Abel Gance


Director

About

Also Known As
Abel Perethon
Birth Place
Paris, FR
Born
October 25, 1889
Died
November 10, 1981
Cause of Death
Pulmonary Embolism

Biography

Abel Gance is universally recognized as one of the greatest directors in history. Often compared with Erich von Stroheim for his talent, extravagence, imagination and ego, his experiments in camera movement, editing, and cinematography exceeded anything being done by his contemporaries and redefined the parameters of film discourse. But he often provoked animosity promoting his own geniu...

Family & Companions

Mathilde Thizeau
Wife
Journalist. Married 1912, divorced 1918.
Ida Danis
Companion
Secretary (Film d'Art). Together with Gance from 1918 until death due to tuberculosis in 1922.
Marguerite Danis
Wife
Sister of Ida, married 1922.
Marie-Odette Verite
Wife
Until her death in 1978.

Biography

Abel Gance is universally recognized as one of the greatest directors in history. Often compared with Erich von Stroheim for his talent, extravagence, imagination and ego, his experiments in camera movement, editing, and cinematography exceeded anything being done by his contemporaries and redefined the parameters of film discourse. But he often provoked animosity promoting his own genius and aggravated producers by running over budget on ever-expanding projects. Finally, like von Stroheim, the advent of sound prevented Gance from realizing his ambitions.

Initially drawn to the theater, Gance began writing scripts purely to support himself. According to historian Keven Brownlow, Gance had little regard for film at this time: "I thought they were infantile and stupid... of no artistic value." In 1910 he contracted tuberculosis but managed to overcome it, returning to Paris in good health but also in poverty. In 1911 he directed his first film, "La Digue" and founded a production company, Le Film Francais, going bankrupt after only four films. In 1914, he submitted his play "La Victoire de Samothrace" to Sarah Bernhardt. She would have appeared in it but the war broke out, closing theaters and ending Gance's theatrical career.

The war over, Gance quickly emerged as the most promising young director in France. After writing and directing several routine scripts, Gance made in 1915 the short, "La Folie du Dr. Tube" (the earliest existing work of Gance's) whose numerous optical effects--including shooting through distorting mirrors to suggest mental confusion--made the producer reluctant to release it. Between 1916 and 1919 he made a dozen films including "Les Gaz mortels" and "Barberouse" (both 1916), but it was "Mater Dolorosa" (1917) which first brought him commercial success. Despite a routine plot involving a love triangle, Gance's direction--which again emphasized the central characters' mental states--attracted much attention. Pretentious but successful, "La Dixieme Symphonie" (1918) recounted the life of a suffering, misunderstood composer. And then came "J'accuse!" (1918), a film for which Gance received international acclaim. Intended as a recruiting film, "J'accuse!" was made with the cooperaton of the French army. When the war ended before its completion, Gance transformed it into an anti-war drama which was released shortly after the Armistice. In its most celebrated sequence, thousands of dead soldiers rise from the battlefield and march through the countryside to see if their sacrifice was warranted.

These last two films established Gance as the leading French director of his day. His next two features suggest he may have been the greatest director in Europe. "La Roue"'s (1922) story concerns a railroad engineer named Sisif (combining Sisyphus, Oedipus and Lear), the incestuous passion he shared with his son for his adopted daughter, and his desperate attempts to repress that passion. Like Gance's previous work, "La Roue" was unabashedly melodramatic and pompous, the title referring to train wheels, the wheel of fortune and a Victor Hugo quote which preceded the story. But the level of technical daring was so breathtaking that Jean Epstein called "La Roue ""the formidable cinematic monument in whose shadow all French cinematic art lives and believes." Gance spent six months on the script and an entire year shooting on location. Then came tragedy: Gance's wife died of tuberculosis the day he finished shooting. He mourned in the US where he met D.W. Griffith at the New York premiere of "J'accuse!." Griffith was so impressed he invited Gance to his studio. As a result of this encounter, Gance spent an additional year reediting "La Roue." Filled with contradictions, it also contains sensational climaxes and truly lyrical moments. Among the innovations: rhetorical figuring; dramatic lighting effects; sophisticated editing used for inserts, flashbacks, and parallel action; and dazzling rhythmic montage so extraordinary that when Russian directors Eisenstein and Pudovkin visited France they thanked Gance for having taught them editing.

