Napoleon (1927) Movie Script
CANNES FESTIVAL
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2024
CANNES CLASSICS
La Cinmathque franaise presents
Napolon as Seen by Abel Gance (1927)
Reconstructed and restored under the guidance of Georges Mourier,
assisted by Laure Marchaut,
with the help of the Eclair Classics/L'Image Retrouve laboratories, set to music by Simon Cloquet-Lafollye.
The restoration work was carried out by La Cinmathque franaise
with the aid of the Centre national du cinma et de l'image anime
and the Centre national de la musique in partnership with Radio France.
To film his Napolon, Abel Gance shot with several cameras, generating two different negatives and hence two original versions:
one called "Opra" (Premiered at the Opra de Paris, 4 April 1927, 4 hours long)
the second called "Apollo" (presented to the press and the operators of the Apollo theater in May 1927, 9 hours and 30 minutes long).
Gance then established a final version from the Apollo negative alone, of a length of around 7 hours.
It is on this definitive version called the "Grande Version" that the restoration carried out by La Cinmathque franaise between 2015 and 2022 is based.
The splitting of the film into two parts was carried out from the Abel Gance archives preserved at La Cinmathque franaise and la Bibliothque nationale de France.
It includes the final triptych called "Departure of the Army from Italy" according to the three-screen projection process conceived by Gance that he would later name "Polyvision".
The reconstruction and restoration of images were carried out from elements preserved in the following archives:
La Cinmathque franaise, Centre national du cinma et de l'image anime, la Cinmathque de Toulouse, la Cinmathque royale de Belgique (Bruxelles),
la Cinmathque de Corse-Casa di Lume, la Cinmathque du Luxembourg, The Danish Film Institute (Copenhagen), Filmoteca de Catalunya (Barcelona),
Fondazione Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia-Cineteca Nazionale (Roma), Jugoslovenska Kinoteka (Beograd), MoMA (New York), and several private collections.
The elements were digitized in total immersion in 5K at the Eclair Classics/L'Image Retrouve laboratories with the help of Nitroscan.
The digital elements were conformed, restored, tinted, and calibrated.
Abel Gance did not give instructions for the musical accompaniment of the definitive version called the "Grande Version", la Cinmathque francaise entrusted
composer Simon Cloquet-Lafollye with the order of an original score constituted by arrangements of pieces drawing from a symphonic repertoire going from Mozart to Penderecki.
This score was executed and recorded by Radio France's musical formations (Orchestre National de France,
Orchestre Philharmonique et Choeur de Radio France) under the guidance of Fabien Gabel with the participation of the tenor Benjamin Bernheim.
LA SOCIT GNRALE DE FILMS and
The FRENCH COMPANY GAUMONT-METRO-GOLDWYN present:
NAPOLON
NAPOLON
as Seen by Abel Gance
as Seen by Abel Gance
A cinegraphic epic in two parts
The triple-screen process at the end of the second part
is one of Abel Gance's inventions.
Its use for shooting was patented by Andr Debrie,
and for projection by the House of Gaumont.
Director of Photography: J. Kruger
Operators:
Mr Mundviller
and
Messrs L. Lucas, R. Hubert,
E. Pierre, P. Briquet.
FIRST ERA
BONAPARTE
with Albert Dieudonn
in the role of Napolon Bonaparte
I would like to be my posterity and witness what a
poet would make me think, feel, and say. (Napoleon)
All texts, speeches, and narratives taken literally
from History are followed by the mention: 'Hist.'
Prologue: Brienne
Then came the memorable winter of 1781, when the snow
piled up in the courtyard of the cole de Brienne. (Hist.)
Napolon Bonaparte at the age of 11
Mr. Vladimir ROUDENKO
... had sworn to resist with ten comrades in a small fort built by his own hands...
... against the assaults of forty artillerymen. (Hist.)
The Minimes Fathers, who encouraged these battles and
applauded the students who distinguished themselves by
their skill or the invention of some stratagem,
emboldened that day by an overly keen curiosity... (Hist.)
The two leaders of the opposing camp, Phlipeaux and
Peccaduc, personal enemies of Napolon at Brienne, and who, by
a troubling coincidence, we will find opposing him for 15
years on most of the battlefields of the Empire. (Hist.)
Thinking to surprise Napoleon
Tristan Fleuri, dining hall boy.
Mr. KOLINE
Beware Napoleon!
Phlipeaux puts stones in his balls!
Thank you!
Already possessing incredible mastery, he dictated the
movements, motionless at the center of the melees. (Historical)
Let the winner of the fight come here.
Your name? (Hist.)
"Napoleon." (with a Corsican accent,
he pronounced it Nabulion) (Hist.)
What did you say? Straw in the nose?....
(Hist.)
"My little one, you will go far, remember
it is Pichegru who tells you this." (Hist.)
The geography lesson:
study on the climate of islands.
As for Corsica, this almost wild island...
As for Corsica, the most beautiful island
in the world, the climate there is...
Ah... I almost forgot!
A small islet lost in the Ocean...
Saint Helene, a small isle...
I am very unhappy here, and my heart
is not made for these people around me.
I wait patiently because I want to one day restore freedom to my country.
Who knows? The fate of an Empire often depends on one man.
Napoleon
Sir, Napoleon is hiding letters in his bed!
The only comforter of Bonaparte in the attic of Tristan Fleuri.
Proud companion in misfortune, a gift from Uncle
Paraviccini, a great eagle hunter in Ajaccio.
Who is the one who made my eagle flee?
So, you are all guilty!
Who do you think you are, little rascal?
A man!
I maintain that he will go far. He is granite heated by a volcano.
End of Prologue
First Part
Napoleon and the French Revolution
June 1792
At the Club of the Cordeliers.
Death to Tyrants
The secretary of Danton, Camille
Desmoulins... (Mr. VIDALIN)
and his wife Lucile.
(Miss Francine MUSSEY)
The three gods...
Chatterboxes!
Your friend Ditrich sends you an officer from the Army of the
Rhine carrying a song that he believes will be useful to the people.
Can we have the copies distributed
while waiting for the session?
Listen!
The tense crowd vaguely sensed that a great flame
was about to rise in the history of the world.
Your name?
Rouget de Lisle
People, sit down!
Let us learn, my children.
They all bray like donkeys!
Thank you for France, Sir, your
hymn will replace thousands of cannons.
Thank you, Lieutenant, tell me your name
so that I may remember your prediction.
Napoleon lived in Paris in misery.
The wanderers, including Josphine
de Beauharnais, were looking
that morning for the famous
fortune-teller, Mademoiselle Lenormand.
An incredible fortune...
you will be QUEEN, madam!
Bonaparte's misery was nothing
compared to that of the suburbs...
Hearts sing, but stomachs scream
with hunger, and the night of August
10 erupts suddenly, bringing
Bonaparte echoes of a throne collapsing...
What remains of a great
event seen from a small room.
Everything related to carnage
is worthless; if we are not
careful, the best fruits of the
Revolution will be lost. (Hist.)
At the National Assembly, the agony of the
MONARCHY. (King Louis XVI: Mr. Louis SANCE)
(Queen Marie-Antoinette:
Miss Suzanne BIANCHETTI)
If the Revolution is a furnace, it is also
a forge! Let us build the REPUBLIC now!
"What is needed to defeat the enemies of the Fatherland?" (Hist.)
"Audacity, more audacity."
(Hist.)
How cowardly and vile men are. Peoples are
hardly worth the trouble of so much concern.
Everyone seeks their own interest and wants
to succeed through the force of honor.
Declaration of the Rights
of Man and of the Citizen
"This is what you have done
today with the MONARCHY." (Hist.)
And from second to second,
while the Monarchy was collapsing,
Napoleon vaguely felt a
source of light growing within him.
IN CORSICA
"Bonaparte, who has not returned to Corsica for 12 years, arrives in Ajaccio
with his sister Elisa to try to awaken national sentiment there." (Hist.)
"Mother Letizia."
(Hist.)
The best friend of the Bonaparte
family, the shepherd Santo Ricci
Hello, 'Cousing'.
This is not the time
to laugh, Napoleon!....
You must learn the
dreadful truth immediately.
"Paoli, our old and great
Paoli, our revered father to
all, is in the process of
selling us to the English." (Hist.)
"As long as I live, Corsica will
never become English." (Hist.)
"All the scenes in Corsica, in
particular, were filmed in the houses and
at the exact locations where the rigorously
verified events took place." (Author's Note)
HIS COUNTRY
At the Casone grotto, which had
witnessed his adolescent dreams,
Napoleon would come to meditate
on the fate of his small homeland.
His house.
NAPOLEON
WAS BORN IN THIS HOUSE
ON AUGUST 15, 1769
His family.
"His dear mother Letizia, his
brothers Joseph, Lucien, Louis, Jrme,
his sisters Elisa, Pauline, Caroline,
in the adorable garden of Milelli."
(Historical)
"...the Bonaparte family finds itself
facing the jealous ferocity of Pozzo di
Borgo, who became Attorney General
Syndic in Corsica and secretary to Paoli."
(Hist.)
Would he choose, away from all political
turmoil, a peaceful and family life...
...or rather, sacrificing his
personal happiness, would he try
to become one of the important
actors on the world stage?...
Napoleon, the official representative of France,
soon saw all the inhabitants distance themselves from him,
as they, along with Paoli, desired English
rule, and Pozzos hatred found fertile ground there.
(Hist.)
"Death to Napoleon Buonaparte!"
(Hist.)
It was at this time that, neglecting the wise advice of his
family, who urged him to flee the hatred of an entire people,
Napoleon came each day to the deserted point of the
Sanguinaires to speak of the future with his friend, the Ocean.
"The whole question was whether
Corsica would become English, according to
Paoli's desire, or if it would remain
French, according to Bonapartes."
(Arthur Lvy)
Napolon Buonaparte, through his secret correspondence
with the Convention, is currently the most
serious obstacle to our alliance with England. In the
name of the Corsican Fatherland, give me his life.
"Order to the civil and military authorities
to pursue Napoleon Buonaparte, traitor
to his homeland. A reward of 500 livres
to whoever brings him back, dead or alive."
