2016 Black Maria Film Festival Program

NAPOLEON THE ROAD SHOW...
in the beginning...
A reminiscence by C. Chapin Cutler, Jr. with
assistance from Christopher Reyna
Principal and Co-Founder
Boston Light and Sound
Brighton, MA
This is part of the tale of my adventure and that of our company,
Boston Light & Sound that continues even as you read this
article. This is the back story on how the epic film Napoleon
with the Carmine Coppola score was produced in the US... in
the beginning.
As most of you know, the film Napoleon, was directed by the
French filmmaker, Abel Gance. It premiered in France at the
Paris Opera in one version in 1927, with another premiere a
week later at the Apollo, again in Paris. Although they were the
same subject matter, and covered the same time period, the
versions were different. What we have today is a compendium
of both versions. As part of the continuing true life adventure,
Georges Maurier from the French Cinematheque is restoring
the Apollo version with newly discovered materials. But, that is
a tale for the future!!
When first presented, the
French audience loved the
movie. But due to its length,
it was not a commercial
success. However, not only
was the length an issue, the
film contained three, three
Napoleon projected.
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