiles1dollarbin]

Just returned from the performance in Oakland. I am mostly fond of the faces in close-up: Albert Dieudonné, of course, as Napoleon, and his wee-man doppelgänger, Vladimir Roudenko, a perfect miniature; Gina Manès as Josephine, who reminds me, for some reason, of María Casares; Artaud as Marat; Edmond Van Daële as Robespierre with needle-pricked complexion and black-lensed glasses that are as unnerving as Dr. Gogol's in Mad Love when the latter posed as Rollo. Gorgeous faces.

The film unfolds like a series of hyperactive tableaux vivants, buzzing internally with intense energy but connected only by the cult of personality; it has zero narrative drive, the seams are gaping. Bio-pics are notoriously episodic in this way--replete with invented coincidences, premonitions, famous people portentously announcing their names when asked who they are--Napoleon is full of this, too, but Gance delights in kaleidoscopic repetition. Within many sequences, the martial montage becomes stroboscopic, stuttering in place or eddying, vertiginous, kind of stuck, no forward motion, like this sentence. Occasionally it works really well: when Napoleon is at sea in a storm, for example, cross-cut with the tidal disruption at the National Assembly when Robespierre condemns the Girondists, a camera swinging overhead at one point. If the film wasn't such a patent hagiography, I would say that Gance is using this firecracker form as a critique of imperial ambition. The ghosts of the Terror goad him at one point into war, and I suppose this is an irony, but...

Lots of ham-fisted symbolism, Josephine's face on a globe, the eagle's shadow, the entire fucking eagle spread across the famous triptych. I know I seem to be taking it down a notch or two after all the epic anticipation, and I don't mean to sound like I didn't enjoy it--the music was outstanding, a great mash-up of classical themes, most noticeably Beethoven (and the inevitable "Marseillaise" in a whole suite of modes and moods)--but, man, what a fascist portrait! I'm exhausted. The audience was great. I saw Leonard Maltin puttering around with a bag of toffee corn. What more could you ask for?

My favorite scene was the snow ball fight. Magnificent opening.

[jwd5275]

The snowball fight was quite amazing, loved the 'storm' scene in the convention hall too with the pendulum mounted cameras. There was so much to take in in many of the scenes, especially in the first and fourth sections (end of the snow ball fight, the pillow fight, all the tripych scenes), that I really wish I had another 9 hours and another 100 bucks to spend on seeing it again. It may be some interest to know that Criterion also took out a full page ad in the program.

[gcgiles1dollarbin]

This looks like an excellent supplement to a Napoleon viewing, if you're in the area:
Film historian Kevin Brownlow speaks on the restoration of Abel Gance’s 1927 masterpiece, Napoleon, now showing at Oakland’s Paramount Theatre. His talk will be illustrated with scenes from the film, accompanied by Judith Rosenberg on piano. 7 p.m. Fri. $5.50$9.50. Pacific Film Archive Theater, 2575 Bancroft Way, UC Berkeley

[sinemadelisikiz]

Film historian Kevin Brownlow speaks on the restoration of Abel Gance’s 1927 masterpiece, Napoleon, now showing at Oakland’s Paramount Theatre.

Sad to say this has already been sold out.

As for the showing this Saturday, I've been meaning to put in my two cents but I don't really know what to add. Honestly it was a pretty overwhelming experience. I'll echo the praise for the snowball fight, "oncoming storm" and of course that glorious polyvision, but I was also impressed with the battle scenes before the end of the first epoch. There was an immediacy to the camerawork that would have been at home in any modern war film, with close-ups of Napoleon in the rain barking out orders. I feel so lucky that I was able to see it like this.

And seeing Napoleon advertised on BART this month was surreal, to say the least.

[gcgiles1dollarbin]

Sad to say this has already been sold out.

Oh, poo. I guess I should have figured; it's a hotter ticket than the movie itself, owing to one occasion, ten dollars, Kevin Brownlow's insight, and a small theater. Thanks for the update.
ADDITION:

I was also impressed with the battle scenes before the end of the first epoch. There was an immediacy to the camerawork that would have been at home in any modern war film, with close-ups of Napoleon in the rain barking out orders.