Signed: For the
Corsican Consulta, Paoli
At the inn of Moulin il Re (Moulin du
Roy), where politics holds its meetings.
ORDER To the civil and military
authorities To pursue Napoleon
Buonaparte, traitor to the fatherland.
A reward of five hundred livres
for whoever brings him
back dead or alive. In the
name of the Consulta Corse,
The Supreme Leader, Paoli
Napoleons brothers, Lucien
and Joseph, leave disguised
for Calvi, to seek help
from the French authorities.
What are you going to do, my dear son?
To act, Mother!
From this moment on and until his
return to France, the life of the young
artillery lieutenant will become the
most incredible of adventure novels.
"Our homeland is Spain with Buttafuoco!
Death to Napoleon Bonaparte!"
(Hist.)
"No, our homeland is Italy with the Duke of Savoy!
Death to Napoleon Bonaparte!"
(Hist.)
"No, our homeland is England with Paoli!
Death to Napoleon Bonaparte!"
(Hist.)
"No... our homeland is France!"
(Hist.)
"With me!"
(Hist.)
"If you could understand
what dream enflames my
soul with enthusiasm,
you would all follow me."
(Hist.)
"France, you see, she is our
mother to all of us!...
(Hist.)
"Believe me...
A man will come who will
know how to gather upon his
head all the hopes of
the nation, and then......"
(Hist.)
"The war with France is declared."
(Hist.)
I take it. It is
too big for you!...
In just a few moments, the announcement
of the declaration of war, linked
to Bonapartes escape, brought
the excitement of minds to its peak.
Surrounded at the Capitello Tower.
The sea supreme
refuge of the exiles.
"No sails, no oars!"
"I will bring it back to you!"
Thus, on May 26, 1793, at the
Tower of Capitello, after an epic pursuit,
Napoleon set sail for the open sea
in the gondola of Captain Ucciani.
(d'Alboise)
The Exiles.
The maquis always
saves the exiles.
The dangerous sirocco
was rising little by little.
Napoleon, fearing the
storm, tried to follow the coast.
Vertiginously carried away
towards the open sea, Napoleon
was about to begin an
epic battle against destiny.
That same night, at
the same hour, another
formidable storm was
raging at the Convention.
"My conclusion? It is a decree of
accusation against all the Girondins!"
(Hist.)
"The Assembly felt
itself under lightning."
(Thibaudeau)
As all the giants of the Revolution
were about to be swept away
one after the other in the
dreadful whirlwinds of the Terror...
A man, wild and laughing,
a tamer of oceans, unfurling
his tricolored sail in the
mad wind of the Revolution,
was about to be magnificently
carried by the revolutionary
north wind to the highest
pediment of History.
Historical Providence: on a sailing
ship carrying Bonaparte's two brothers...
Chance
"My family... quickly, quickly... to
its rescue... to Aspretto."
(Hist.)
A few hours later.
"Alas! My children. Our poor
house sacked by order of Paoli!
We ourselves are forced
to flee our dear homeland."
"Le Hasard" carried towards France a future
emperor, three kings, and a queen.
(Hist.)
"And now, we have but
one homeland, only one"
"... France!"
The English ships were
watching over the Mediterranean.
Chance
"Captain, allow me to sink
this ship without a flag..."
"No, no, my little Nelson."
(Hist.)
"Let's not waste our cannonballs
on fugitives of such little importance."
The Siege of Toulon
Refugees in the suburbs of Toulon to escape
the September massacres, Violine and Fleuri
had quickly understood that the province
did not escape the fury of extreme factions.
Violine, the granddaughter
of Tristan Fleuri.
"Civil war, as horrible as it
may be, is still nothing, my
friends, compared to the dreadful
tragedy of our open borders."
"Everywhere we retreat!
It's a disaster, France is lost!"
In September 1793, the port of Toulon, where
20,000 English, Italians, and Spaniards
were entrenched, was besieged by a
French army commanded by General Carteaux.
Napoleon, who had just been appointed
Second Captain in the artillery at Toulon...
(Hist.)
was about to find the
armies of the Republic in
a state beyond all
imagination.
(Stendhal Hist.)
The painter Carteaux, commander-in-chief
of the armies besieging Toulon.
Salicetti, Corsican
deputy to the Convention,
appointed Commissioner
to the Army of Toulon.
"To the health of the great General
Carteaux, future conqueror of Toulon."
"What are you doing
here, young man?"
"I have come to serve as second-in-command
of the siege artillery, my general."
(Hist.)
"The artillery?"
"But we don't need it! We will
take Toulon with cold steel!"
(Hist.)
"In my place, what
would you do, little one?"
(Hist.)
"If Fort Aiguillette is taken, the
English will abandon the city."
(Hist.)
"Well, 'Captain Cannon,' you
are not very good at geography."
(Hist.)
"Remember this well, young man:
first, artillery is useless, and second..."
"And second, it is unpleasant."
"This time, I do not hesitate, I will
remind him of the School of Brienne."
"My Captain, I was..."
"Bread, olives, silence!"
Carteaux, deemed incapable, was
replaced by General Dugommier.
Training men and horses,
Napoleon displays incredible zeal.
(Hist.)
General Dugommier did
not take long to realize the
exceptional qualities of
his young artillery captain.
Inspection.
"Too short!"
Toulon was then
considered one of the largest
and most formidable
fortified camps in the world.
(Hist.)
"Citizen-General, the fire from
'Petit Gibraltar' is making the
bastion untenable. We have given
the order to evacuate the pieces."
The English redoubt
of 'Petit Gibraltar'.
"Take this piece to its place."
"Impossible, my Captain!"
"Impossible is not French."
(Hist.)
"Mind your business as a
deputy and let me do my job as an
artilleryman. This battery will
stay here, or else Im leaving!"
"Heads fall for
replies less bold!"
"Fantastic! I no
longer need sand."
"My friend Junot, I
like you very much."
Battery of the Fearless Men
"Captain Bonaparte, I appoint you
Commander-in-Chief of the artillery!"
"To take Toulon, it's
best to let him do it."
Free in his movements,
Bonaparte goes on the offensive.
He established two batteries on the
seashore, called 'Batteries of the Mountain
and of the Sans-Culottes.' This forced the
enemy ships to evacuate the Petite Rade.
(Hist.)
With incredible bravery,
he pursues his successes up
to the Grosse Tour, where
he isolates the garrison.
On December 16, 1793, the French
General Staff held a decisive war council.
"I give orders
or I stay silent."
The enemy war council closely
resembled the Tower of Babel.
The English Admiral Hood...
"We are masters of the sea. The French
fleet is our hostage, prisoner in the port."
(Hist.-Cottin)
"20,000 English,
Spaniards, Italians, make our
forts impregnable. I have
no concern whatsoever."
(Hist.)
"Toulon has only one weak
point on the harbor, the promontory
of l'Aiguillette. If we
seize it, the city is ours."
"We will therefore launch
the assault tonight at midnight."
"Are you all in agreement
with this opinion?"
"Who is in command here?" "They do
not understand war!" "Is it a betrayal?"
"I do not understand." "Italians
speak with their hands." "Translate?"
"Order Calm Silence"
Preparations for combat.
"A little patience! It is
seven in the evening. We will
surprise the enemy tomorrow
at five in the morning!"
"Smoking is forbidden,
but you may sit down."
"At what age did the
little drummer Viala die?"
"At thirteen years old."
"What luck! So I still
have six years left to live!"
Napoleon was entrusted
with command by the will
of the soldiers, despite
the presence of generals.
"We are going to fight,
I authorize you to sing."
Marlborough Has Left for the War
Despite the explicit prohibition of
the Commissioners of the armies, who
feared the storm, Bonaparte gives
the signal to the artillery to attack.
(Hist.)
Revealing then a
magnificent attack plan, he
launches the Victor and
Delaborde columns on
the Sardinian and
Spanish flanks, keeping for
himself the central
attack against the English.
Dugommier's disobedience
to Napoleon's orders and his
fortunately minor injury lead
to the retreat of the French.
The Conventionals decided at
that moment to suspend the assault.
"They have just
guillotined in Paris Generals
Houchard and Custine
for less serious mistakes."
"Bonaparte has just committed the greatest
crime in history. This assault on a night
like this! It is such madness that even
his head will not be enough to pay for it!"
(Hist.)
Order to Captain Bonaparte to suspend the assault immediately
General-in-Chief Dugommier
Order to Captain Bonaparte to suspend the assault immediately
General-in-Chief Dugommier
"Orators!"
"Do you guarantee success?"
"The commander-in-chief
takes full responsibility for
the operations and decides
to continue the siege."
Never does Bonaparte show
such intrepidity in any of his
other campaigns. He is everywhere,
sees everything, takes care
of everything. The lightning of
the sky and the cannons surround him.
He is in the fire, in his element.
(Chuquet - Hist.)
"And tomorrow, my general,
you will sleep in Toulon."
"Reverse the pieces."
The English gunners are cut
down on their cannons. Of all
those who defend the redoubt,
not one is without a wound.
(Hist.)
The attack on Petit Gibraltar.
"Its nothing, Ive already seen all this
at Brienne! Bold Straw-on-the-Nose!"
The English General
OHara orders the retreat.
"Marcellin!"
And in the midst of
darkness, rain, a dreadful
wind, chaos, corpses,
the cries of the wounded
and dying, no one fires
anymore, they engage in
hand-to-hand combat.
No more weapons but steel.
(Memoirs of Napoleon)
"Go fetch me that young
captain who has been
fighting like a tiger
for the past two hours."
(Hist.)
"Your name?"
"Desaix."
"Make the English
squadron leave..."
"and burn the French squadron."
The French troops, after 76 hours of
combat in the mud and storm, seized
the last English redoubt at 4 oclock
in the morning.
(Memoirs of Napoleon.)
"The drums? Where
are the drums of the 6th?"
"The drummers? Present!!"
Fallen under the hail of bullets,
the drummers of the 6th were
about to be replaced in their
task by an unexpected auxiliary...
... the hail.
"I believe that this
man will save France."
After the victory.
