Napoléon (1927)
A film about the French Field Marshal's youth and early military career. (imdb)
Cast and Information
Directed By: Abel Gance
Written By: Abel Gance
Starring: Abel Gance, Annabella, Edmond Van Daële, Albert Dieudonné, Antonin Artaud, Vladimir Roudenko, Alexandre Koubitzky
AKA: Abel Gance's Napoleon
Country: France
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Napoléon belongs to 71 collections
1. 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (collaborative: moderated by kozan26 - 233 stars)
2. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2008 revision) (collaborative: moderated by Scottathon - 39 stars)
3. Empire's 500 Greatest Movies Of All Time (public: Ross - 36 stars)
4. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2010 revision) (collaborative: moderated by MMAlpha - 32 stars)
5. The Guardian's 1000 films to see before you die (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 30 stars)
6. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2014 revision) (collaborative: moderated by Jehan - 27 stars)
7. Best of criticker: Top 250 (collaborative: moderated by avgcrtckr - 26 stars)
8. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2012 revision) (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 25 stars)
9. AAA: Empire's five star movies (collaborative: moderated by KasperL - 24 stars)
10. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2017 revision) (collaborative: moderated by iconogassed - 22 stars)
11. The Story of Film: An Odyssey (collaborative: moderated by rant1229 - 20 stars)
12. Over 3 Hours Long (collaborative: moderated by djross - 19 stars)
13. They Shoot Pictures' Recommended Viewing (collaborative: moderated by Cinephile - 19 stars)
14. Best of criticker: Drama (collaborative: moderated by avgcrtckr - 18 stars)
15. Cahiers du cinema's 100 Greatest Films (collaborative: moderated by CCLZA - 17 stars)
16. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2013 revision) (collaborative: moderated by rant1229 - 16 stars)
17. Best film of top directors (collaborative: moderated by avgcrtckr - 15 stars)
18. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2011 revision) (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 14 stars)
19. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2020 revision) (public: djross - 14 stars)
20. Sight and Sound 2012 (collaborative: moderated by DavidB - 13 stars)
21. Harvard University's Suggested Film Viewing List: Narrative Films (collaborative: moderated by dardan - 12 stars)
22. films101.com's 5 star films (collaborative: moderated by ppinocchio - 11 stars)
23. International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 11 stars)
24. Martin Scorsese's Foreign Film List (public: Hkit - 10 stars)
25. Epic Battles (collaborative: moderated by doctor7 - 9 stars)
26. Sight and Sound 2002 (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 9 stars)
27. Epic (collaborative - 8 stars)
28. Biographical (collaborative: moderated by iconogassed - 7 stars)
29. Silent (collaborative: moderated by Dorkovsky - 7 stars)
30. BFI Film Classics (collaborative: moderated by MMAlpha - 7 stars)
31. The Top 100 Silent Era Films (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 7 stars)
32. David Thomson's 1000 Films (collaborative: moderated by MMAlpha - 7 stars)
33. List: Taschen (collaborative: moderated by KasperL - 6 stars)
34. TSPDT Top 200 Directors: Best Film (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 6 stars)
35. Best of criticker: War (collaborative: moderated by avgcrtckr - 6 stars)
36. The Vatican Film List (collaborative: moderated by MMAlpha - 5 stars)
37. Films referenced in Histoire(s) du cinéma (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 5 stars)
38. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2007 revision) (collaborative: moderated by Scottathon - 4 stars)
39. Really Really Long: 5+ Hours (collaborative: moderated by Dorkovsky - 4 stars)
40. List: The Essential 100 by TIFF (expert panel) (collaborative: moderated by KasperL - 4 stars)
41. Average Percentile >70 (collaborative: moderated by peyrin - 4 stars)
42. IMDb Top of The 1920s (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 3 stars)
43. 501 Movie Directors (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 3 stars)
44. Cult Movies (Danny Peary) (collaborative: moderated by iconogassed - 3 stars)
45. Coheed's Films I Need To See Or Try To Track Down (public: Coheed - 3 stars)
46. Djross top 60 movies for me to see (public: djross - 2 stars)
