Thanks for the memories!

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

The film begins from Napoleon's youth in school where he managed a snowball fight like a military campaign, to his victory in invading Italy in 1797. Planned to be the first of six movies about Napoleon Bonaparte, it was realised after the completion of the film that the costs involved would make this impossible.A cinematic epic, although brilliant in most particulars, it owes its greatest interest to its narrative sweep, its flair for composition and its use of triptych screens which at the end combine to show one giant picture, the clear precursor of Cinerama. In 1934 director Abel Gance cut his film to 140 minutes and added stereophonic sound.

Upon completing this film for the very first time, I had an experience I had never had before. I was breathless. For the first time, I can honestly say that a film took my breath away. The word "awesome" isn't awe-inspiring enough to describe how I felt. Every passing second of this nearly four hour long film brought new surprises and pulled my interest and attention closer and closer. I never wanted it to end. I'm sorry, but I just can't put into words exactly how I feel about this film. It's remarkable, groundbreaking, and the fastest four hours you're ever likely to spend watching a film. I watched it in one sitting, and it was over before I realized it.Okay, let me pause for a moment, catch my breath, and explain a little bit about the film itself.Originally, Abel Gance wanted to make a series of films about the French leader, but this is as far as he got. Therefore, the film mainly covers Napoleon's younger years, up to his first Italian campaign, just after his marriage to Josephine. What makes the film so groundbreaking is its many varied techniques, most of which are utilized today and taken for granted. For example, Gance used many different filming techniques, from hand-held cameras, to strapping the camera onto a horse, to hanging the camera on wires, to rapid-fire style editing, to overlapping images, and most famously, to the mind-blowing climax. Napoleon marks the first appearance of "widescreen". By setting three cameras side-by-side-by-side, Gance shot simultaneously, creating a 3.99:1 widescreen image. In original theatrical showings, the final 20 minutes of the film were projected on to three separate screens, expanding the image, and consuming the audience. As I said before, though, words can not do the film justice.So, do yourself a favor and buy a copy of this film. It's not easy to come by, but go on ebay, half.com, Amazon.com, or somewhere and buy a VHS or laserdisc of this film. It's an essential film for any film collection, especially for the film buff. The word "masterpiece" is just to puny a word.

Sometimes it's hard to separate the best film you've seen from your favorite. There are many I liked, but Napoleon is the best, using as my sole criterion emotional impact. The scene I feel was especially moving was the one in which the Costitutional Conventioneers are handed the lyrics to the Marseilles and begin to sing it for the first time. The pride they felt and the tears they shed as they sang were palpable and made the scene unforgettable. It was duplicated in CASABLANCA years later but the imitation was pale in comparison. There are other memorable scenes but space is limited and a synopsis of the film has already been provided on a previous page.It is the only film I have ever seen directed by Abel Gance but he was years ahead of his time. I imagine it is difficult to revive due to the triple-screen episode and to copyright squabbles but if it ever comes to a location near you , try not to miss it. See if you feel it is one of the greatest ever.

I saw this film in its restored original form, with 3 projectors for the triptych scenes, and with the original Arthur Honegger score played on one of the few surviving giant theater organs. It is still an unforgettable cinematic experience. Eisenstein and other Russian filmmakers were dazzled by Gance's technique when a print of the film found its way to Moscow. Gance re-edited Napoleon as a sound film in 1934, using the original actors to dub in the voices and adding some new scenes. The lip synch is perfect, because Gance (unlike most silent film directors)made his actors speak all their lines. The DVD (which is long overdue)should include both the silent and the sound versions of the film, and use Honegger's score. He was a major 20th Century composer, contemporary with Gance, who spent most of his career in France; so his music really belongs with the film.