At dawn, from the heights of l'Aiguillette,
one of the greatest spectacles
that ever struck Napoleon's
imagination unfolded before his eyes.
(Chuquet)
"What... is the name...
of this captain?"
"Napoleon Bonaparte."
At dawn, the commissioners of the Armies,
who had come to bring him, as a token of
apology, the rank of brigadier general,
found him asleep, his head resting on a drum.
(Hist.)
"Here is the
conqueror of Toulon!"
(Hist.)
End of the First Part.
NAPOLEON
Second Part
The Terror
At Salicettis, whose petty
jealousy toward his compatriot
Bonaparte had no equal in history
except that of Pozzo di Borgo.
"You want to accuse Napoleon of espionage?
So be it! I will fabricate evidence!"
(d'Abrants.)
Salicetti comes to beg Robespierre for
the favor of putting Bonaparte on trial.
(Hist.)
"Let General Bonaparte
be offered the command
of the Paris garrison
in place of Henriot."
(Hist.)
"He is a strong-willed man, the
kind Paris lacks, this Bonaparte."
(Hist.)
"If he refuses,
then I give it to you."
(Hist.)
However, one of the Three Gods was about to
be carried away by the revolutionary storm.
"A young woman from Rouen
insists on personally giving you a
list of suspects. Believe me,
my brother, do not receive her."
(Hist.)
"I bring you a list of suspects. But I
cannot speak in front of witnesses."
"Leave me alone.
Close that curtain!"
The most formidable man
of the Terror, Saint-Just.
"de Montfort?"
Accusation against: De Montfort, 94 years old
To death
M. R.
Committee of Public Safety
"Lucile Desmoulins?"
Accusation against: Lucilla Desmoulins
To death
M. R.
Committee of Public Safety
"Mercy for Danton!"
"Infamous Robespierre, the scaffold
calls for you. You will follow me!"
(Hist.)
"When my head has fallen, you will show
it to the people, it is worth the effort!"
(Hist.)
"Bonaparte has refused the command
of the Paris garrison in place of Henriot.
He does not want to
'support a man like you.'"
(Hist.)
EQUALITY, LIBERTY.
COMMITTEE OF PUBLIC SAFETY
The representatives of the people,
considering that General Bonaparte
has completely lost their trust
due to his suspicious conduct,
suspend him from his duties
and decree that he will be placed
under arrest and brought before
the Committee of Public Safety.
Robespierre (Hist.)
Accusation against: Napoleon Bonaparte
Committee of Public Safety
"I denounce to you the Viscountess
Josphine de Beauharnais for your
Committee of General Security. She
would seduce even the most virtuous."
(Hist.)
Accusation against: Josphine de Beauharnais
M. R.
Committee of Public Safety
Accusation against: General Napoleon Bonaparte
M. R.
Accusation against: Josphine de Beauharnais
M. R.
Committee
Mysterious chance of fate. Thus, Napoleon
and Josphine met on the threshold of death.
(Hist.)
Accusation against: Andr Chnier
Committee of Public Safety
"A poet is useless, to death!"
(Hist.)
Accusation against: Andr Chnier
To death
M. R.
Committee of Public Safety
At the prison of
Fort Carr in Antibes.
(Hist.)
The outcome of this strange procedure was
to bring Bonapartes head to the scaffold.
(dAbrants)
Josphine, brutally separated
from her children Eugne and
Hortense, was thrown at the same
time into the prison of the Carmes.
(Hist.)
"But who are you, Sir?"
"General Hoche, Madame."
(Hist.)
Passing through Antibes,
Salicetti came to taunt Bonaparte.
"Are you preparing
your defense?"
"No, I am looking for the route to
India by digging a canal at Suez."
(Hist.)
Tristan Fleuri inherits from the
Terror an unexpected position.
"...Lucile Desmoulins."
(Hist.)
"...de Beauharnais."
(Hist.)
The Viscount de Beauharnais,
divorced from Josphine
for two years, also had
to pay his debt of nobility.
(Masson)
"I only need one
head. Figure it out!"
"For once, Madame, allow me
not to give up my place to you."
"My farewells to our children, Madame."
(Hist.)
"Andre..."
"The young captive"
"The growing ear of grain ripens, respected by the
scythe, Without fear of the
winepress, the grape swells all summer,
Drinks the sweet offerings of dawn; And
I, like it, young and crowned with flowers,
Dread the fatal hour, presented with
sorrow and fear. I do not want to die yet!"
The Thermometer
of the Guillotine.
"Decapitated" "Next Execution" "On Trial" "Innocents"
"Have all these clients
executed without trial. Copy your
lists immediately; I need
three hundred pieces per day."
(Hist.)
"Never has France
had such a fever!"
Accusation against: Josphine de Beauharnais
Committee of Public Safety
Fortunately, La Bussire
keeps watch, this
strange character who,
out of humanity, has made
himself a 'chewer of
files' and who risks his life
at every moment to
save the lives of strangers.
(Masson)
La Bussire chewed
up Josphines file, and
it was to the devotion
of this extraordinary
hero that she owed
her salvation. In 1803,
she would, moreover,
know how to recognize it.
(Masson)
"You're lucky to be able
to digest them; I can't."
Accusation against: Napoleon Bonaparte
Committee of Public Safety
"Eat this one too."
Accusation against: Napoleon Bonaparte
Committee of Public Safety
THERMIDOR
"Death to Saint-Just!
Death to Robespierre!"
(Hist.)
"Death to the two monsters!"
"For the last time, will you give me the floor, president of assassins?"
(Madelin)
Barras.
"I armed myself with a dagger to
pierce the chest of this new Cromwell
if the Convention did not have the
courage to decree his accusation!"
(Hist.)
"Danton's blood is choking you!"
(Hist.)
"You are walking
on the Girondins!"
(Hist.)
"Jackals!"
"Yes, we had to make victims, but isn't the
Revolution a great beacon lit over tombs?"
(Hist.)
"But do you forget
that during that time, we
forged for you a brand
new France, ready to live?"
(Hist.)
"...passed 12,000 decrees, two-thirds of
which were for humanitarian purposes."
(Hist.)
"And we did all this with, in
our flanks, that vulture: the
Vende, and on our shoulders,
that pack of tigers: the Kings..."
(Hist.)
"You can now scatter our limbs to the four
winds: from them, Republics will rise!"
(Hist.)
"I despise the dust that makes up my
body and speaks to you. I give it to you!"
(Hist.)
"They are too great for us!"
Accusation against: Roger de...
Committee of Public Safety
Will be guillotined tomorrow
morning: Robespierre, Couthon,
Saint-Just, Henriot, and all the
Robespierrists. Prepare the files.
R.Y. Fouquier
(Hist.)
"What a mess!"
Two hours later.
The release of
General Bonaparte.
The atonement of Salicetti.
The following year in Paris,
Bonaparte, despite his poverty, refuses a
command as General of Infantry in
Vende, offered by Aubry, Minister of War.
"Does it bother you to wage
war under my orders in Vende?"
(Hist.)
"When two hundred thousand
foreigners violate our borders,
I am indeed bothered by
making war against Frenchmen!"
(Hist.)
National Convention
General Bonaparte will be removed from the list
of active officers, due to his
refusal to report to the assigned post.
Cambacrs
(Hist.)
Obscurely assigned to the armys
topographical office, Bonaparte
brings to Pontcoulant the admirable
plans for the Italian Campaign.
(Hist.)
"The plans of this young
man are extraordinary."
(Hist.)
To Citizen Schrer, Commander-in-Chief
of the Army of Italy, Examine the
plans of this young general, which
deserve your utmost attention and ...
These plans are the
work of a madman!
Let the one who wrote them
come and explain them.
Schrer, General, Army of Italy
The White Terror
France was dying, lacking bread
people were dying of hunger everywhere.
A dreadful distress beyond all imagination
was detaching the people from the Republic.
(Biography of the Contemporaries)
"If within eight days the Revolution
has not found its leader, France is lost."
(Hist.)
"I need a man!"
"Then think of that funny
little Buona... Buona... Parte."
"No!"
"Yes. I will think about it."
(Hist.)
And on the 12th of Vendmiaire,
a new revolution led by
the royalists placed the
Convention in the greatest danger.
(Hist.)
"The Royalists have invaded
the Pont-Neuf, and in an hour
the Reaction will be at the
very doors of the Convention."
(Hist.)
"I need a general immediately to
sweep away the royalist insurrection."
(Hist.)
"I propose the victor
of Toulon, Bonaparte."
"Does anyone know his address?"
"I accept! I do not like those I am
about to serve, but when the territory
is threatened, the first duty is to rally
to those who hold the Government."
"I warn you, Barras, that
once the sword is out of its
sheath, I will not put it
back until order is restored."
INN
That evening, Bonaparte entered
History for good, never to leave it again.
Napoleon had 800 rifles,
cartridge boxes, and cartridges
brought into the Convention hall
to arm the Convention members
themselves and the offices as
a reserve force. This measure
alarmed several who then
understood the magnitude of the danger.
(Hist. Memoirs of Napoleon)
DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS OF MAN AND OF THE CITIZEN
"To your positions, Gentlemen."
(Hist.)
"Distribute the weapons."
(Hist.)
"We have only 5,000 men against
40,000. As for the 40 cannons from Sablons,
the only ones we had, they must by
now be in the hands of the sectionaries."
(Hist.)
"And now, shoot him."
(Hist.)
"You are free!"
(Hist.)
"I like you. You will lead 300 horsemen
to bring me back the 40 cannons
from Sablons, which must be in
Paris by one o'clock in the morning."
(Hist.)
"Your name?"
"Murat, my general!"
(M. Genica MISSIRIO)
On the 14th at noon, Paris was
militarily occupied. The riot was crushed.
(Hist.)
Vendmiaire, so important
politically, had been limited
militarily to a few
skirmishes of no significance.
A few moments later, the
crowd unmasked Salicetti,
disguised as a coachman
and ready to flee.
(Hist.)
"Let those two men be
released. They are free!
I can forgive them, but
forgetting is another matter."
(History of dAbrants)
The majority of Parisians remained
completely unaware of this event.
(Hist.)