After directing his friend Max Linder in a short, "Au secours!" (1923), Gance undertook his most ambitious project. "Napoleon vu par Abel Gance" (1927) is a landmark film, as ambitious and daring as the man it portrays. Gance initially conceived a six-part epic presenting all major events of Bonaparte's life filmed at their original locations. The final film (originally six hours) amounts to only the first section, focusing on Napoleon's early years. Curiously, Gance juxtaposed explicit historical references to fictitious characters and events; the overall impression is that Napoleon was the fulfillment of the French Revolution. Nevertheless, a superb cast including Albert Dieudonne (Napoleon), Antonin Artaud (Marat), Peirre Batcheff (Hoche) and Gance (Saint-Just) delivered magisterial performances and there are numerous extraordinary moments, among them: the snowball fight at Brienne College; the introduction of the "Marsaillaise"; the twin storms--Napoleon sailing back to France intercut with the "political storm" at the Convention; the triumphant entry of his army into Italy. This final sequence demonstrates a revolutionary technique, Gance's own Polyvision--the screen converts into a triptych, sometimes revealing one widescreen image, at other times juxtaposing three separate images. Yet this is only the most notable of a whole series of spectacular technical achievements: the use of rapid montage, lighting effects, masking, tinting, superimpositions, handheld camerawork, cameras mounted to anything moving (horses, a pendulum, a toboggan, cameramen). In short, Gance experimented with virtually every aspect of the medium. Hailed as a true masterpiece, "Napoleon" disappeared from circulation within a year of its release, in part because the French film industry was unwilling to support the necessary special screening facilities.

In 1930 Gance made "La Fin du monde" about a comet hurtling toward the earth. Conceived as a silent film to showcase Polyvision, it was instead post-synchronized, taken out of Gance's hands and ruined. Its disastrous reception shattered Gance's career. The freedom Gance enjoyed during the 1920s, when the disorganized state of film production allowed certain individuals to develop projects in relatively unrestricted conditions, was over. Studios tightened production control to offset the cost of sound technology and generally shifted to smaller, more politically engaged projects. Gance's grandiose melodramas were no longer possible and he was obliged to make uninspired commercial productions. He remained active, alternating between sound remakes of his own works ("Mater Dolorosa" 1932, "Napoleon Bonaparte" 1934, "J'accuse!" 1937) and adaptations of popular plays and novels ("La Dame aux Camelias" 1934; "Roman d'un jeune homme pauvre" 1935). In the mid-30s Gance again focused on romantic heros in "Lucrece Borgia" (1935) and "Un grand amour de Beethoven" (1936). Then came the embarrassing "Venus aveugle" (1940), followed by the more tolerable "Capitaine Fracasse" (1942). But when he left France for Spain in 1943 to escape the Nazis, his career abruptly ended. Twelve years passed before his next completed feature, "La Tour de Nesle" (1954). Though unremarkable, its release renewed interest in Gance's work, notably from then-critic Francois Truffaut. "Austerlitz" (1960) and "Cyrano et d'Artagnon" (1963), his last two films, were enjoyable if uninspired historical dramas. Gance spent much of his later years reworking "Napoleon" and unsuccessfully promoting a project on Christopher Columbus.

For years Gance has been undervalued because he focused his attention on style rather than narrative, because of his predilection for melodramas, and because of the deplorable state of available prints. His work is often pretentious, lacks rigor and represents the antithesis of narrative modernity. But thanks in large part to Brownlow (along with Francis Coppola and others), "Napoleon" and Gance's reputation have been restored to their proper places in film history. Having taken film further technologically and esthetically than any of his contemporaries, Gance has finally been recognized as the major figure in French film of the 1920s. RH

Filmography

 

Director (Feature Film)

