Napoléon Bonaparte
Albert Dieudonné
Napoléon Bonaparte

A biopic of 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 invasion of Italy in 1797.
BFI Trailer Official
Napoléon Bonaparte
Albert Dieudonné
Napoléon Bonaparte
Napoléon Bonaparte (Child)
Nicolas Roudenko
Napoléon Bonaparte (Child)
Maximilien Robespierre
Edmond van Daële
Maximilien Robespierre
Georges Jacques Danton
Alexandre Koubitzky
Georges Jacques Danton
Jean-Paul Marat
Antonin Artaud
Jean-Paul Marat
Louis Antoine Léon de Saint-Just
Abel Gance
Louis Antoine Léon de Saint-Just
Joséphine, Viscountess of Beauharnais
Gina Manès
Joséphine, Viscountess of Beauharnais
Tristan Fleury
Nicolas Koline
Tristan Fleury
Violine Fleury / Bernardine Eugénie Désirée Clary
Annabella
Violine Fleury / Bernardine Eugénie Désirée Clary
Charlotte Corday
Marguerite Gance
Charlotte Corday
Élisa Bonaparte
Yvette Dieudonné
Élisa Bonaparte
Letizia Bonaparte
Eugénie Buffet
Letizia Bonaparte
Where to start? Carl Davis' recently composed inspiring score provides a wonderful accompaniment to the truly epic silent retrospective on the life of Napoleon. I saw a digital restoration recently and the quality of this over 90 year old film (in 2 parts) has lost none of its vivacity and vigour. We start with a snowball fight and end with high drama via some magnificent battle scenes. The tints and hues are subtle and vibrant and Abel Gance directs this with real flair and accomplishment. True, it is long; but compellingly so and if you are at all interested in the story of himself; the French reinvigoration that he led and inspired and of the subsequent historical events that gripped the whole of Europe then this is just the film. It seems way too brief a review for such a masterpiece, but in this case - less is definitely more. His megalomania and shrewd determination is writ large with excellent performances and grand cinematography well ahead of it's time. A big screen must if ever there was one - though take a cushion! (It is also worth acclaiming the skills of those responsible for the preservation and restoration of this film - it is astonishing how much of it has still survived, and in such great quality).
Read full reviewNapoleon (1927) Clip | Out in cinemas and on BFI Blu-ray November 2016 | BFI
Mark Kermode reviews Napoleon | BFI Player
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