When it comes to summer blockbusters, nothing is more epic than a film that premiered almost a century ago. For nearly two decades, work has been underway to restore Abel Gance’s 1927 epic. Napoleon As close as possible to the seven-hour “Apollo” cut that premiered at the Apollo Theatre in Paris in 1927. Initiated by Georges Mouriez, supported by the Cinémathèque Française, and funded by the French National Centre for Cinema and Animation, Netflix, and others, this highly anticipated definitive edition of this silent film treasure premiered in part one at the Cannes Film Festival, and now both parts one and two (3 hours and 40 minutes) will be released in France on July 10.
This version took 16 years to make and cost approximately $3 million. Reports sayDescribed as “a mix of detective work, digital wizardry and extraordinary dedication,” the restoration used Gance’s production notes and various pieces of footage scattered around the world to piece together the director’s original vision, which has been re-edited many times since completion and currently stands in 22 versions.
“Using a combination of chemical processing and the latest digitization techniques, we have succeeded in restoring the lost frames and converting the entire film into a high-resolution print that preserves the ‘soul and feel’ of the celluloid original,” it notes. France 24.
Moulier’s new version, originally scheduled to premiere in 2021 – the bicentenary of Napoleon’s death – will follow Kevin Brownlow’s five-and-a-half-hour version. He spent most of his life there It was finally released on Blu-ray and DVD in 2016.
Check out the first trailer and poster for this “definitive edition” below:
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