Napoléon
Napoléon
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Napoléon

Napoléon

1927
Drama, War
5h 30m
A film about the French Field Marshal's youth and early military career. (imdb)

Napoléon

1927
Drama, War
5h 30m
Your probable score
Avg Percentile 77.29% from 391 total ratings

Ratings & Reviews

(394)
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Rated 20 Apr 2008
97
99th
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.
Rated 10 Dec 2010
100
99th
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.
Rated 28 Nov 2015
91
98th
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.
Rated 09 Jul 2010
95
99th
The rapid cuts, the camera movement, the wonderful score, the compelling story, there's nothing this film doesn't do right.
Rated 28 Mar 2010
10
97th
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.
Rated 29 Nov 2009
99
99th
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.
Rated 13 Feb 2015
100
99th
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).
Rated 09 May 2013
97
97th
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.
Rated 10 Dec 2009
100
91st
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.
Rated 25 Mar 2007
60
47th
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"
Rated 27 Nov 2016
88
88th
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
Rated 26 Mar 2012
50
29th
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.
Rated 10 Jul 2009
6
95th
A mind-boggling array of technical and aesthetic craftsmanship. Peerless.
Rated 15 Nov 2008
85
97th
(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.
Rated 29 Jun 2014
75
84th
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.
Rated 14 Dec 2013
85
87th
Totally worth over five hours of my life, but the version I saw didn't reproduce the triptych and now I'm super bummed.
Rated 25 Mar 2012
93
97th
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.
Rated 16 Jan 2023
100
97th
Amazing epic (2016 edition). While it's obviously a biased history, it zips along fairly well except for a few spots near the end, and there are some very comical parts in there too (and better hats than the Kentucky Derby!). It's a masterclass of montage, although for someone not versed in la histoire, sometimes they go too fast. I'm intimidated by the promised seven-hour version, but there's so many little pieces I'd love to see again.
Rated 01 Dec 2022
84
82nd
5.5 hour version: Fantastic hagiographical biopic of Napoleon, focusing on his rise to power. The scale and effort put into the filmmaking is amazing. Dragged down slightly by the less interesting romance portions, but everything involving Napoleon militarily is fantastic, and there are so many innovative devices. The three-screen technique toward the end to simulate widescreen as best they could looks rough now but was brilliant for the time and I have not seen that used in any other movie.
Rated 17 Apr 2021
60
51st
One of those films that is hard to find an adequate score. Although I admit its historical significance and being way ahead of its time, I don't think it's such a great movie except for the first hour. I think the scenes that are not directly related to Napoléon are stretched and not very interesting. Also, the parts in Corsica are not clear, and the actions in the war scenes is also prolonged. Alsoo, it is a silent film and it restricts most of the stuff Gance wanted to tell.
Rated 13 Dec 2020
62
66th
The parts that people rave about - the triptychs, the battles, Robespierre looking cool as fuck - account for MAYBE an hour and a half out of seven hours, and the rest is not as gripping as it's made out to be.
Rated 08 Apr 2019
100
99th
Versão de 2016: Não, eu nunca vi esse filme antes, havia prometido que só o assistiria no cinema, bem, desprometi agora. E sim, todos os adjetivos benéficos cabem aqui, é uma obra-prima sem tamanho, especialmente na perspectiva do experimentalismo, simplesmente quebrou o cinema e o antecipou em décadas e sim, eu deveria ter visto mesmo no cinema, especialmente o desbunde dos últimos 20 minutos. DVD Duplo Obras-primas do Cinema.
Rated 31 Mar 2019
76
84th
A bizarre movie to think about considering Napoleon's lineage was more fresh on people's minds during this time period. The film itself is... pretty boring. But it's impressive as a technical and filmmaking achievement wherein the shots are fantastic and its use of production tools is far more intricate than most films after it. I also like its take on Napoleon, focusing more on his human side than his feats as a historical figure. Its runtime and drab nature make it tiring to watch, however.
Rated 31 Mar 2019
87
97th
Gance is as full of energy and artistry as ever in an over-enthused schoolboy's life of Napoleon—he did like to model his career after Hugo, after all. An epic succession of silly little anecdotes and raucous montages (snowball fights, impassioned crowds, grand battles, risque dance numbers, it almost doesn't matter) set against Napoleon's steely, all-seeing gaze. Given the absurd running time, impatience does grow for the next montage, but the innovation and exuberance are worth the wait.
Rated 06 Mar 2019
95
98th
A masterpiece this magnus opus by Gance is this. The directing, the editing, the (new) score, the cinematography all is superb. I was surprised on how perfect the end with the three panels worked also, especially the last 10 minutes are so had my astonished. Of course one could criticism Gance for not painting a complete historical correct and very adoring portrait of Napoléon but this subjectivity is already implied in its title.
Rated 21 Feb 2019
85
31st
84.50
Rated 04 Oct 2017
80
83rd
First vignette was great, the rest not so much.
Rated 29 Nov 2016
75
60th
It's dynamite. Everyone kept applauding when the intermissions came in for the 5 1/2 experience.
Rated 22 Mar 2015
70
34th
(Review is for triptychless 1983 Conway/Davis Version) Gance's understanding of film grammar is amazing; There a sequences which are nothing less than jaw-droppingly beautiful forms of cinematic poetry. But then there's the other 90% of the film, where every take and scene goes on for far longer than it's ought to, stretching what should have been at most a 3 1/2 hour film to well over 5 hours of slow, boring monotony.
Rated 12 Oct 2014
66
64th
too close to hagiography to be totally great, but it does LOOK and FEEL great
Rated 28 Feb 2013
79
91st
five hours, four stars. I liked La Marseillaise sequence most.
Rated 30 Jan 2013
45
29th
5 hour cut. I need to get my life in order.
Rated 01 Sep 2012
89
96th
A tremendous masterpiece. In modern popular culture, Napoleon (the man) exists almost solely as a comically neurotic midget (he wasn't even short, actually). So any film presenting him as a truly heroic figure faces an uphill battle from the start. Like most of history's "Great Leaders," Napoleon was, among other things, a tyrant and a warmonger, and in principle I object to the one-sided lionization of any of them. However, I can't help admiring the achievement of this film.
Rated 04 Dec 2011
80
45th
kongrede hayaletler, yurt kavgası, giyotin golgesi
Rated 30 Nov 2011
95
90th
#107
Rated 13 Jun 2011
88
85th
Gance's film is more about the style and the epic scope than it is the character of Napoleon. And what style. Whether it's the split screen, the handheld, the tracking shots, the brilliant edits, the varied pacing, or even the splash of color, the film is bursting over with formal, and for the time, innovative ideas. Much of Gance innovated one can still find being used in films today, making this one of the seminal masterpieces in cinematic history.
Rated 31 Dec 2010
80
94th
Wonderful score and impressive techniques.
Rated 14 Jun 2010
78
89th
Dynamite!
Rated 13 Jan 2010
95
90th
108
Rated 19 Dec 2008
95
90th
101
Rated 01 Mar 2008
94
90th
# 112

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