"What is that noise,
Monsieur Fouch?"
"It is Buonaparte who is
entering history, Madam."
This unexpected fortune, this instant
fortune so to speak, now makes a young man
of 26 years old, just recently dismissed,
one of the foremost figures of France.
(Hist. Arthur Lvy)
"I propose the appointment of
the savior of the Convention to
the rank of Commander-in-Chief
of the Army of the Interior."
(Hist.)
"Through my voice, the
Revolution thanks you."
"Since this morning,
I am the Revolution!"
(Hist.)
THE REACTION.
50 bottles of Ay wine
60 of Falernian
80 of Muscat
Booted cherries la ci-devant
Apricot dragees
Redcurrant clarequets
Pts from Prigueux
Eel pts
Pts from Amiens
Foie gras pie
In this feverish reaction of life against
death, a thirst for joy had seized all of France
644 balls were held within a few days
on the graves of the
victims of the Terror.
(Hist.)
To be admitted to the Victims'
Ball, one had to have been
imprisoned or prove the death of
a father, a brother, or a husband.
(Hist.)
"The General Vendmiaire"
Bonaparte's sudden notoriety
was, however, eclipsed
by the grace of the three
famous women of the moment.
"Madame Tallien."
"Madame Rcamier."
She was content to receive
the tributes that came to her.
(Edouard Herriot.)
"Madame Josphine
de Beauharnais."
"It was here, Monsieur Buona-Parte,
that I was called to the scaffold."
"Together, these three
women drove Paris mad."
"He's really charming,
that little Buona-Parte."
"With fools and lechers like you,
France is heading toward ruin!"
"Careful! I'm going
to take your Queen."
"Ive lost. You are definitely
a better general than I am."
"Which weapons do you
fear the most, General?"
(Hist.)
"Fans, Madame."
Bonaparte, having
seized the weapons from
all individuals, receives
an unexpected plea.
(Hist.)
"I ask you for permission to keep my father's
sword, Count Alexandre de Beauharnais."
(Hist.)
The next day, to
thank the general
(Hist.)
"When you fall silent, no
one can stop you anymore."
Two hours later.
Romeo.
The young Talma never had
a more passionate student.
(Hist.)
"How you love him!"
"Are you kissing Paris?"
"Paris? Its Josphines mouth!"
A beautiful person with
easy morals, reckless,
amoral, yet extremely
charming, a musician...
(Hist. Madelin)
"My heart sighs..."
"Do you think he will
make mom happy?"
He came every day to
the Htel Chantereine.
And the little white shadow
of Violine came too...
"You want to marry
me off to get rid of me."
"Very well, I accept!"
"But then you will appoint that little
Bonaparte to the command of the Army of Italy."
"So you think, Eugne, that
mama is going to get married?"
"Do you like that Buona-Parte?"
"And you?"
"In love, my dear Josphine, one
mustnt see more clearly than that!"
That evening.
INN
"Commander-in-chief...
Army of Italy... It's done!"
(Hist.)
"These plans are the work of a madman! Let the one who wrote them come and carry them out."
Signed: Schrer
"Commander-in-chief, Army of Italy"
Finally!
"I will take your daughter into
my service. She will be happy, and
since you care so much, you may
go off to the army without any worry."
"Lets get married, Madame. Quick,
a notary... the banns... the papers!"
(Hist.)
"I gave myself three
months to conquer Italy."
(Hist.)
On March 9, 1796, at 10
oclock in the evening, before
Mr. Leclercq, civil
registrar of the 2nd district.
(Hist.)
"And your marriage, Sir?"
(Hist.)
"Hurry up, Sir!"
(Hist.)
"Skip all that, Sir."
(Hist.)
"In the name of the
law, do you take..."
"Yes."
"Your Buona-Parte scares me."
(Hist.)
And Violine also got
married that same evening.
Napoleon spent two days in
a delirium of love, mixing his
lovers intoxication with
dreams of glory and grandeur.
(Madelin)
AND DURING THE NIGHT OF
THE 21st VENTSE, YEAR IV...
(Hist.)
...with forty thousand
francs as his entire fortune
fortune to be divided
among his Army of Italy...
(Hist.)
...forty-eight hours after
his wedding, he left, his face
so pale beneath disheveled
hair, his features so hollow
that he was believed to be
at deaths door, miserable,
almost pitiful, closed off,
mouth shut, eyes veiled.
(Hist. Madelin)
"I am jealous, Violine."
"But of whom, Madame?"
"Of France!"
Napoleon did not want
to leave Paris without
reinvigorating his energy
in that chamber of the
Convention, deserted
at that hour, but still
trembling with all the great
echoes of the Revolution.
And mysteriously, he had
his carriage stop in front of
that forge of the Revolution
to meditate on the future.
"Listen Bonaparte, the French
Revolution is going to speak to you."
"We have understood that
the Revolution cannot prosper
without strong authority.
Do you want to be its leader?"
"If the Revolution does not
spread beyond our borders, it
will die on the spot. Do you
want to carry it into Europe?"
"Yes."
"By the faith of Saint-Just! If one day
you forget that you are the direct heir
of the Revolution, we will turn against
you, terribly! Will you remember that?"
"What are your
plans, Bonaparte?"
"The liberation of oppressed
peoples, the merging of
major European interests,
the abolition of borders..."
(Hist.)
...and...
"...THE UNIVERSAL REPUBLIC."
(Hist.)
"Europe will soon truly be but
one single people, and each person,
traveling everywhere, will always find
themselves in the common homeland."
(Hist.)
"To reach this sacred goal, many wars will
be necessary, but I proclaim it here for
posterity, one day victories will be achieved
without cannons and without bayonets."
(Hist.)
Each moment takes me farther
from you, adorable friend, and with
each moment I find an increase
of strength to bear this separation.
(Hist. Intimate Napoleon)
"SUPPLIES."
"DIRECTORY."
"POWDER SERVICE."
"AMBULANCES."
I send you thousands of kisses, do not send me any because they burn my nerves.
Bonaparte.
The carriage not going fast enough for his liking
The soldiers of the Army of
Italy, without food, without clothing,
without discipline, were in
a state difficult to imagine.
In Albenga, the General
Staff of the Army of Italy.
There are Srurier, La Harpe, Victor Cervoni,
Mouret, Dujard, Donmartin, Joubert, and
dominating this group
of illustrious men: the
great Massna and
the invincible Augereau.
(Hist. dEsparbs)
"To impose on us that little runt Bonaparte,
that little alley general! By Augereau's
faith, I refuse to obey. I will throw the
truth in his face; and you, Massna?"
(Hist.)
"Let him come!"
(Hist.)
"Berthier, my Chief of Staff."
"Augereau, Massna, Victor,
La Harpe, Srurier, the Italian
campaign is about to begin;
prepare your divisions."
(Hist.)
"What? We have 35,000 men in
rags to oppose 100,000 enemies, and
30 cannons to oppose 200! And
you want to go on the offensive?"
(Hist.)
"You are a child, Massna."
(Hist.)
"General review of the army in one hour."
"Did you see the kid theyre
sending us? Im rooted to the spot
when it comes to obeying him. But
Massnas going to gobble him up!"
(Hist.)
"Thank you, gentlemen.
You will each receive
four louis shortly to help
you go on campaign."
(Hist.)
"I will offer him our apologies
for our attitude upon his arrival."
"Ask me for anything
you want, sir, except time!"
(Hist.)
"With those looks that pierce through
the head, that little man scares me."
(Hist. - Lacour-Gayet.)
My life is a nightmare without
you. A dreadful premonition
prevents me from
breathing. I no longer live. I
have lost more than life,
more than happiness, more than
rest. I am almost without
hope. I beg you, answer me
(Arthur Lvy)
THE FIRST CONTACWITH THE ARMY OF ITALY
"Attention!"
One hour later.
(Hist.)
In just a few hours, Bonaparte was
about to witness a sudden, unheard-of,
almost miraculous enthusiasm spread
around him The Leader was here!
"Dismiss!"
For the first time, the army
fell asleep confident that night.
On the morning of April 11,
1796, this ragged crowd was
about to awaken with the
spirit of the Grande Arme.
"Soldiers!"
"Soldiers! You are
naked, poorly fed...
(Hist.)
...the Government owes you
much; it can give you nothing...
(Hist.)
...your patience, the courage
you show among these
rocks are admirable, but
they bring you no glory...
(Hist.)
...I want to lead you into the
most fertile plains in the world...
(Hist.)
...rich provinces, great
cities, will be in your power...
(Hist.)
...there you will find
honor, glory, and wealth...
(Hist.)
...SOLDIERS OF ITALY, WOULD YOU
LACK COURAGE OR PERSEVERANCE?"
(Hist.)
And now, turned toward
Italy, the tempter shows them
the Promised Landit is
he who will lead them there.
(Hist. Lacour-Gayet)
"In front of me, 300 meters below,
the Italian plains, the rivers glittering
like golden yataghans, the immense
and fertile plains of Piedmont!..."
(Memoirs of Napoleon)
"Soldiers, I promise it to you!"
(Hist.)
By a miracle of swiftness, two hours
later the Grand Army was on the move.
A stunned Europe was
about to see rise in a few
days a star that would
change the face of the world.
(Hist. Madelin)
Liberty or Death
Forty-eight hours later,
Napoleon was laughing
as he opened the gates
of Italy at Montenotte.
And through the open gate surged
the most vehement and richest
current of human power that
history has ever seen unleashed.
(Hist. Albert Sorel)
Upon learning of this
dazzling entry into Italy,
Paris bursts the dams
of its enthusiasm.....
On April 16, 1796, having advanced
ahead of the entire army and the General
Staff, he is on the heights of
Montezemolo at 2700 feet of altitude.
(Schuermans)
His eagle eyes inscribe
in advance into the sky
of Italy all his desires
and all his victories.
While the Beggars of Glory,
with empty stomachs and
heads full of songs,
leave History for the epic.
...Napoleons soul, carried
away in a fantastic daydream,
plays with the clouds to
destroy and create worlds.
A singular conductor sets the pace
in the sky for the march of the armies.