Yes, I was almost more impressed with the siege of Toulon sequence than the final invasion of Italy with its three screens. There were more intimate moments in the former, some of them gruesome, that gave the battle more texture, satisfying complexity, and breadth. It felt less like a Party Congress rally, if that makes any sense.

And seeing Napoleon advertised on BART this month was surreal, to say the least.

Napoleon looking indignant and imperious, as if demanding to know why a public transport would have upholstered seats.

[jwd5275]

I met Kevin Brownlow after going backstage. I asked him (among many other things), if any DVD labels were biting at Napoleon. He said: "No. Well, Criterion is biting now."

I do have to say, even after seeing this on the big screen(s), I do actually hope they allow Criterion to pick this up (if both parties are truly interested). Most of the 5 1/2 hour film is on a single screen (maybe just over 1/2 hour is in tripych), so the difference between theater and home would be comparable to any other silent. And even for the tripych scenes it is still worth seeing in the greatly reduced form. I would compare it to having seen fold outs of the Sistine chapel in books and then finally seeing it in person. Yes, there is no comparison. The books simply cannot convey the almost 3D quality of the experience of the real thing. However, they can convey enough to make one want to go see the real thing. I think a home video version of Napoleon done right would do exactly that. It would encourage people to want to see those scenes in their full glory, possibly opening funding for events like this showing (and the rumored one in London next year).

[gcgiles1dollarbin]

I do have to say, even after seeing this on the big screen(s), I do actually hope they allow Criterion to pick this up (if both parties are truly interested). Most of the 5 1/2 hour film is on a single screen (maybe just over 1/2 hour is in tripych), so the difference between theater and home would be comparable to any other silent. And even for the tripych scenes it is still worth seeing in the greatly reduced form. I would compare it to having seen fold outs of the Sistine chapel in books and then finally seeing it in person. Yes, there is no comparison. The books simply cannot convey the almost 3D quality of the experience of the real thing. However, they can convey enough to make one want to go see the real thing. I think a home video version of Napoleon do right would do exactly that. It would encourage people to want to see those scenes in their full glory, possibly opening funding for events like this showing (and the rumored one in London next year).

Yes, I agree. Even if the central image shrinks, going from 4:3 to 4:1 would be impressive on a big or even modestly sized monitor. (I think that's the difference in the AR; correct me if I'm wrong.) And, as you say, the triptych sequence is relatively brief after five hours.

[HerrSchreck]

Has there been any reliable information about this coming to NYC? Pretty obvious that this isnt going to be doing your typical indie/arthouse roadshow circuit. . . but it'd be almost unimaginable for it to go back overseas without getting a hi-profile exhibition at say the Directors Guild Theater (where I saw the US premiere of the last restoration of THE RED SHOES thanks to a precious invite), The Zeigfeld. . though I must say that watching those glorious three panel scenes would be a drag on the small screens at Film Forum or even thr Angelika. MoMA's main auditorium would be fabuloso!

[Calvin]

Any Blu-Ray release would have to preserve the original speed while remaining progressive (which I believe could be achieved by repeating every 5th frame). I'm not sure how to get past the triptych conundrum, presumably letterboxing is the only way?

[Drucker]

Has there been any reliable information about this coming to NYC? Pretty obvious that this isnt going to be doing your typical indie/arthouse roadshow circuit. . . but it'd be almost unimaginable for it to go back overseas without getting a hi-profile exhibition at say the Directors Guild Theater (where I saw the US premiere of the last restoration of THE RED SHOES thanks to a precious invite), The Zeigfeld. . though I must say that watching those glorious three panel scenes would be a drag on the small screens at Film Forum or even thr Angelika. MoMA's main auditorium would be fabuloso!

I think I've read at various points that there was no plan on doing this, unfortunately, though I agree that seems rather surprising. I would love to see this at the Met or something, I wonder if it could work there...

[swo17]

I'm not sure how to get past the triptych conundrum, presumably letterboxing is the only way?

If you have a projector and a big screen at home, I suppose you could sort of simulate the effect of the screen expanding by moving closer to your screen during the moment that the image is shrunk to make room on either side. (You'd have to come a little more than halfway the distance between the screen and where you were originally sitting.) I routinely do this myself when going from watching a 1:37 film to one in 2.35:1.