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Silent Film Concert “Napoleon”
16. December 2023 @ 16:00 - 22:00
Sa. 16.12.23 16:00 Uhr
Black Box im Filmmuseum Düsseldorf
Schulstraße 4.
Info
General:
France, 1927
Directed by: Abel Gance
Running time: approx. 332 min
New musical score for cinema organ, simultaneous piano, and sound playback by Wilfried Kaets.
Short and Sweet:
This monumental French historical epic, running over 5 hours, portrays the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte—from his days as a cadet, where he first displays leadership during a snowball fight, through the turmoil of the French Revolution, and on to the Italian campaign, where he defies the generals and successfully executes his bold offensive strategy despite being outnumbered.
Musical Score:
New musical score for cinema organ, simultaneous piano, and sound playback by Wilfried Kaets.
The music shifts between cinematic-historical, contemporary, and experimental sounds, thus both breathing “emotional life” into the film’s lavish images and giving musical space to the director’s sometimes avant-garde ideas.
About:
The silent film was ahead of its time in terms of editing and techniques such as the use of handheld cameras; the final film reel was even shot using “Polyvision,” as a triptych.
For example, he had cameras with wind-up motors developed that were thrown into the air to film the action “from the perspective of the flying snowball”; or mounted cameras on horseback saddles…
Abel Gance’s plan to follow this first part with five more films could not be realized due to financial difficulties.