Austerlitz (1960)
Director
La Tour de Nesle (1954)
Director
Le Capitaine Fracasse (1942)
Director
J'Accuse (1937)
Director
Un Grand Amour de Beethoven (1936)
Director
Lucrece Borgia (1935)
Director
Jerome Perreau, heros des barricades (1935)
Director
Poliche (1934)
Director
La Dame aux camelias (1934)
Director
End of the World (1934)
Director
Napoleon Bonaparte (1934)
Director
Napoleon (1929)
Director
La Roue (1922)
Director
J'Accuse (1919)
Director
La Dixieme symphonie (1918)
Director
Le Droit a la vie (1917)
Director
Mater Dolorosa (1917)
Director
La Zone de la mort (1917)
Director
The Zone of Death (1917)
Director
La Femme inconnue (1916)
Director
Le Periscope (1916)
Director
Ce que les flots racontent (1916)
Director
Le Fou de la falaise (1916)
Director
Barbe-Rousse (1916)
Director
La Fleur des Ruines (1916)
Director
L' Heroisme de Paddy (1916)
Director
L' Enigme de 10 heures (1916)
Director
Fioritures (1916)
Director
Strass et Cie. (1916)
Director
Gaz Mortels, Les (1916)
Director
Drame au chateau d'Acre ou les Morts reviennent-ils? (1915)
Director
Le Negre blanc (1912)
Director
Il y a des pieds au plafond (1912)
Director
La Pierre philosophe (1912)
Director
The Mask of Horror (1912)
Director
La Digue (1911)
Director

Cast (Feature Film)

Napoleon (1929)
La Terre (1921)

Writer (Feature Film)

Austerlitz (1960)
Writer (Dialogue)
Austerlitz (1960)
Screenplay
La Tour de Nesle (1954)
Screenwriter
La Tour de Nesle (1954)
Dialogue
La Reine Margot (1954)
Screenplay
Le Capitaine Fracasse (1942)
Adaptation
Le Capitaine Fracasse (1942)
Screenwriter
Le Capitaine Fracasse (1942)
Dialogue
J'Accuse (1937)
Screenwriter
J'Accuse (1937)
Adaptation
Un Grand Amour de Beethoven (1936)
Screenwriter
La Dame aux camelies (1934)
Screenwriter
Le Maitre de forges (1933)
Screenwriter
Napoleon (1929)
Screenplay
Napoleon auf St. Helena (1929)
Screenwriter
Napoleon (1929)
Writer (Dialogue)
La Roue (1922)
Screenplay
J'Accuse (1919)
Screenwriter
La Dixieme symphonie (1918)
Screenwriter
Mater Dolorosa (1917)
Screenwriter
La Zone de la mort (1917)
Screenwriter
Le Droit a la vie (1917)
Screenwriter
La Femme inconnue (1916)
Screenwriter
Fioritures (1916)
Screenwriter
Gaz Mortels, Les (1916)
Screenwriter
Barbe-Rousse (1916)
Screenwriter
La Fleur des Ruines (1916)
Screenwriter
Le Fou de la falaise (1916)
Screenwriter
Le Periscope (1916)
Screenwriter
L' Enigme de 10 heures (1916)
Screenwriter
Strass et Cie. (1916)
Screenwriter
L' Heroisme de Paddy (1916)
Screenwriter
Ce que les flots racontent (1916)
Screenwriter
Drame au chateau d'Acre ou les Morts reviennent-ils? (1915)
Screenwriter

Editing (Feature Film)

Un Grand Amour de Beethoven (1936)
Editor
Napoleon (1929)
Editor
La Roue (1922)
Editor
J'Accuse (1919)
Editor
La Dixieme symphonie (1918)
Editor

Film Production - Main (Feature Film)

Le Maitre de forges (1933)
Production Supervisor

Misc. Crew (Feature Film)

Liberte (1989)
Other

Life Events

1906

Failed entrance exam to Paris Conservatoire

1908

Stage acting debut at Theatre du Gymnase, Brussels

1908

Hired by Theatre du Parc

1909

Screenwriting debut (short) with "Le Portrait de Mireille"

1910

Paris stage acting debut

1910

Screen acting debut in "Moliere"

1910

Diagnosed with turberculosis

1911

Co-founded production company Le Film Francais

1911

First short film as director "La Digue ou Pour sauver la Hollande

1916

First feature film as director "Les Gaz mortels/The Deadly Gas"

1917

Drafted, assigned to Cinematographic Corps

1926

Patented Polyvision (precursor of Cinerama)