Abel Gance
Translation by
SyllabiaMinora and eladir
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2024
CANNES CLASSICS
La Cinmathque franaise presents
Napolon as Seen by Abel Gance (1927)
Reconstructed and restored under the guidance of Georges Mourier,
assisted by Laure Marchaut,
with the help of the Eclair Classics/L'Image Retrouve laboratories, set to music by Simon Cloquet-Lafollye.
The restoration work was carried out by La Cinmathque franaise
with the aid of the Centre national du cinma et de l'image anime
and the Centre national de la musique in partnership with Radio France.
To film his Napolon, Abel Gance shot with several cameras, generating two different negatives and hence two original versions:
one called "Opra" (Premiered at the Opra de Paris, 4 April 1927, 4 hours long)
the second called "Apollo" (presented to the press and the operators of the Apollo theater in May 1927, 9 hours and 30 minutes long).
Gance then established a final version from the Apollo negative alone, of a length of around 7 hours.
It is on this definitive version called the "Grande Version" that the restoration carried out by La Cinmathque franaise between 2015 and 2022 is based.
The splitting of the film into two parts was carried out from the Abel Gance archives preserved at La Cinmathque franaise and la Bibliothque nationale de France.
It includes the final triptych called "Departure of the Army from Italy" according to the three-screen projection process conceived by Gance that he would later name "Polyvision".
The reconstruction and restoration of images were carried out from elements preserved in the following archives:
La Cinmathque franaise, Centre national du cinma et de l'image anime, la Cinmathque de Toulouse, la Cinmathque royale de Belgique (Bruxelles),
la Cinmathque de Corse-Casa di Lume, la Cinmathque du Luxembourg, The Danish Film Institute (Copenhagen), Filmoteca de Catalunya (Barcelona),
Fondazione Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia-Cineteca Nazionale (Roma), Jugoslovenska Kinoteka (Beograd), MoMA (New York), and several private collections.
The elements were digitized in total immersion in 5K at the Eclair Classics/L'Image Retrouve laboratories with the help of Nitroscan.
The digital elements were conformed, restored, tinted, and calibrated.
Abel Gance did not give instructions for the musical accompaniment of the definitive version called the "Grande Version", la Cinmathque francaise entrusted
composer Simon Cloquet-Lafollye with the order of an original score constituted by arrangements of pieces drawing from a symphonic repertoire going from Mozart to Penderecki.
This score was executed and recorded by Radio France's musical formations (Orchestre National de France,
Orchestre Philharmonique et Choeur de Radio France) under the guidance of Fabien Gabel with the participation of the tenor Benjamin Bernheim.
LA SOCIT GNRALE DE FILMS and
The FRENCH COMPANY GAUMONT-METRO-GOLDWYN present:
NAPOLON
NAPOLON
as Seen by Abel Gance
as Seen by Abel Gance
A cinegraphic epic in two parts
The triple-screen process at the end of the second part
is one of Abel Gance's inventions.
Its use for shooting was patented by Andr Debrie,
and for projection by the House of Gaumont.
Director of Photography: J. Kruger
Operators:
Mr Mundviller
and
Messrs L. Lucas, R. Hubert,
E. Pierre, P. Briquet.
FIRST ERA
BONAPARTE
with Albert Dieudonn
in the role of Napolon Bonaparte
I would like to be my posterity and witness what a
poet would make me think, feel, and say. (Napoleon)
All texts, speeches, and narratives taken literally
from History are followed by the mention: 'Hist.'
Prologue: Brienne
Then came the memorable winter of 1781, when the snow
piled up in the courtyard of the cole de Brienne. (Hist.)
Napolon Bonaparte at the age of 11
Mr. Vladimir ROUDENKO
... had sworn to resist with ten comrades in a small fort built by his own hands...
... against the assaults of forty artillerymen. (Hist.)
The Minimes Fathers, who encouraged these battles and
applauded the students who distinguished themselves by
their skill or the invention of some stratagem,
emboldened that day by an overly keen curiosity... (Hist.)
The two leaders of the opposing camp, Phlipeaux and
Peccaduc, personal enemies of Napolon at Brienne, and who, by
a troubling coincidence, we will find opposing him for 15
years on most of the battlefields of the Empire. (Hist.)
Thinking to surprise Napoleon
Tristan Fleuri, dining hall boy.
Mr. KOLINE
Beware Napoleon!
Phlipeaux puts stones in his balls!
Thank you!
Already possessing incredible mastery, he dictated the
movements, motionless at the center of the melees. (Historical)
Let the winner of the fight come here.
Your name? (Hist.)
"Napoleon." (with a Corsican accent,
he pronounced it Nabulion) (Hist.)
What did you say? Straw in the nose?....
(Hist.)
"My little one, you will go far, remember
it is Pichegru who tells you this." (Hist.)
The geography lesson:
study on the climate of islands.
As for Corsica, this almost wild island...
As for Corsica, the most beautiful island
in the world, the climate there is...
Ah... I almost forgot!
A small islet lost in the Ocean...
Saint Helene, a small isle...
I am very unhappy here, and my heart
is not made for these people around me.
I wait patiently because I want to one day restore freedom to my country.
Who knows? The fate of an Empire often depends on one man.
Napoleon
Sir, Napoleon is hiding letters in his bed!
The only comforter of Bonaparte in the attic of Tristan Fleuri.
Proud companion in misfortune, a gift from Uncle
Paraviccini, a great eagle hunter in Ajaccio.
Who is the one who made my eagle flee?
So, you are all guilty!
Who do you think you are, little rascal?
A man!
I maintain that he will go far. He is granite heated by a volcano.
End of Prologue
First Part
Napoleon and the French Revolution
June 1792
At the Club of the Cordeliers.
Death to Tyrants
The secretary of Danton, Camille
Desmoulins... (Mr. VIDALIN)
and his wife Lucile.
(Miss Francine MUSSEY)
The three gods...
Chatterboxes!
Your friend Ditrich sends you an officer from the Army of the
Rhine carrying a song that he believes will be useful to the people.
Can we have the copies distributed
while waiting for the session?
Listen!
The tense crowd vaguely sensed that a great flame
was about to rise in the history of the world.
Your name?
Rouget de Lisle
People, sit down!
Let us learn, my children.
They all bray like donkeys!
Thank you for France, Sir, your
hymn will replace thousands of cannons.
Thank you, Lieutenant, tell me your name
so that I may remember your prediction.
Napoleon lived in Paris in misery.
The wanderers, including Josphine
de Beauharnais, were looking
that morning for the famous
fortune-teller, Mademoiselle Lenormand.
An incredible fortune...
you will be QUEEN, madam!
Bonaparte's misery was nothing
compared to that of the suburbs...
Hearts sing, but stomachs scream
with hunger, and the night of August
10 erupts suddenly, bringing
Bonaparte echoes of a throne collapsing...
What remains of a great
event seen from a small room.
Everything related to carnage
is worthless; if we are not
careful, the best fruits of the
Revolution will be lost. (Hist.)
At the National Assembly, the agony of the
MONARCHY. (King Louis XVI: Mr. Louis SANCE)
(Queen Marie-Antoinette:
Miss Suzanne BIANCHETTI)
If the Revolution is a furnace, it is also
a forge! Let us build the REPUBLIC now!
"What is needed to defeat the enemies of the Fatherland?" (Hist.)
"Audacity, more audacity."
(Hist.)
How cowardly and vile men are. Peoples are
hardly worth the trouble of so much concern.
Everyone seeks their own interest and wants
to succeed through the force of honor.
Declaration of the Rights
of Man and of the Citizen
"This is what you have done
today with the MONARCHY." (Hist.)
And from second to second,
while the Monarchy was collapsing,
Napoleon vaguely felt a
source of light growing within him.
IN CORSICA
"Bonaparte, who has not returned to Corsica for 12 years, arrives in Ajaccio
with his sister Elisa to try to awaken national sentiment there." (Hist.)
"Mother Letizia."
(Hist.)
The best friend of the Bonaparte
family, the shepherd Santo Ricci
Hello, 'Cousing'.
This is not the time
to laugh, Napoleon!....
You must learn the
dreadful truth immediately.
"Paoli, our old and great
Paoli, our revered father to
all, is in the process of
selling us to the English." (Hist.)
"As long as I live, Corsica will
never become English." (Hist.)
"All the scenes in Corsica, in
particular, were filmed in the houses and
at the exact locations where the rigorously
verified events took place." (Author's Note)
HIS COUNTRY
At the Casone grotto, which had
witnessed his adolescent dreams,
Napoleon would come to meditate
on the fate of his small homeland.
His house.
NAPOLEON
WAS BORN IN THIS HOUSE
ON AUGUST 15, 1769
His family.
"His dear mother Letizia, his
brothers Joseph, Lucien, Louis, Jrme,
his sisters Elisa, Pauline, Caroline,
in the adorable garden of Milelli."
(Historical)
"...the Bonaparte family finds itself
facing the jealous ferocity of Pozzo di
Borgo, who became Attorney General
Syndic in Corsica and secretary to Paoli."
(Hist.)
Would he choose, away from all political
turmoil, a peaceful and family life...
...or rather, sacrificing his
personal happiness, would he try
to become one of the important
actors on the world stage?...
Napoleon, the official representative of France,
soon saw all the inhabitants distance themselves from him,
as they, along with Paoli, desired English
rule, and Pozzos hatred found fertile ground there.
(Hist.)
"Death to Napoleon Buonaparte!"
(Hist.)
It was at this time that, neglecting the wise advice of his
family, who urged him to flee the hatred of an entire people,
Napoleon came each day to the deserted point of the
Sanguinaires to speak of the future with his friend, the Ocean.
"The whole question was whether
Corsica would become English, according to
Paoli's desire, or if it would remain
French, according to Bonapartes."
(Arthur Lvy)
Napolon Buonaparte, through his secret correspondence
with the Convention, is currently the most
serious obstacle to our alliance with England. In the
name of the Corsican Fatherland, give me his life.
"Order to the civil and military authorities
to pursue Napoleon Buonaparte, traitor
to his homeland. A reward of 500 livres
to whoever brings him back, dead or alive."