47. Susan Sontag: "best films (not in order)," compiled ca. 1977. (public: karamazov. - 2 stars)
48. Discussed in Truffaut's "The Films in My Life" (public: juandr - 2 stars)
49. Historical (collaborative: moderated by Dorkovsky - 1 star)
50. John Kobal Presents The Top 100 Movies (collaborative: moderated by CCLZA - 1 star)
51. Silent Greats (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 1 star)
52. A Year of Essential Cinema (collaborative: moderated by Ibetolis1 - 1 star)
53. Halliwell's Four Star Films (collaborative: moderated by MacSwell - 1 star)
54. movies of the year - Brian (public: JooJoo - 1 star)
55. toucé (public: rnest - 1 star)
56. French Revolution (collaborative: moderated by djross)
57. Napoleon (collaborative: moderated by Ag0stoMesmer)
58. Historical Figures (collaborative: moderated by comepelicula)
59. PeaceAnarchy's film of the year (public: PeaceAnarchy)
60. Best of the Year (public: MartinTeller)
61. My DVDs/Blu-rays, for better or worse (public: Actionberg)
62. Egbert's Top 25 (public: EgbertSouse)
63. cinemateq 04/12 (public: prowler)
64. My DVD Collection (public: balseiros)
65. Filmspotting Ratings Project: Week 12 (public: PeaceAnarchy)
66. Top 101 (public: losrasputin)
67. KENDELL'S MASSIVE LIST (public: kendell)
68. Forrest Watch List (public: ForrestQ)
69. Sight and Sound 2012 - Combined list - Part II (public: Ariaz)
70. 100 (public: ehk2)
71. hmt (public: rnest)
Browse the full list of collections
| Stars | User | Rating | |
| 7 |  |
MartinTeller | 97 99th |
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So masterfully filmed, it's mind-blowing. The energy, intensity, quality and brilliance never lets up. Gance's command of cinematic language is awe-inspiring. Cross-cutting, rapid editing, flashbacks, superimpositions and the triple-screen ending; he exploits technique to the fullest to enhance his storytelling. And a great story it is, too, with one of history's most fascinating characters at the center. A compelling tale full of drama, intrigue, action, comedy and romance.
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| 5 |  |
Valenzetti | 100 99th |
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Hard to wrap your head around. Such a staggering, immense work of creative and emotional power. There are points at which the screen feels so alive, it seems on the verge of pulling itself apart. I viewed the 1989 Brownlow version, with Carl Davis' wonderful score.
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| 4 |  |
PeaceAnarchy | 95 99th |
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The rapid cuts, the camera movement, the wonderful score, the compelling story, there's nothing this film doesn't do right.
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| 4 |  |
Barthalen | 99 99th |
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What an incredible masterpiece. I was completely blown away by the early yet already masterful use of film techniques we now take for granted. The Coppola score combines fantastically with the dynamic, gripping visuals. Must be seen to be believed, my bumbling words can't really convey the sheer epic effort in both storytelling and filmmaking.
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| 4 |  |
omgfridge | 10 97th |
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Scale wise, Abel Gance has constructed a monstrous production. Its only 1927 yet so many filming techniques are on show to such an incredible extent. The orchestral score is staggering and makes me wish I could see this film in a cinema. Napoleon Bonaparte's story is shown and told in so many ways that only makes other biopics seem so feeble in comparison.
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| 3 |  |
Stain | 60 47th |
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I can't take all the damn camera waving. It's the first of a long line of "art" films in which the director grabs you by the lapels and screams in your face, "CAN'T YOU SEE HOW BRILLIANT I AM"
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| 3 |  |
Henrik | 100 99th |
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My rating is based on an unreleased Nazi-edited short version (only runs 94 min.), often called "Hitler's version" as it supposedly were in German possession during WWII. And perhaps the German effektivität paid off: Allthough the triptych-climax was missing, it was tight, mad and had lots of oomph, celebrating power, strength, order, catapulting Napoléon, literally, to übermensch..."Ein Führer war da!" (I'm guessing Hitler liked it too).
