Info Wanted: Abel Gance's Napoleon 1935 Sound Re-Edit - anyone have it?; NOTE: AVI of Full 1983 Brownlow Restoration Available

Hello all,

Recently, I’ve discovered Abel Gance’s truly epic film Napoleon. By chance, I acquired a copy of the Korean DVD, though after doing some research, was thoroughly disappointed that it was missing so much footage.

Eventually, I stumbled across this thread on MUBI. It said that there was a bootleg of the more complete Brownlow Restoration floating out there. Apparently someone made a composite from a higher quality DVD than the Korean and a recording of the one airing of the restoration. Does anyone happen to have this bootleg?

Any finds would be most appreciated.

All right, special thanks to Peefy for finding this gem! I've successfully downloaded all 13.25 GB from CinemaGeddon. In any case, this appears to be the bootleg that was mentioned on MUBI. It is two DVD-9s. The quality is certainly better than the other DVDs floating around, and it's played at the right speed, unlike the Coppola Restoration. It's quite an epic film at 5 hours. The Triptych unfortunately is not included in it's full glory on the main feature of this release, but it is a special feature on the second disc.

Would anyone like me to re-upload this to MultiUpload?

I'd love to see this!

I wouldn't mind having a copy of this either :-)

Hello guys, sorry for offering to upload, then leaving you like that. I'm having to use my computer often during weekdays so I don't have ample time to upload. I will find time though.

About the restoration being shown at the SF Silent Film Festival, I'd heard about that and was especially excited since I live in the Bay Area. Sadly, I already have prior obligations set for that time and can't make it. :-( I do hope for an official release. I doubt a leaked copy would surface... When they showed the original version of The Shining, for example, the original ending did not get leaked online AFAIK (correct me if I'm wrong on this).

Hello all,

Very Happy Holidays to all! Gosh. I know I've kept on saying that I'll upload this but never found the time... well, it's finally done! It's all uploaded to MultiUpload- for anyone who wants it. If anyone is interested, PM me by all means.

Definitely thanks to Peefy and the site Cinemageddon for helping me get this wonderful set.

I got to skim through a little bit of the first disc (I'm most likely going to watch the whole thing on the weekend), and the quality is shockingly pretty good for a movie of that vintage. The parts where the quality jumps due to the switch from DVD source to VHS source isn't as bad as I thought it would be, either. Thank you, Aluminum Falcon, for the links...I look forward to watching the whole thing real soon.

Linkage....

Well, sorry for everyone who hasn't downloaded this yet, but, in the recent surge of file-sharing site takedowns, it appears this upload has been a casualty. I also don't have the DVD files anymore because I deleted them right after uploading. :-(

I've changed the thread title.

If anyone is really desperate for this, I found an AVI on thepiratebay of these same 2 DVDs. If you have trouble finding this, just PM me, and I'll send you the link.

Hello! As said before, the 2 PAL DVD-9s of the Brownlow Restoration were taken down, but someone uploaded an AVI on thepiratebay.

As I was researching this film a bit more, I found out that Abel Gance re-edited this several times: truncating it to new story lines. Most significantly, in 1935, he made a "partial?" sound version of the movie, entitled Napoleon Bonaparte. It's in French, of course, but I'm interested in his use of sound (Gance used it well in the 1935 remake version of J'Accuse).

Anyway, to come to the point, this 1935 version seems to be the only alternate Gance re-edited version released on home video. It was uploaded on a blog called Cinema of the World at worldscinema.com. HOWEVER, it was uploaded only to rarefile and filepost, which begs my question: does anyone have either a premium rarefile or filepost account to download this upload and then possibly repost it somewhere else? I realise it's a big task to ask but I don't want to pay a premium account for one download. In any case, you can find the page with the Napoleon Bonaparte 1935 links by merely googling "napoleon bonaparte 1935". It's the worldscinema link. PM me if you can't find it and want to help.

I still have the DVD files of the original 1927 version that you sent me on my hard drive. If there was a way to upload them, I'd be glad to. I can also start a torrent on Demonoid and get it shared from there.

nocomments87 said:

I still have the DVD files of the original 1927 version that you sent me on my hard drive. If there was a way to upload them, I'd be glad to. I can also start a torrent on Demonoid and get it shared from there.

Oh wow, thanks nocomments87, didn't expect anyone would keep the files after burning. I personally have no more use of the 1927 DVD-9s, as I made 4 movie-only DVD-5s from them. However, I have had to tell some people that the DVD-9s aren't available anymore, so it may be of use to some others...

Currently, I'm fixating on getting that 1935 version. Also, does anyone happen to have the triptych ending with the superior score by Carl Davis? I think that all the versions I've seen of the triptych have Coppola's score. Also, on the DVDs I distributed, the score was indeed Carl Davis's but no triptych picture... (only black and white center sadly).

Hi! Can anyone currently provide a link to either the 1927 or 1935 version?