Napoleon

1927 · 425 min · FR · 7.9 (235 votes)

Dir. Abel Gance · Starring Albert Dieudonné, Nicolas Roudenko, Edmond van Daële, Alexandre Koubitzky, Antonin Artaud, Abel Gance · Music Arthur Honegger

DramaHistoryWar

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.

VIBE

A monumental, visually audacious silent epic that feels like a fever dream of history. Its grand scale and experimental techniques create an overwhelming, almost overwhelming, sense of ambition and revolutionary fervor.

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