The immense Napoleon by Abel Gance on the small screen: an event not to be missed

France 5 will finally program this recently restored monument of silent cinema from 1927 in its entirety. That is, more than seven hours of great spectacle on TV. In prime time!

When in the mid-1920s Abel Gance turns his great work on the life of Napoleonthe filmmaker did not see the arrival of talkies coming. As a result, once completed in 1927, its perfectly silent monument was already technically obsolete. Several screenings were, however, organized and Abel Gance, long before Francis Ford Coppola (a big fan of Gance's film Before the Eternal to the point of having asked his father, Carmine, to orchestrate it in 1981), never stopped 'edit the versions.

The copy presented today is the one that Gance himself named, Large version. His recent discovery is the result of titanic work spanning nearly sixteen years. Over more than seven hours we follow the steps of the future emperor from his childhood to the first fires of the Italian campaign. The continuation of the Napoleonic epic was to be the subject of equally ambitious sequels that Gance was ultimately forced to abandon.

1927-2024. Almost a hundred years after the fact, cinema has never been so talkative and can be consumed at leisure on small screens. So here is our Napoleon just resurrected which arrives (finally!) on France 5 for a non-stop marathon and in prime time from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. The Napoleon seen by Abel Gance on TV, is it the cinema that we are assassinating? On the contrary.

A hypnotic “series”

We bet that if Abel Gance, who died in 1981, was still alive, he would have sat comfortably on his sofa this Sunday and would have spent the night (re-)seeing his wonder. A marvel that he structured as a series with well-defined chapters (25 in total) like so many tables that can support an autonomous vision: The prologue (Brienne 1, Brienne 2), a First Part (Des Cordeliers until Double storm), The siege of Toulon and finally a Second part (From The Terror to the Italian campaign) …

Above all, you must not let yourself be intimidated by this mountain which can therefore be climbed in stages. Let us dare to believe that once hypnotized by the power of the film, the viewer will end up forgetting the walls of their bedroom or living room, will mentally push aside the borders of the frame, to be projected body and soul into this world where spatio-temporal landmarks jump. The preview screening of the restoration last July at the Seine Musicale near Paris captivated an audience who had not anticipated the power of the masterpiece.

Invention of split-screen

The Napoleon seen by Abel Gance is a film unlike any other. His narrative excess merges with that of his hero, savior of the Nation (critics of the time reproached Gance for his supposedly blind love of the emperor!) Gance uses (abuses?) all the effects of cinema (alternate editing , light filters, on-board camera, natural settings…) and completely invents the split-screen with its finale initially projected on three screens like a medieval altarpiece. The author of AtalantaJean Vigo, then had this murderous word: “Abel Gance on three screens is three times as stupid!“

As for Napoleon's interpreter, Albert Dieudonnéthe intensity of his gaze strikes terror into those who look at him. It is said that the actor never really recovered from his role.

To accompany this fresco which also knows how to remain intimate, the composer Simon Cloquet-Lafollye has specially created a score based on pre-existing works from the 19th and 20th centuries. The modernity of this gigantic “sample” adds to the vitality of the story. Those who would like to see the film in episodes will benefit from its free presence for 30 days on France.tv at the end of this event broadcast.

The Napoleon seen by Abel Gance on France 5, Friday November 22, from 9 p.m. Duration: 7h18