Signed: For the
Corsican Consulta, Paoli
At the inn of Moulin il Re (Moulin du
Roy), where politics holds its meetings.
ORDER To the civil and military
authorities To pursue Napoleon
Buonaparte, traitor to the fatherland.
A reward of five hundred livres
for whoever brings him
back dead or alive. In the
name of the Consulta Corse,
The Supreme Leader, Paoli
Napoleons brothers, Lucien
and Joseph, leave disguised
for Calvi, to seek help
from the French authorities.
What are you going to do, my dear son?
To act, Mother!
From this moment on and until his
return to France, the life of the young
artillery lieutenant will become the
most incredible of adventure novels.
"Our homeland is Spain with Buttafuoco!
Death to Napoleon Bonaparte!"
(Hist.)
"No, our homeland is Italy with the Duke of Savoy!
Death to Napoleon Bonaparte!"
(Hist.)
"No, our homeland is England with Paoli!
Death to Napoleon Bonaparte!"
(Hist.)
"No... our homeland is France!"
(Hist.)
"With me!"
(Hist.)
"If you could understand
what dream enflames my
soul with enthusiasm,
you would all follow me."
(Hist.)
"France, you see, she is our
mother to all of us!...
(Hist.)
"Believe me...
A man will come who will
know how to gather upon his
head all the hopes of
the nation, and then......"
(Hist.)
"The war with France is declared."
(Hist.)
I take it. It is
too big for you!...
In just a few moments, the announcement
of the declaration of war, linked
to Bonapartes escape, brought
the excitement of minds to its peak.
Surrounded at the Capitello Tower.
The sea supreme
refuge of the exiles.
"No sails, no oars!"
"I will bring it back to you!"
Thus, on May 26, 1793, at the
Tower of Capitello, after an epic pursuit,
Napoleon set sail for the open sea
in the gondola of Captain Ucciani.
(d'Alboise)
The Exiles.
The maquis always
saves the exiles.
The dangerous sirocco
was rising little by little.
Napoleon, fearing the
storm, tried to follow the coast.
Vertiginously carried away
towards the open sea, Napoleon
was about to begin an
epic battle against destiny.
That same night, at
the same hour, another
formidable storm was
raging at the Convention.
"My conclusion? It is a decree of
accusation against all the Girondins!"
(Hist.)
"The Assembly felt
itself under lightning."
(Thibaudeau)
As all the giants of the Revolution
were about to be swept away
one after the other in the
dreadful whirlwinds of the Terror...
A man, wild and laughing,
a tamer of oceans, unfurling
his tricolored sail in the
mad wind of the Revolution,
was about to be magnificently
carried by the revolutionary
north wind to the highest
pediment of History.
Historical Providence: on a sailing
ship carrying Bonaparte's two brothers...
Chance
"My family... quickly, quickly... to
its rescue... to Aspretto."
(Hist.)
A few hours later.
"Alas! My children. Our poor
house sacked by order of Paoli!
We ourselves are forced
to flee our dear homeland."
"Le Hasard" carried towards France a future
emperor, three kings, and a queen.
(Hist.)
"And now, we have but
one homeland, only one"
"... France!"
The English ships were
watching over the Mediterranean.
Chance
"Captain, allow me to sink
this ship without a flag..."
"No, no, my little Nelson."
(Hist.)
"Let's not waste our cannonballs
on fugitives of such little importance."
The Siege of Toulon
Refugees in the suburbs of Toulon to escape
the September massacres, Violine and Fleuri
had quickly understood that the province
did not escape the fury of extreme factions.
Violine, the granddaughter
of Tristan Fleuri.
"Civil war, as horrible as it
may be, is still nothing, my
friends, compared to the dreadful
tragedy of our open borders."
"Everywhere we retreat!
It's a disaster, France is lost!"
In September 1793, the port of Toulon, where
20,000 English, Italians, and Spaniards
were entrenched, was besieged by a
French army commanded by General Carteaux.
Napoleon, who had just been appointed
Second Captain in the artillery at Toulon...
(Hist.)
was about to find the
armies of the Republic in
a state beyond all
imagination.
(Stendhal Hist.)
The painter Carteaux, commander-in-chief
of the armies besieging Toulon.
Salicetti, Corsican
deputy to the Convention,
appointed Commissioner
to the Army of Toulon.
"To the health of the great General
Carteaux, future conqueror of Toulon."
"What are you doing
here, young man?"
"I have come to serve as second-in-command
of the siege artillery, my general."
(Hist.)
"The artillery?"
"But we don't need it! We will
take Toulon with cold steel!"
(Hist.)
"In my place, what
would you do, little one?"
(Hist.)
"If Fort Aiguillette is taken, the
English will abandon the city."
(Hist.)
"Well, 'Captain Cannon,' you
are not very good at geography."
(Hist.)
"Remember this well, young man:
first, artillery is useless, and second..."
"And second, it is unpleasant."
"This time, I do not hesitate, I will
remind him of the School of Brienne."
"My Captain, I was..."
"Bread, olives, silence!"
Carteaux, deemed incapable, was
replaced by General Dugommier.
Training men and horses,
Napoleon displays incredible zeal.
(Hist.)
General Dugommier did
not take long to realize the
exceptional qualities of
his young artillery captain.
Inspection.
"Too short!"
Toulon was then
considered one of the largest
and most formidable
fortified camps in the world.
(Hist.)
"Citizen-General, the fire from
'Petit Gibraltar' is making the
bastion untenable. We have given
the order to evacuate the pieces."
The English redoubt
of 'Petit Gibraltar'.
"Take this piece to its place."
"Impossible, my Captain!"
"Impossible is not French."
(Hist.)
"Mind your business as a
deputy and let me do my job as an
artilleryman. This battery will
stay here, or else Im leaving!"
"Heads fall for
replies less bold!"
"Fantastic! I no
longer need sand."
"My friend Junot, I
like you very much."
Battery of the Fearless Men
"Captain Bonaparte, I appoint you
Commander-in-Chief of the artillery!"
"To take Toulon, it's
best to let him do it."
Free in his movements,
Bonaparte goes on the offensive.
He established two batteries on the
seashore, called 'Batteries of the Mountain
and of the Sans-Culottes.' This forced the
enemy ships to evacuate the Petite Rade.
(Hist.)
With incredible bravery,
he pursues his successes up
to the Grosse Tour, where
he isolates the garrison.
On December 16, 1793, the French
General Staff held a decisive war council.
"I give orders
or I stay silent."
The enemy war council closely
resembled the Tower of Babel.
The English Admiral Hood...
"We are masters of the sea. The French
fleet is our hostage, prisoner in the port."
(Hist.-Cottin)
"20,000 English,
Spaniards, Italians, make our
forts impregnable. I have
no concern whatsoever."
(Hist.)
"Toulon has only one weak
point on the harbor, the promontory
of l'Aiguillette. If we
seize it, the city is ours."
"We will therefore launch
the assault tonight at midnight."
"Are you all in agreement
with this opinion?"
"Who is in command here?" "They do
not understand war!" "Is it a betrayal?"
"I do not understand." "Italians
speak with their hands." "Translate?"
"Order Calm Silence"
Preparations for combat.
"A little patience! It is
seven in the evening. We will
surprise the enemy tomorrow
at five in the morning!"
"Smoking is forbidden,
but you may sit down."
"At what age did the
little drummer Viala die?"
"At thirteen years old."
"What luck! So I still
have six years left to live!"
Napoleon was entrusted
with command by the will
of the soldiers, despite
the presence of generals.
"We are going to fight,
I authorize you to sing."
Marlborough Has Left for the War
Despite the explicit prohibition of
the Commissioners of the armies, who
feared the storm, Bonaparte gives
the signal to the artillery to attack.
(Hist.)
Revealing then a
magnificent attack plan, he
launches the Victor and
Delaborde columns on
the Sardinian and
Spanish flanks, keeping for
himself the central
attack against the English.
Dugommier's disobedience
to Napoleon's orders and his
fortunately minor injury lead
to the retreat of the French.
The Conventionals decided at
that moment to suspend the assault.
"They have just
guillotined in Paris Generals
Houchard and Custine
for less serious mistakes."
"Bonaparte has just committed the greatest
crime in history. This assault on a night
like this! It is such madness that even
his head will not be enough to pay for it!"
(Hist.)
Order to Captain Bonaparte to suspend the assault immediately
General-in-Chief Dugommier
Order to Captain Bonaparte to suspend the assault immediately
General-in-Chief Dugommier
"Orators!"
"Do you guarantee success?"
"The commander-in-chief
takes full responsibility for
the operations and decides
to continue the siege."
Never does Bonaparte show
such intrepidity in any of his
other campaigns. He is everywhere,
sees everything, takes care
of everything. The lightning of
the sky and the cannons surround him.
He is in the fire, in his element.
(Chuquet - Hist.)
"And tomorrow, my general,
you will sleep in Toulon."
"Reverse the pieces."
The English gunners are cut
down on their cannons. Of all
those who defend the redoubt,
not one is without a wound.
(Hist.)
The attack on Petit Gibraltar.
"Its nothing, Ive already seen all this
at Brienne! Bold Straw-on-the-Nose!"
The English General
OHara orders the retreat.
"Marcellin!"
And in the midst of
darkness, rain, a dreadful
wind, chaos, corpses,
the cries of the wounded
and dying, no one fires
anymore, they engage in
hand-to-hand combat.
No more weapons but steel.
(Memoirs of Napoleon)
"Go fetch me that young
captain who has been
fighting like a tiger
for the past two hours."
(Hist.)
"Your name?"
"Desaix."
"Make the English
squadron leave..."
"and burn the French squadron."
The French troops, after 76 hours of
combat in the mud and storm, seized
the last English redoubt at 4 oclock
in the morning.
(Memoirs of Napoleon.)
"The drums? Where
are the drums of the 6th?"
"The drummers? Present!!"
Fallen under the hail of bullets,
the drummers of the 6th were
about to be replaced in their
task by an unexpected auxiliary...
... the hail.
"I believe that this
man will save France."
After the victory.
