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It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Whilst the on-going scandal rages on about the rights of ownership of this supposed Masterpiece and without a proper DVD release available, there seems to be few options.Firstly, I'd never seen either the film, nor extracts from it, even. It is often cited as the best film made at that point (1927) and is truly Napoleonic in scale and ambition, using cutting edge film techniques that only a few Russian directors employed - and a bit later at that.There's an imported (Korean/Chinese) DVD that apparently is heavily compressed in order to fit 3.5 hours all onto one disc and so, subsequently, quality is rubbish. Or so reviewers have said - in fact the legalities and the quality (or lack of) is all they seem to carp on about.Having not being able to find even a Korean DVD, I found a secondhand NTSC video on a well-known auction site, which comes in two cassettes, each being just under 2 hrs and housed in an outer case. My old JVC VHS recorder, long disconnected, just so happens to play the U.S format NTSC videos as well as VHS, and so, I thought my bidding, whilst a gamble, might be worth it, if my machine could play it.It does. The picture quality is OK, never exactly sharp in detail but with good contrast and not as muddy as many Silent era film DVDs. You just see slight magenta and green bands where the tinting of the film is sepia, but that is well controlled and easily gotten used to. The stereo realisation of Caarmine Coppolla's new score sounds surprisingly good and full-bodied, for a video.So, this 'solution' may not be favourable or even possible for many but my £15 winning bid was worthwhile, in a roundabout way! And, of course, I get to see the Masterpiece in about the best from currently available. Better that than not at all, surely?

the story of french revolution and about legendary Napoleon Bonaparte. Abel Gance was talented no doubt.Gance was without a doubt the greatest silent movie director and this movie is absolute masterpiece one of the greatest movies of all time.this film has made a movie history.and Albert Dieudonne is one of the very best french actors ever.almost perfect movie,but it's was too long 3 hours and 50 minutes. my aunt husband is french so i haven't nothing to against french. Napoleon Bonaparte the most legendary french of all time without a doubt - ardent patriot and boldfaced who won a several highly important battles.In this movie battle scenes were brilliant. Gance was the master of battle scenes.this movie is 80 years old but it's looks like 50 or 40 years old.it's the most grandiose silent movie with Metropolis(1927)and The Gold Rush(1925)but it's have more power and burning energy.Albert Dieudonne was the best choice have to play Napoleon Bonaparte like Bela Lugosi who was the greatest choice to play Count Dracula.the ocean storm scene was great too.It's was a truly memorable movie.it's definitely worth seeing it's timeless film.i guess that current France president Sarkozy likes this movie too like me.it's a visually impressive good movie too.a masterpiece of visual of art.it may be a little bit propaganda movie,but it's one of the 25 best movies ever and without a doubt the greatest french silent what ever produced and one top 3 french movies ever.Napoléon is my favorite warrior.if you want an epic watch this highly recommended by me.a fan of Napoléon Bonaparte i give it perfectly 10/10

My recollection of "Napoleon" is of a wonderful evening of first-rate movie and first-rate score, with Gance's work on three screens and Carmine Coppola conducting a full orchestra. While it may not do justice to the continually evolving cinematic extravaganza described in the other review, it is nonetheless the version I've grown up with and viewing it remains one of my favorite life experiences.I applaud anyone who has had a hand in this project and has continued to update, revise, and otherwise revisit this very noble film. It seems to have taken on a life of its own in terms of restored versions. The newly performed work may be superior to Coppola's initial resurrection but without Coppola's vision, would it have become the phenomenon it is today? I'm pretty sure he's entitled to protect his initial investment (of time, energy, money, and media) even as the movie itself changes with each new find. In the end, the consumer (from any country) will seek out the version he wishes to own -- passing judgement by consumption.I would not hesitate to acquire both versions, frankly. It's not about who did the better job, it's about the evolution of the film since it was first dusted off.

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.