Napoleon

[MichaelB]

Full specs announced:

NAPOLEON
A film by Abel Gance
Music composed and conducted by Carl Davis
Restoration by Kevin Brownlow

Marking a new chapter in the history of one of the world’s greatest films, the release of Abel Gance’s Napoleon (1927) is the culmination of a project spanning 50 years.

Digitally restored by the BFI National Archive and Academy Award-winning film historian Kevin Brownlow, this cinematic triumph is available to experience on Blu-ray for the very first time.

Following the opening of Napoleon in cinemas UK-wide from 11 November 2016, it will then be released by the BFI on Blu-ray, on DVD, and on BFI Player on 21 November.

Originally conceived by Gance as the first of six films about Napoleon, this five-and-a-half-hour epic features full scale historical recreations of episodes from his personal and political life, that see Bonaparte overcome fierce rivals and political machinations to seal his imperial destiny.

Utilising a number of ground-breaking cinematic techniques, Napoleon is accompanied by Carl Davis’ monumental score (newly recorded in 7.1), and offers one of the most thrilling experiences in the entire the history of film.

Special features
• New 2K restoration
• The Charm of Dynamite (Kevin Brownlow, 1968, 51 mins): BBC documentary on Gance’s silent films, narrated by Lindsay Anderson
• Composing Napoleon – An Interview with Carl Davis (2016, 45 mins)
• Feature-length commentary by Paul Cuff
• Napoleon digital restoration featurette (2016, 5 mins)
• Stills and Special Collections Gallery
• Alternative single-screen ending
• Individual triptych panel presentations
• Illustrated 60-page book with writing by Paul Cuff, Kevin Brownlow and Hervé Dumont; an extensive interview with Carl Davis; and full film, music and restoration credits

Blu-ray product details
RRP: £34.99/ Cat. no. BFIB1239 / Cert PG
France / 1927 / black and white, tinted and toned / silent with English intertitles / 332 mins / original aspect ratios 1.33:1 + 4:1 (triptych) // BD50 x 3: 1080p, 24fps, 7.1 DTS-HD (48kHz/24-bit) and PCM 2.0 stereo (48kHz/24-bit)

DVD product details
RRP: £29.99 / Cat. no. BFIV2081 / Cert PG
France / 1927 / black and white, tinted and toned / silent with English intertitles / 332 mins / original aspect ratios 1.33:1 + 4:1 (triptych) // DVD9 x 4; 25fps, 5.1 DTS-HR (48kHz/16-bit) and PCM 2.0 stereo (48kHz/16-bit)

[dda1996a]

This might sound a bit foolish, but how will the triptych will work at home? I'm guessing from the aspect ratio that they will compress the three images to fit the screen

[MichaelB]

I'd assume they present it ultra-letterboxed at a ratio of approx 4:1. I can't think of any other way to sensibly do it on a standard setup.

[tenia]

I'd assume it will indeed be litterally what's in the spec : ultra-wide 4.00 ratio with huge black bars.

This being said, I'm extremely curious about how the content will be split between the 3 discs. 335 min of movie + a DTS HD MA 7.1 48/24 + a LPCM 2.0 48/24 tracks on a single disc ? That's an awful lot (though the triptych will have the huge black bars which won't use any bitrate).

[Altair]

I'm extremely curious about how the content will be split between the 3 discs. 335 min of movie + a DTS HD MA 7.1 48/24 + a LPCM 2.0 48/24 tracks on a single disc ? That's an awful lot (though the triptych will have the huge black bars which won't use any bitrate).

Although I assume the film will be split across the 3 BDs, which is a very reasonable c.111 mins per film?

[tenia]

I guess then it's a third of the movie + 1 triptych per disc and the extras peppered on each disc.

[GaryC]

My guess, and I'll know for sure when the review checkdiscs I requested arrive, is that it'll be the film on two discs, two acts per disc, and the third disc containing the extras.

[andyli]

I am also wondering about the 'individual triptych panel presentations'. The one triptych per disc option is not practical. As 4:3 images are embedded in 16:9 video frames, it would be impossible to get rid of the big pillar boxes that separate the three triptychs; this completely beats the purpose of putting three displays side by side to view the triptych in an optimal way. By my calculation, only two discs with 2:1 image (with thin letter boxes in the 16:9 video frames) are required to form a continuous 4:1 image. Then again this method is far from ideal. Because the two obtrusive boundaries of triptychs will lie near the center of each image.

[MichaelB]

I am also wondering about the 'individual triptych panel presentations'. The one triptych per disc option is not practical. As 4:3 images are embedded in 16:9 video frames, it would be impossible to get rid of the big pillar boxes that separate the three triptychs; this completely beats the purpose of putting three displays side by side to view the triptych in an optimal way. By my calculation, only two discs with 2:1 image (with thin letter boxes in the 16:9 video frames) are required to form a continuous 4:1 image. Then again this method is far from ideal. Because the two obtrusive boundaries of triptychs will lie near the center of each image.

I suspect you're overthinking this, and that the "individual panel presentations" will be precisely that - the footage from each separate panel, presented as though each was a normal reel of 35mm film.

I seriously doubt that the BFI is expecting anybody to line up three players and three monitors. I'm sure a tiny handful of people will try, but I suspect that this wasn't the BFI's intention.

[MichaelB]

OK, here's a disc-by-disc breakdown, courtesy of its producer:

BD1
• Act 1 (114 mins)
• Paul Cuff commentary
• Triptych – Left Panel (21 mins)

BD2
• Acts 2 & 3 (171 mins)
• Paul Cuff commentary
• Triptych – Centre Panel (21 mins)

BD3
• Act 4 (49 mins)
• Paul Cuff commentary
• Single Screen Ending (15 mins – can be seamlessly branched or played isolated)
• Composing Napoleon – An Interview with Carl Davis (46 mins)
• Napoleon Digital Restoration Featurette (5 mins)
• Stills and Special Collections Gallery (11 mins)
• Triptych – Right Panel (21 mins)
• The Charm of Dynamite (52 mins)

So you'll see from that arrangement that should you possess three players and three monitors you don't actually need to buy three copies.

Furthermore, the left-hand panel of the triptych has been framed so that it abuts the right-hand edge of the screen, and ditto the right-hand panel in reverse. The middle panel has unavoidably had to be stuck in the middle of the 16:9 frame, but you could conceivably arrange the monitors so that the left and right ones cover the black bars at the sides. (Visible edges don't matter: the joins between the panels are completely obvious in theatrical screenings.)

[dda1996a]

I might have missed something, but we won't get a single combined triptych? Just 3 individuals spread across 3 blus?

[MichaelB]

There are three ways of watching the end of the film:

• The triptych, presented on a single screen in ultra-letterboxed form (which I'm assuming is the default viewing option).
• The single-screen alternative version, prepared by Abel Gance for cinemas that couldn't handle Polyvision (i.e. most of them)
• The three individual panels, via three monitors and Blu-ray players.

[dda1996a]

I see. We'll that's great then. Can you speak about the film itself? How good it is? I don't mind the length but I have yet to watch any long silent epic

[andyli]

Yeah, I agree that putting the 4:3 images on one side is an ingenious (albeit unusual) solution. Kudos.

[peerpee]

Wow. Amazing idea.

[Roscoe]

I see. We'll that's great then. Can you speak about the film itself? How good it is? I don't mind the length but I have yet to watch any long silent epic

It's an amazing movie, no question. The real star is the filmmaking itself, I think -- Gance seldom misses an opportunity to go Big and Impressive. Just hang in and be amazed. There are some, shall we say, dry patches (I was making some get-on-with-it gestures during a couple sections set on Corsica), but they don't last too long. The opening section at Brienne College is most effective, with a young actor named Roudenko doing a lot to create a degree of basic sympathy and interest in Napoleon as a human being that the rest of the film never quite manages to summon again, with all the insistence on Napoleon as Greatest Human Being Ever. This full-length version adds some grace notes that weren't present in the Coppola version, for example in the handling of Josephine who gets a good deal more attention, and it seems clear that there was going to be some trouble involving her in the sequels that never happened.

Basically, the good stuff is more than enough to justify the purchase and continued ownership of this film. Don't think twice.

[willoneill]

Ok, I'll apologize at the outset for what I acknowledge is a silly question, but I'm going to ask anyway. I actually could play the triptych on three monitors at once, but all three are different sizes: 1 60", 1 50", and 1 36". So if I used all three, what order would be the best arrangement?

[MichaelB]

Biggest one in the middle - that's the most important panel. The side panels are more decorative, for the most part.

[swo17]

Position them so that they all appear about the same size from where you're sitting.

[willoneill]

Position them so that they all appear about the same size from where you're sitting.

That's a smart idea that I hadn't thought of. Thanks guys.

[Saturnome]

I'm amazed at this solution for playing the triptych on three different TVs ! I'll never be able to do it, but I'm so glad it's possible. The only thing I wonder is how someone could organize a screening so the triptych plays seamlessly in this way at the end of the film. Anyway, the ultra-letterboxed version should do it for me. It will certainly be better than the VHS.

[EddieLarkin]

I'm seeing the digital presentation of this next month at the Southbank Centre, and I'm now wondering how they'll show the triptych sequence across the extended screen. A zoom and blow up of the 4.00:1/16x9 version, or 3 digital projectors showing each 4:3/16x9 panel?

[hearthesilence]

FWIW, I saw Napoleon for the first and only time at the George Eastman House (back in 1997!!) and I was told about the ending being originally shown on three screens. I was massively disappointed that instead it was shown "letterbox" style on the same screen.

So I hope this isn't the case with you, but just be warned. It would be the easy, hassle free and low risk way of showing it.

[ola t]

Is it too late to suggest that the isolated center panel should be on disc 3, i.e. it should swap places with one of the others, so that those lucky/crazy enough to actually have three players and three screens wouldn't have to stop right before the triptych to move discs around between players?

[swo17]

Agreed, good catch!