I read with great interest your article about Ridley Scott’s new film Napoleon (Emperor’s new clothes: why the French are ready to embrace Napoleon again, 17 November). However, I feel it is important to remind you of the truly classic film, Napoleon, directed in 1927 by Abel Gance. Kevin Brownlow’s fascinating book on that subject explains Gance’s visionary use of triptych screens and the talented work of his editor, Marguerite Beaugé.
Francis Ford Coppola was in the audience at an American showing of Napoleon in 1981, with a score by his father, Carmine Coppola, and said of its deafening ovation: “Don’t you wish you could make a picture that would get a reaction like that.” There’s a written play about the life of Abel Gance waiting to be staged.
Anthony Richards
Cheltenham, Gloucestershire