At dawn, from the heights of l'Aiguillette,
one of the greatest spectacles
that ever struck Napoleon's
imagination unfolded before his eyes.
(Chuquet)
"What... is the name...
of this captain?"
"Napoleon Bonaparte."
At dawn, the commissioners of the Armies,
who had come to bring him, as a token of
apology, the rank of brigadier general,
found him asleep, his head resting on a drum.
(Hist.)
"Here is the
conqueror of Toulon!"
(Hist.)
End of the First Part.
NAPOLEON
Second Part
The Terror
At Salicettis, whose petty
jealousy toward his compatriot
Bonaparte had no equal in history
except that of Pozzo di Borgo.
"You want to accuse Napoleon of espionage?
So be it! I will fabricate evidence!"
(d'Abrants.)
Salicetti comes to beg Robespierre for
the favor of putting Bonaparte on trial.
(Hist.)
"Let General Bonaparte
be offered the command
of the Paris garrison
in place of Henriot."
(Hist.)
"He is a strong-willed man, the
kind Paris lacks, this Bonaparte."
(Hist.)
"If he refuses,
then I give it to you."
(Hist.)
However, one of the Three Gods was about to
be carried away by the revolutionary storm.
"A young woman from Rouen
insists on personally giving you a
list of suspects. Believe me,
my brother, do not receive her."
(Hist.)
"I bring you a list of suspects. But I
cannot speak in front of witnesses."
"Leave me alone.
Close that curtain!"
The most formidable man
of the Terror, Saint-Just.
"de Montfort?"
Accusation against: De Montfort, 94 years old
To death
M. R.
Committee of Public Safety
"Lucile Desmoulins?"
Accusation against: Lucilla Desmoulins
To death
M. R.
Committee of Public Safety
"Mercy for Danton!"
"Infamous Robespierre, the scaffold
calls for you. You will follow me!"
(Hist.)
"When my head has fallen, you will show
it to the people, it is worth the effort!"
(Hist.)
"Bonaparte has refused the command
of the Paris garrison in place of Henriot.
He does not want to
'support a man like you.'"
(Hist.)
EQUALITY, LIBERTY.
COMMITTEE OF PUBLIC SAFETY
The representatives of the people,
considering that General Bonaparte
has completely lost their trust
due to his suspicious conduct,
suspend him from his duties
and decree that he will be placed
under arrest and brought before
the Committee of Public Safety.
Robespierre (Hist.)
Accusation against: Napoleon Bonaparte
Committee of Public Safety
"I denounce to you the Viscountess
Josphine de Beauharnais for your
Committee of General Security. She
would seduce even the most virtuous."
(Hist.)
Accusation against: Josphine de Beauharnais
M. R.
Committee of Public Safety
Accusation against: General Napoleon Bonaparte
M. R.
Accusation against: Josphine de Beauharnais
M. R.
Committee
Mysterious chance of fate. Thus, Napoleon
and Josphine met on the threshold of death.
(Hist.)
Accusation against: Andr Chnier
Committee of Public Safety
"A poet is useless, to death!"
(Hist.)
Accusation against: Andr Chnier
To death
M. R.
Committee of Public Safety
At the prison of
Fort Carr in Antibes.
(Hist.)
The outcome of this strange procedure was
to bring Bonapartes head to the scaffold.
(dAbrants)
Josphine, brutally separated
from her children Eugne and
Hortense, was thrown at the same
time into the prison of the Carmes.
(Hist.)
"But who are you, Sir?"
"General Hoche, Madame."
(Hist.)
Passing through Antibes,
Salicetti came to taunt Bonaparte.
"Are you preparing
your defense?"
"No, I am looking for the route to
India by digging a canal at Suez."
(Hist.)
Tristan Fleuri inherits from the
Terror an unexpected position.
"...Lucile Desmoulins."
(Hist.)
"...de Beauharnais."
(Hist.)
The Viscount de Beauharnais,
divorced from Josphine
for two years, also had
to pay his debt of nobility.
(Masson)
"I only need one
head. Figure it out!"
"For once, Madame, allow me
not to give up my place to you."
"My farewells to our children, Madame."
(Hist.)
"Andre..."
"The young captive"
"The growing ear of grain ripens, respected by the
scythe, Without fear of the
winepress, the grape swells all summer,
Drinks the sweet offerings of dawn; And
I, like it, young and crowned with flowers,
Dread the fatal hour, presented with
sorrow and fear. I do not want to die yet!"
The Thermometer
of the Guillotine.
"Decapitated" "Next Execution" "On Trial" "Innocents"
"Have all these clients
executed without trial. Copy your
lists immediately; I need
three hundred pieces per day."
(Hist.)
"Never has France
had such a fever!"
Accusation against: Josphine de Beauharnais
Committee of Public Safety
Fortunately, La Bussire
keeps watch, this
strange character who,
out of humanity, has made
himself a 'chewer of
files' and who risks his life
at every moment to
save the lives of strangers.
(Masson)
La Bussire chewed
up Josphines file, and
it was to the devotion
of this extraordinary
hero that she owed
her salvation. In 1803,
she would, moreover,
know how to recognize it.
(Masson)
"You're lucky to be able
to digest them; I can't."
Accusation against: Napoleon Bonaparte
Committee of Public Safety
"Eat this one too."
Accusation against: Napoleon Bonaparte
Committee of Public Safety
THERMIDOR
"Death to Saint-Just!
Death to Robespierre!"
(Hist.)
"Death to the two monsters!"
"For the last time, will you give me the floor, president of assassins?"
(Madelin)
Barras.
"I armed myself with a dagger to
pierce the chest of this new Cromwell
if the Convention did not have the
courage to decree his accusation!"
(Hist.)
"Danton's blood is choking you!"
(Hist.)
"You are walking
on the Girondins!"
(Hist.)
"Jackals!"
"Yes, we had to make victims, but isn't the
Revolution a great beacon lit over tombs?"
(Hist.)
"But do you forget
that during that time, we
forged for you a brand
new France, ready to live?"
(Hist.)
"...passed 12,000 decrees, two-thirds of
which were for humanitarian purposes."
(Hist.)
"And we did all this with, in
our flanks, that vulture: the
Vende, and on our shoulders,
that pack of tigers: the Kings..."
(Hist.)
"You can now scatter our limbs to the four
winds: from them, Republics will rise!"
(Hist.)
"I despise the dust that makes up my
body and speaks to you. I give it to you!"
(Hist.)
"They are too great for us!"
Accusation against: Roger de...
Committee of Public Safety
Will be guillotined tomorrow
morning: Robespierre, Couthon,
Saint-Just, Henriot, and all the
Robespierrists. Prepare the files.
R.Y. Fouquier
(Hist.)
"What a mess!"
Two hours later.
The release of
General Bonaparte.
The atonement of Salicetti.
The following year in Paris,
Bonaparte, despite his poverty, refuses a
command as General of Infantry in
Vende, offered by Aubry, Minister of War.
"Does it bother you to wage
war under my orders in Vende?"
(Hist.)
"When two hundred thousand
foreigners violate our borders,
I am indeed bothered by
making war against Frenchmen!"
(Hist.)
National Convention
General Bonaparte will be removed from the list
of active officers, due to his
refusal to report to the assigned post.
Cambacrs
(Hist.)
Obscurely assigned to the armys
topographical office, Bonaparte
brings to Pontcoulant the admirable
plans for the Italian Campaign.
(Hist.)
"The plans of this young
man are extraordinary."
(Hist.)
To Citizen Schrer, Commander-in-Chief
of the Army of Italy, Examine the
plans of this young general, which
deserve your utmost attention and ...
These plans are the
work of a madman!
Let the one who wrote them
come and explain them.
Schrer, General, Army of Italy
The White Terror
France was dying, lacking bread
people were dying of hunger everywhere.
A dreadful distress beyond all imagination
was detaching the people from the Republic.
(Biography of the Contemporaries)
"If within eight days the Revolution
has not found its leader, France is lost."
(Hist.)
"I need a man!"
"Then think of that funny
little Buona... Buona... Parte."
"No!"
"Yes. I will think about it."
(Hist.)
And on the 12th of Vendmiaire,
a new revolution led by
the royalists placed the
Convention in the greatest danger.
(Hist.)
"The Royalists have invaded
the Pont-Neuf, and in an hour
the Reaction will be at the
very doors of the Convention."
(Hist.)
"I need a general immediately to
sweep away the royalist insurrection."
(Hist.)
"I propose the victor
of Toulon, Bonaparte."
"Does anyone know his address?"
"I accept! I do not like those I am
about to serve, but when the territory
is threatened, the first duty is to rally
to those who hold the Government."
"I warn you, Barras, that
once the sword is out of its
sheath, I will not put it
back until order is restored."
INN
That evening, Bonaparte entered
History for good, never to leave it again.
Napoleon had 800 rifles,
cartridge boxes, and cartridges
brought into the Convention hall
to arm the Convention members
themselves and the offices as
a reserve force. This measure
alarmed several who then
understood the magnitude of the danger.
(Hist. Memoirs of Napoleon)
DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS OF MAN AND OF THE CITIZEN
"To your positions, Gentlemen."
(Hist.)
"Distribute the weapons."
(Hist.)
"We have only 5,000 men against
40,000. As for the 40 cannons from Sablons,
the only ones we had, they must by
now be in the hands of the sectionaries."
(Hist.)
"And now, shoot him."
(Hist.)
"You are free!"
(Hist.)
"I like you. You will lead 300 horsemen
to bring me back the 40 cannons
from Sablons, which must be in
Paris by one o'clock in the morning."
(Hist.)
"Your name?"
"Murat, my general!"
(M. Genica MISSIRIO)
On the 14th at noon, Paris was
militarily occupied. The riot was crushed.
(Hist.)
Vendmiaire, so important
politically, had been limited
militarily to a few
skirmishes of no significance.
A few moments later, the
crowd unmasked Salicetti,
disguised as a coachman
and ready to flee.
(Hist.)
"Let those two men be
released. They are free!
I can forgive them, but
forgetting is another matter."
(History of dAbrants)
The majority of Parisians remained
completely unaware of this event.
(Hist.)
"What is that noise,
Monsieur Fouch?"
