Abel Gance et son Napoléon

Abel Gance et son Napoléon

1984 · 59 min · ★ 5.5 · Documentary

This documentary focuses on the making of the 235-minute, silent epic Napoleon, the masterpiece of French director/writer/actor Abel Gance. Napoleon showcased Gance's talents with the camera, his use of multiple-images (like a split screen), and his handling of crowded action scenes -- all brought forward in this documentary by his later assistant, Nelly Kaplan. While Gance was shooting Napoleon in 1925-26, he and his crew were also being filmed for a documentary titled Autour de Napoleon. The only extant reels from that documentary are included in this film, as well as views of Gance's unique "triptychs" -- three different scenes lined up side-by-side across a super-wide screen to convey the effect of a panorama, or of three separate interludes. Nelly Kaplan put together this documentary using old footage, such as Gance filming the famous snowball fight at the Brienne military school and still photographs and excerpts from Gance's production diaries.

Directed by Nelly Kaplan

Your Rating

Where to Watch

Streaming

Rent or Buy

Cast

Abel Gance Self (archival footage)
Lupu Pick Self (archival footage)

Make it a double feature

2h 33m together

Abel Gance et son Napoléon

Polly West est de retour

Both from Nelly Kaplan.

More from Nelly KaplanSee all →

Les Années 25

Les Années 25 · 1966

Velvet Paws

Velvet Paws · 1987

Bernadette Lafont and Michel Bouquet reteam with Kaplan as, respectively, a clairvoyant and a criminologist drawn into the orbit of widow Caroline Sihol; when the latter’s late husband Pierre Arditi turns out to yet have surprises up his sleeve for all of them, Kaplan hones in on the women’s by-necessity connection. The director foregoes her own cameo in favor of ones for colleagues Jean Chapot and Claude Makovski, both as nurses.

Polly West est de retour

Polly West est de retour · 1993

Polly West est de retour

Polly West, a very rich American star, has bought the castle of Sainte Apolline, a small village in Provence. As soon as she arrives, the dynamic actress causes trouble among the inhabitants. After having received her in confession, the priest seems to be taken by madness. To add to the turmoil, the country warden and the grocer enter her service. Honorin, the mayor, tries to cope and maintain order. While the people of the village keep asking questions, Polly flies to the rescue of the beautiful Italian girl Clara, who has been raped by the landlord Léonce. Soon, Honotin discovers that Polly is buying up the village's land using a few nominees. He then understands that this woman is not a stranger and that, a few years ago, the villagers chased her away because she was a mother, and these same villagers caused the death of her parents. Polly has returned to seek revenge.

Magirama

Magirama · 1958

A portmanteau work in four segments,designed to illustrate the expressive possibilities of director Abel Gance,s creation, Polyvision, which preceded the American invention of Cinerama, and used three screens to present a drama of simultaneous images.

The Picasso Look

The Picasso Look · 1967

The Picasso Look

MovieDocumentary

On the 1967 huge Picasso exhibition in Paris, celebrating the 85 anniversary of the painter.

Le Regard dans le miroir

Le Regard dans le miroir · 1985

Le Regard dans le miroir

Dora Stern, an American photographer living in Paris, wakes up from the same nightmare over and over again. In a small antique store she finds a collage with fearful eyes that haunt her. At home she removes the layers of the collage until she can see the original photo showing a young woman in fear who looks exactly like Dora Stern. But who is this woman?

Austerlitz

Austerlitz · 1960

MovieDramaHistory

Napoleon Bonaparte crowns himself emperor and fights the English, Austrians and Russians in 1802.

A Very Curious Girl

A Very Curious Girl · 1969

A Very Curious Girl

MovieDramaComedy

Treated as an outcast and exploited by the villagers of a small town, a young woman liberates herself through sex, which she uses as a tool of economic gain and an instrument of revenge against those who have wronged her.

La prima donna

La prima donna · 1964

A story of "La Pasta", a renowned prima donna, and her extraordinary rival.

Abel Gance, Yesterday and Tomorrow

Abel Gance, Yesterday and Tomorrow · 1963

Abel Gance, Yesterday and Tomorrow

MovieDocumentary

The life and work of Abel Gance as told by himself. Includes extracts from many of his films and considers his contribution to the cinema.

Charles and Lucie

Charles and Lucie · 1979

Charles and Lucie

MovieComedyDrama

An old and poor couple, Charles and Lucie, scrape by working as a concierge and an untalented antique dealer, respectively. But one day, their dreary daily routine is disrupted by the surprising news that they have inherited a luxurious house in the South of France.

Honorin et l'enfant prodigue

Honorin et l'enfant prodigue · 1994

Honorin et l'enfant prodigue

MovieDramaComedy

In 1930, Honorin, the mayor of a small village, receives a visit from a young girl claiming to be his child.

The Cocottes

The Cocottes · 1991

MovieComedyRomance

A small village lies peacefully nestled in the hills beneath the Provence sun... until the arrival of an odd group of vacationers. Who are these gorgeous young women from the big city strolling on the village square under the watchful eye of a chaperone as beautiful as she is authoritarian? Scandal arises when it’s learned these dreamy creatures are none other than the employees of a Marseille brothel come to enjoy the good clean air of the country. All hell breaks loose as the villagers take a stand for or against the presence of these "ladies of pleasure". The mayor is called on to relay women of the moral rules of the region to the women. But the fact remains, they can’t be forced to leave: while they have no intention of plying their trade, no law exists to bring their country retreat to a premature end. Different mentalities are revealed, passions unbridled, love kindled... and doesn’t love always solve everything in the end?

Tower of Lust

Tower of Lust · 1955

MovieHistoryDrama

France, the beginning of the XIV century. Every night, Queen Margaret of Burgundy and her two sisters arrange orgies, to which beautiful nobles are invited. The young men were brought blindfolded, and after a night of love they were killed and their corpses thrown into the river, because the queen was afraid that her husband would learn about her adventures. One of her lovers managed to escape death. He knows the secrets of the queen, knows that she once gave birth to a son from him, claims that he has evidence that Margarita wanted to kill her father and blackmails her.

Nea

MovieRomanceDrama

In Genève, bookseller and publisher Axel Thorpe catches willful, rich 16-year-old Sibylle Ashby shoplifting. She brags about her writing, so he challenges her to produce a book. She writes an erotic novel that Thorpe publishes anonymously, and it becomes a best seller. She also tries to capture the love of this 40-year-old publisher but he drops her for her older sister.

Papa, the Lil' Boats

Papa, the Lil' Boats · 1971

Papa, the Lil' Boats

MovieComedyCrime

In this whimsical French comedy, Cookie (aka Venus de Palma) is a tough, sweet little rich girl, and is rather smart, too. She's smart enough and charming enough to outwit her kidnappers by setting one against the other until they have all killed each other or died trying to prove thier worth to her.

More Like This

The Story of the Weeping Camel

The Story of the Weeping Camel · 2004

The Story of the Weeping Camel

MovieDocumentaryDrama

When a Mongolian nomadic family's newest camel colt is rejected by its mother, a musician is needed for a ritual to change her mind.

Born into Brothels: Calcutta's Red Light Kids

Born into Brothels: Calcutta's Red Light Kids · 2004

Born into Brothels: Calcutta's Red Light Kids

MovieDocumentary

Documentary depicting the lives of child prostitutes in the red light district of Songachi, Calcutta. Director Zana Briski went to photograph the prostitutes when she met and became friends with their children. Briski began giving photography lessons to the children and became aware that their photography might be a way for them to lead better lives.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter