Presented as a pre-opening film at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, Abel Gance's Napoleon is a legendary cinematic masterpiece. Hidden from view for nearly 100 years, it is now arriving in living rooms. And the images revealed in the trailer are incredible.
Napoleon finally restored in its "Grand Version"££££
After sixteen years of work, 1,000 boxes and 300 kilometers of film examined - with copies scattered around the world - the Cinémathèque Française has finally delivered a so-called definitive restoration, restoring the cut of the original "Grand Version". This one, lasting precisely 427 minutes (nearly 7 hours), will be available from November 4, notably in a 5-disc 4K Ultra HD Collector's box set.
For the occasion, the film will be accompanied by a book Napoléon vu par Abel Gance (Éditions La Table Ronde), as well as a booklet with the list of music used for the soundtrack consisting of 148 musical extracts from 104 works written by 48 different composers: from Haydn (born in 1732) to Penderecki (died in 2020). A must-have for any self-respecting film buff (and who has free time) published by Potemkine Films with VO/VF DTS-HD MA 5.1 (silent) and HDR10 label. Indicative price: 99.90 euros.
Contents of the collector's edition 5-panel Digipack case with rigid cardboard box:• 2 4K Ultra HD• 3 Blu-Ray• The book Napoleon seen by Abel Gance from La Table Ronde editions (2024, 312 pages)• Booklet with the list of music used for the soundtrack (the film is set to music by Simon Cloquet-Lafollye, performed by Benjamin Bernheim, tenor, the Orchestre National de France, the Philharmonic Orchestra and the Choir of Radio France, under the direction of Fabien Gabel)
• Autour de Napoléon, documentary by Jean Arroy on the shooting of the film (1926, 60')• La reconstruction du film, documentary directed by Georges Mourier, director of the reconstruction and restoration of the film (2025)• Analysis of sequences by Élodie Tamayo (2025)• The treatment of History by Abel Gance: interview with Élodie Tamayo (2025)• The different representations of Napoleon in cinema (2025)