1930

Patented Perspective Sonore (precursor of stereophonic sound)

Videos

Movie Clip

It's Alive (1974) -- (Movie Clip) Give Me One Of The Puppies Idyllic if foreboding opening (Bernard Hermann music), writer-director-producer Larry Cohen gives us the evening it looks like the baby’s coming, Sharon Farrell the mom, John Ryan the dad, with a nice Walter Brennan impression, Daniel Holzman the kid, from It’s Alive, 1974.
It's Alive (1974) -- (Movie Clip) Just A Very Very Big Baby All seems well, though mom Lenore (Sharon Farrell) is a little worried, with dad Frank (John Ryan) waiting in a Santa Monica maternity ward, then writer-producer-director Larry Cohen with as dramatic a mood shift as you’ll see, in the killer-baby horror hit It’s Alive, 1974.
It's Alive (1974) -- (Movie Clip) They Say It Has Teeth And Claws The L-A cops (James Dixon, Michael Ansara) pretty ho-hum about finding another victim of the killer baby, then the mom (Sharon Farrell) with an new iffy nurse (Nancy Burnett), dad (John Ryan) intervening, then a bit of director Larry Cohen’s subjective killer-camera, in It’s Alive, 1974.
Attack Of The 50 Foot Woman (1958) -- (Movie Clip) Strange Red Fireball Credits then local anchorman (Dale Tate) spins a globe, predicting what soon happens to anxious motorist Nancy (Allison Hayes), opening Attack Of The 50 Foot Woman, 1958.
Bone (1972) -- (Movie Clip) We're Losing Our Shirts Gonzo Beverly Hills car salesman Bill (Andrew Duggan) and wife Bernadette (Joyce Van Patten) are being abused by sort-of home-invader Yaphet Kotto (title character), who’s discovered they’re broke, except for an account he’s been hiding, in Larry Cohen’s suspense comedy Bone, 1972.
La Roue (1923) -- (Movie Clip) Norma, London French rail engineer Sisf (Severin-Mars) has rescued young Norma (not credited) from a train wreck, depositing her with his own son, then learning more about her at the office, early in director Abel Gance's La Roue, (a.k.a. The Wheel), 1923.
La Roue (1923) -- (Movie Clip) In The Company Of His Son An elaborate vignette in the rail yard by director Abel Gance, developing the rollicking relationship between now mature Elie (Gabriel DeGravonne) and adopted Norma (Ivy Close), whom he believes to be his natural sister, in La Roue, 1923.
La Roue (1923) -- (Movie Clip) Rose Of The Rail The arresting opening, from the Cinematheque Francaise restoration, of director Abel Gance's La Roue (a.k.a The Wheel), 1923, introducing leads Severin Mars, Ivy Close and Gabriel de Gravonne.
J'Accuse! - Vision (Movie Clip) In a vision, the poet Jean (Romuald Joube) sees the soldiers' secret comrades in Abel Gance's J'Accuse! (1919).
J'Accuse! - The Dead Arise (Movie Clip) The dead soldiers of World War I arise to confront the living in Abel Gance's anti-war masterpiece, J'Accuse! (1919).
J'Accuse! - Credits (Movie Clip) A living title card begins Abel Gance's denunciation of World War I, J'Accuse! (1919).
J'Accuse! - Winter (Movie Clip) Francois (Severin-Mars) and his men suffer the horror of winter in the trenches in Abel Gance's J'Accuse! (1919).

Trailer

Family

Abel Flamant
Father
Doctor.
Francoise Perethon
Mother
Concierge. Married Adolphe Gance 1897.
Adolphe Gance
Step-Father
Mechanic; chauffeur. Married Francoise Perethon 1897.
Clarisse Gance
Daughter
Adopted with Marie-Odette Verite.

Companions

Mathilde Thizeau
Wife
Journalist. Married 1912, divorced 1918.
Ida Danis
Companion
Secretary (Film d'Art). Together with Gance from 1918 until death due to tuberculosis in 1922.
Marguerite Danis
Wife
Sister of Ida, married 1922.
Marie-Odette Verite
Wife
Until her death in 1978.

Bibliography