Gance's Napoléon

To say it was one of the greatest experiences of my life might seem like hyperbole to most, yet to say anything else would sound like an understatement and the last thing I want to do is undermine how incredible this cinematic event actually was. Walking into the Paramount theater was like walking into a different era, when film played a very different role than it does now. The sheer artistry in the architecture proves this. And then we sat down. As the credits rolls goosebumps emerge in anticipation of what you are about to see. Apparently Jean Cocteau declared that "there is cinema before and after La Roue as there is painting before and after Picasso," a statement I couldn't agree more except for the fact that I think what Gance started in La Roue reached its climax in Napoléon (click here for full article from MANOHLA DARGIS). There doesn't seem to have been much, if any, cinematic advancement since this film. Camera's mounted on anything from pendulums to horses, use of multiple screens within the same frame, the most realistic and intense sea storm sequence, some of the greatest feats in editing (by Gance himself), some of the best use of superimpositions (just think of the sequence in which Napoléon meets the ghosts of the Revolution), beautiful tinting, and of course Polyvision, the precursor to Cinemascope and 3D that is undeniable superior than both; and that's barely touching all the feats of the film. And that was only half the package, there was Carl Davis and the Oakland East Bay Symphony. The concert and the film themselves would've been incredible enough yet since they were made specifically for each other this combination surpasses any expectations anyone could have.

& of course the outmost thanks to the San Francisco Silent Film Festival and Kevin Brownlow.

"Napoléon is more than a restoration, indeed it is more of a re-creation, an attempt by Brownlow to build ever closer to that original conception of the film, to re-enter the mind of Abel Gance." (full article here)