A new 'Napoleon' debuts at 2012 San Francisco Silent Film Festival

Jackie Morrison
2/6/2012

Rare opportunity to see restored version of 1927 masterpiece from Abel Gance

The San Francisco Silent Film Festival runs July 12 to 15, 2012. This year the event will have a special presentation of Abel Gance’s Napoleon, a film completely restored by Academy Award winner Kevin Browlow. According to the festival’s official website, this will be the American premiere of the newly restored 1927 film.

Napoleon will be screened in the Paramount Theatre in Oakland on March 24, 25, 31 and April 1. The film score will be conducted by Carl Davis and the Oakland East Bay Symphony. Napoleon is also the U.S. premiere of Davis’ orchestral score.

Napoleon runs for five-and-a-half hours and is a 35mm film. Festival organizers are working in association with American Zoetrope, The Film Preserve, Photoplay Productions, and BFI to bring this unique cinematic opportunity to the public. The Oakland, California screenings are the only dates available to watch the film and no national tour is scheduled. Davis’ score is original and will not be a replay of the 1981 score performed by Francis ford Coppola’s father at Radio City Music Hall in New York.

For those who plan to wait until the restored version is released on video, think again. There will be no DVD, BluRay, or television broadcast for the film. Brownlow pulled additional footage from archives and used the original dye-path techniques to recreate the visual state intended by Gance. The final reel is the only copy available of the restored version available.

Due to the length of Napoleon, the film will be shown in four separate segments between intermissions. Nearby restaurants will be hosting a Napoleon inspired menu for audience members who attend the screening. Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is the official media sponsor for the 2012 San Francisco Silent Film Festival and the special presentation of Napoleon.

“TCM is proud to help bring such an important restoration to the big screen in the United States,” said Jeff Gregor, general manager of TCM. “We are pleased to support the work of Kevin Brownlow and everyone involved in this amazing project.”