NAPOLEON (1927) - ♦♦♦♦

Directed by - Abel Gance

Written by - Abel Gance

Starring - Albert Dieudonné, Vladimir Roudenko, Edmoond van Daele

"The romanicised youth and early military career of Napoleon Bonaparte. In this early and ambitious large scale biopic, Abel Gance through poetic licence allows himself to indulge in some of the most ground breaking and revolutionary free camera angles and movements that cinema had ever seen up to that point, as well as some further experimentation with the editing, such as super imposition and other gimmicks particularly notable in the final sequence where he splits the screen into three parts to great poetic visual effect. Although the story is very romanticised and doesn't look at the darker elements of Napoleon's life and character, the real problem is that the story can get a little confusing and frankly, its length of almost four hours is a little testing, but somehow the vision is rewarding and beautiful and it's admirable how Gance is able to keep the production together in spite of its majesty and grandeur."

Biopic, France