Napoleon

1927 7h 5m FR

🙌

7.9

BANGER

★7.9TMDB · 232

DramaHistoryWar

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A biopic of former Emperor of France, Napoleon Bonaparte, tracing the Corsican's career from his schooldays (where a snowball fight is staged like a military campaign) to his flight from Corsica, through the French Revolution (where a real storm is intercut with a political storm) and the Terror, culminating in his triumphant 1797 invasion of Italy.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Albert Dieudonné
Napoléon Bonaparte
Nicolas Roudenko
Napoléon Bonaparte (Child)
Edmond van Daële
Maximilien Robespierre
Alexandre Koubitzky
Georges Jacques Danton
Antonin Artaud
Jean-Paul Marat
Abel Gance
Louis Antoine Léon de Saint-Just
Gina Manès
Joséphine, Viscountess of Beauharnais
Nicolas Koline
Tristan Fleury

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Abel Gance
Writers: Abel Gance
Languages: No Language
Countries: France

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

RUNTIME

Did you know

At 425 minutes, this is a three-hour-plus commitment — longer than 95% of films ever made.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

ERA

Did you know

99 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Abel Gance, shot by Nikolai Toporkoff. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Arthur Honegger. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Abel Gance shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Albert Dieudonné and Nicolas Roudenko and Edmond van Daële carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0018192 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Abel Gance directs. Nikolai Toporkoff behind the camera. Arthur Honegger scores. Abel Gance cuts. A long sit — settle in. Produced in France. Dialogue in No Language.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1At 425 minutes, this is a three-hour-plus commitment — longer than 95% of films ever made.
299 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by Abel Gance, shot by Nikolai Toporkoff. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Arthur Honegger. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Abel Gance shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Albert Dieudonné and Nicolas Roudenko and Edmond van Daële carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt0018192 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Classified under 28 themes, including "civil war", "france", "paris, france", "italy".
9Released under 17 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Nikolai Toporkoff
Original score: Arthur Honegger
Editing: Abel Gance
Costume design: Sauvageau
Makeup / hair: Wladimir Kwanine
VFX supervisor: Eugen Schüfftan
Runtime: 425 min · 7h 5m
Status: Released
Box office: $2,539,448
Original language: FR
IMDB: Napoleon (1927)

Also by

Abel Gance

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-06-06
★ 8/10
Where to start? Carl Davis' recently composed inspiring score provides a wonderful accompaniment to the truly epic silent retrospective on the life of Napoleon. I saw a digital restoration recently and the quality of this over 90 year old film (in 2 parts) has lost none of its vivacity and vigour. We start with a snowball fight and end with high drama via some magnificent battle scenes. The tints and hues are subtle and vibrant and Abel Gance directs this with real flair and accomplishment. True, it is long; but compellingly so and if you are at all interested in the story of himself; the French reinvigoration that he led and inspired and of the subsequent historical events that gripped the whole of Europe then this is just the film. It seems way too brief a review for such a masterpiece, but in this case - less is definitely more. His megalomania and shrewd determination is writ large with excellent performances and grand cinematography well ahead of it's time. A big screen must if ever there was one - though take a cushion! (It is also worth acclaiming the skills of those responsible for the preservation and restoration of this film - it is astonishing how much of it has still survived, and in such great quality).

Production companies