Napoleon (1927)

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ½

Napoleon (1927) -- A. Gance

I balked a bit at the prospect of a 3 1/2 hour silent film (which is also why Greed is still waiting) but Napoleon truly won me over.  Of course the restoration by Robert A. Harris (sponsored by Coppola and many others) is breathtaking, but takes nothing away from Abel Gance's 1927 achievement.  This is an experimental film with fantastic editing, hand-held camera work, superimpositions, hand-tinting, plus an amazing use of widescreen triptychs at the end (yes, three screens, sometimes in panorama, sometimes showing different things).  This would be boring for 230 minutes but it's not -- instead, Gance propels the narrative forward with Napoleon's ups and downs, starting in childhood but then rapidly skipping to his early triumphs, time in jail during the Reign of Terror, and then rehabilitation as a leading general.  The only drawback was my knowledge of French history was sometimes lacking (however, I was more likely to feel educated than confused).  An amazing masterpiece.