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| 3 |  |
TrixRabbi | 91 98th |
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Easily one of the all-time greatest achievements of the art form and perhaps in the Top 3 of silent cinema. Gance, utilizing every possible tool and editing trick in the book, made a sprawling and astounding epic.
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| 2 |  |
Spunkie | 85 97th |
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(2x, Music in 12 Parts) Napoleon standing on a pile of corpses on the battlefield, probably contemplating his next advance. Now, this may as well be what Kinski drew inspiration from. Gance's rendition of Bonaparte has no apologies, no -your hero of day infact had many inherent weaknesses-, it's lasersight delivery of one of the inhuman persona in history. And the sheer size of it is jawdropping. If a movie is shot today with the techniques within here it'd be considered reforming.
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| 2 |  |
JooJoo | 6 95th |
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A mind-boggling array of technical and aesthetic craftsmanship. Peerless.
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| 2 |  |
KasperL | 50 30th |
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Watching this not long after 'War and Peace' (1967) proved seriously unwise. What I thought would be an inspired companion piece came off as wildly inferior. Also, I had expected the triptych to be used much more than just in the last few scenes. So please understand that my rating is supposed to reflect my lack of enjoyment - I'm not saying it's uninteresting from a film historical perspective or that it wasn't an achievement in 1927 - it's just that I can't really recommend sitting through it.
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| 2 | Mechatigger | 100 91st |
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This towering masterpiece is one of the greatest films ever made, and has been superbly reconstructed. The fact that Gance directed this epochal and visually stunning biography in 1925-1927 makes the film all the more remarkable.
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| 2 |  |
Bown | 88 88th |
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Saw the 5 1/2 hr 2016 digital restoration at the BFI Southbank. One of the best cinema experiences a film fan could possibly have. Aside from some dragging in Act III, this clips along at a remarkable pace, with cinematography and editing which is astounding even now. I can't imagine how groundbreaking this must have been when it was first released. Gance has such a blatant crush on Napoleon tho, he gushes about him like crazy
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| 2 | bob thrillin | 97 97th |
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Holy SHIT. This is a technically flawless film. The only dip is the 20-minute sequence about The Terror, which is indispensable from a narrative standpoint but lacks the sheer energy that makes the other 3 hours 40 minutes so mindblowing. The editing. The multiple exposures. Dieudonne's performance. The ending. It bears repeating: holy SHIT. Everything you've heard about it is true. Find a copy and watch it IMMEDIATELY.
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| 1 |  |
Moribunny | 75 84th |
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One of the more impressive cinematic epics of the silent era. The acting and everything about the production is top tier, and master craftsman Abel Gance utilizes each and every lighting and editing trick available to a mid-1920s filmmaker. As a historical biography this is obviously a seminal work whose thumbprint marks the genre to this day. I wish I knew the material well enough to judge its historical accuracy, but its seeming sympathy to Bonaparte is perhaps problematic.
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| 1 | xacviant | 93 97th |
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The sheer ambition of NAPOLEON would be enough to secure its place in film history, and what it accomplishes in terms of editing, cinematography, and production design are on a par with anything that has come since. And in Albert Dieudonne, Abel Gance found as perfect a Napoleon as one could hope for. The romantic elements (most of which are complete fabrication) are distressingly mediocre, but they can be overlooked in favor of such marvels as the soaring final triptych. Brisk at 5 1/2 hours.
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| 1 |  |
Communicants | 85 87th |
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Totally worth over five hours of my life, but the version I saw didn't reproduce the triptych and now I'm super bummed.
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| Average Percentile 77.96% from 369 Ratings |  |