"It is Buonaparte who is
entering history, Madam."
This unexpected fortune, this instant
fortune so to speak, now makes a young man
of 26 years old, just recently dismissed,
one of the foremost figures of France.
(Hist. Arthur Lvy)
"I propose the appointment of
the savior of the Convention to
the rank of Commander-in-Chief
of the Army of the Interior."
(Hist.)
"Through my voice, the
Revolution thanks you."
"Since this morning,
I am the Revolution!"
(Hist.)
THE REACTION.
50 bottles of Ay wine
60 of Falernian
80 of Muscat
Booted cherries la ci-devant
Apricot dragees
Redcurrant clarequets
Pts from Prigueux
Eel pts
Pts from Amiens
Foie gras pie
In this feverish reaction of life against
death, a thirst for joy had seized all of France
644 balls were held within a few days
on the graves of the
victims of the Terror.
(Hist.)
To be admitted to the Victims'
Ball, one had to have been
imprisoned or prove the death of
a father, a brother, or a husband.
(Hist.)
"The General Vendmiaire"
Bonaparte's sudden notoriety
was, however, eclipsed
by the grace of the three
famous women of the moment.
"Madame Tallien."
"Madame Rcamier."
She was content to receive
the tributes that came to her.
(Edouard Herriot.)
"Madame Josphine
de Beauharnais."
"It was here, Monsieur Buona-Parte,
that I was called to the scaffold."
"Together, these three
women drove Paris mad."
"He's really charming,
that little Buona-Parte."
"With fools and lechers like you,
France is heading toward ruin!"
"Careful! I'm going
to take your Queen."
"Ive lost. You are definitely
a better general than I am."
"Which weapons do you
fear the most, General?"
(Hist.)
"Fans, Madame."
Bonaparte, having
seized the weapons from
all individuals, receives
an unexpected plea.
(Hist.)
"I ask you for permission to keep my father's
sword, Count Alexandre de Beauharnais."
(Hist.)
The next day, to
thank the general
(Hist.)
"When you fall silent, no
one can stop you anymore."
Two hours later.
Romeo.
The young Talma never had
a more passionate student.
(Hist.)
"How you love him!"
"Are you kissing Paris?"
"Paris? Its Josphines mouth!"
A beautiful person with
easy morals, reckless,
amoral, yet extremely
charming, a musician...
(Hist. Madelin)
"My heart sighs..."
"Do you think he will
make mom happy?"
He came every day to
the Htel Chantereine.
And the little white shadow
of Violine came too...
"You want to marry
me off to get rid of me."
"Very well, I accept!"
"But then you will appoint that little
Bonaparte to the command of the Army of Italy."
"So you think, Eugne, that
mama is going to get married?"
"Do you like that Buona-Parte?"
"And you?"
"In love, my dear Josphine, one
mustnt see more clearly than that!"
That evening.
INN
"Commander-in-chief...
Army of Italy... It's done!"
(Hist.)
"These plans are the work of a madman! Let the one who wrote them come and carry them out."
Signed: Schrer
"Commander-in-chief, Army of Italy"
Finally!
"I will take your daughter into
my service. She will be happy, and
since you care so much, you may
go off to the army without any worry."
"Lets get married, Madame. Quick,
a notary... the banns... the papers!"
(Hist.)
"I gave myself three
months to conquer Italy."
(Hist.)
On March 9, 1796, at 10
oclock in the evening, before
Mr. Leclercq, civil
registrar of the 2nd district.
(Hist.)
"And your marriage, Sir?"
(Hist.)
"Hurry up, Sir!"
(Hist.)
"Skip all that, Sir."
(Hist.)
"In the name of the
law, do you take..."
"Yes."
"Your Buona-Parte scares me."
(Hist.)
And Violine also got
married that same evening.
Napoleon spent two days in
a delirium of love, mixing his
lovers intoxication with
dreams of glory and grandeur.
(Madelin)
AND DURING THE NIGHT OF
THE 21st VENTSE, YEAR IV...
(Hist.)
...with forty thousand
francs as his entire fortune
fortune to be divided
among his Army of Italy...
(Hist.)
...forty-eight hours after
his wedding, he left, his face
so pale beneath disheveled
hair, his features so hollow
that he was believed to be
at deaths door, miserable,
almost pitiful, closed off,
mouth shut, eyes veiled.
(Hist. Madelin)
"I am jealous, Violine."
"But of whom, Madame?"
"Of France!"
Napoleon did not want
to leave Paris without
reinvigorating his energy
in that chamber of the
Convention, deserted
at that hour, but still
trembling with all the great
echoes of the Revolution.
And mysteriously, he had
his carriage stop in front of
that forge of the Revolution
to meditate on the future.
"Listen Bonaparte, the French
Revolution is going to speak to you."
"We have understood that
the Revolution cannot prosper
without strong authority.
Do you want to be its leader?"
"If the Revolution does not
spread beyond our borders, it
will die on the spot. Do you
want to carry it into Europe?"
"Yes."
"By the faith of Saint-Just! If one day
you forget that you are the direct heir
of the Revolution, we will turn against
you, terribly! Will you remember that?"
"What are your
plans, Bonaparte?"
"The liberation of oppressed
peoples, the merging of
major European interests,
the abolition of borders..."
(Hist.)
...and...
"...THE UNIVERSAL REPUBLIC."
(Hist.)
"Europe will soon truly be but
one single people, and each person,
traveling everywhere, will always find
themselves in the common homeland."
(Hist.)
"To reach this sacred goal, many wars will
be necessary, but I proclaim it here for
posterity, one day victories will be achieved
without cannons and without bayonets."
(Hist.)
Each moment takes me farther
from you, adorable friend, and with
each moment I find an increase
of strength to bear this separation.
(Hist. Intimate Napoleon)
"SUPPLIES."
"DIRECTORY."
"POWDER SERVICE."
"AMBULANCES."
I send you thousands of kisses, do not send me any because they burn my nerves.
Bonaparte.
The carriage not going fast enough for his liking
The soldiers of the Army of
Italy, without food, without clothing,
without discipline, were in
a state difficult to imagine.
In Albenga, the General
Staff of the Army of Italy.
There are Srurier, La Harpe, Victor Cervoni,
Mouret, Dujard, Donmartin, Joubert, and
dominating this group
of illustrious men: the
great Massna and
the invincible Augereau.
(Hist. dEsparbs)
"To impose on us that little runt Bonaparte,
that little alley general! By Augereau's
faith, I refuse to obey. I will throw the
truth in his face; and you, Massna?"
(Hist.)
"Let him come!"
(Hist.)
"Berthier, my Chief of Staff."
"Augereau, Massna, Victor,
La Harpe, Srurier, the Italian
campaign is about to begin;
prepare your divisions."
(Hist.)
"What? We have 35,000 men in
rags to oppose 100,000 enemies, and
30 cannons to oppose 200! And
you want to go on the offensive?"
(Hist.)
"You are a child, Massna."
(Hist.)
"General review of the army in one hour."
"Did you see the kid theyre
sending us? Im rooted to the spot
when it comes to obeying him. But
Massnas going to gobble him up!"
(Hist.)
"Thank you, gentlemen.
You will each receive
four louis shortly to help
you go on campaign."
(Hist.)
"I will offer him our apologies
for our attitude upon his arrival."
"Ask me for anything
you want, sir, except time!"
(Hist.)
"With those looks that pierce through
the head, that little man scares me."
(Hist. - Lacour-Gayet.)
My life is a nightmare without
you. A dreadful premonition
prevents me from
breathing. I no longer live. I
have lost more than life,
more than happiness, more than
rest. I am almost without
hope. I beg you, answer me
(Arthur Lvy)
THE FIRST CONTACWITH THE ARMY OF ITALY
"Attention!"
One hour later.
(Hist.)
In just a few hours, Bonaparte was
about to witness a sudden, unheard-of,
almost miraculous enthusiasm spread
around him The Leader was here!
"Dismiss!"
For the first time, the army
fell asleep confident that night.
On the morning of April 11,
1796, this ragged crowd was
about to awaken with the
spirit of the Grande Arme.
"Soldiers!"
"Soldiers! You are
naked, poorly fed...
(Hist.)
...the Government owes you
much; it can give you nothing...
(Hist.)
...your patience, the courage
you show among these
rocks are admirable, but
they bring you no glory...
(Hist.)
...I want to lead you into the
most fertile plains in the world...
(Hist.)
...rich provinces, great
cities, will be in your power...
(Hist.)
...there you will find
honor, glory, and wealth...
(Hist.)
...SOLDIERS OF ITALY, WOULD YOU
LACK COURAGE OR PERSEVERANCE?"
(Hist.)
And now, turned toward
Italy, the tempter shows them
the Promised Landit is
he who will lead them there.
(Hist. Lacour-Gayet)
"In front of me, 300 meters below,
the Italian plains, the rivers glittering
like golden yataghans, the immense
and fertile plains of Piedmont!..."
(Memoirs of Napoleon)
"Soldiers, I promise it to you!"
(Hist.)
By a miracle of swiftness, two hours
later the Grand Army was on the move.
A stunned Europe was
about to see rise in a few
days a star that would
change the face of the world.
(Hist. Madelin)
Liberty or Death
Forty-eight hours later,
Napoleon was laughing
as he opened the gates
of Italy at Montenotte.
And through the open gate surged
the most vehement and richest
current of human power that
history has ever seen unleashed.
(Hist. Albert Sorel)
Upon learning of this
dazzling entry into Italy,
Paris bursts the dams
of its enthusiasm.....
On April 16, 1796, having advanced
ahead of the entire army and the General
Staff, he is on the heights of
Montezemolo at 2700 feet of altitude.
(Schuermans)
His eagle eyes inscribe
in advance into the sky
of Italy all his desires
and all his victories.
While the Beggars of Glory,
with empty stomachs and
heads full of songs,
leave History for the epic.
...Napoleons soul, carried
away in a fantastic daydream,
plays with the clouds to
destroy and create worlds.
A singular conductor sets the pace
in the sky for the march of the armies.
Abel Gance
Translation by
SyllabiaMinora and eladir