Delirious dream 
 

PostED ON 14.10.2025

© Films Abel Gance / DR
Napoléon de Abel Gance (1927)

THE SUBJECT : Interviews with key people, including Costa-Gavras, Claude Lelouch, Claude Lafaye, a friend of Gance, Clarisse Gance, his daughter, Robert Hossein, Claude Pinoteau, and Georges Mourier, director of the reconstruction and restoration of Napoléon... Footage of the huge undertaking of the restoration, archives including the invaluable sequence list, and excerpts from the film...

THE METHOD : Interviews with key people, including Costa-Gavras, Claude Lelouch, Claude Lafaye, a friend of Gance, Clarisse Gance, his daughter, Robert Hossein, Claude Pinoteau, and Georges Mourier, director of the reconstruction and restoration of Napoléon... Footage of the huge undertaking of the restoration, archives including the invaluable sequence list, and excerpts from the film...

BONUS:  ‘We must live out our most delirious dreams’ says Abel Gance's voice against a black background at the beginning of the film. ‘Allow ourselves the greatest follies,’ seems to respond Robert Hossein, another fan of XXL projects. We learn a host of fascinating details, both technical – about the handling of film – and narrative. This raises a big question: which is the right, true, definitive version of this legendary film from among all the available elements, especially when we know that virtually nothing remains of the original negative? Hundreds of boxes hidden away without anyone knowing why, suddenly rediscovered — shredded rushes, archives left in Gance’s basement, which he paid no attention to and now we have to put them back in order... it all unfolds like a years-long treasure hunt, as maddening as it is fascinating, in service of a colossal, foundational work: Napoleon... by Abel Gance. And of course, there are twists and turns — like, after finally cataloguing a thousand boxes, comparing all available edited versions, everything has to be reassessed and started over from scratch… What happens next? Don’t miss the screening of this documentary that seems to belong to the genre of fiction!

Virginie Apiou

Abel Gance’s Napoleon: the Saga by Georges Mourier (2025, 54min)
Institut Lumière (Villa) Tue 14 11:45am | Institut Lumière (Villa) Tue 14 12am