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Austerlitz

1959, Movie, NR, 170 mins

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This ambitious effort from Abel Gance deals with the same period in French history as his brilliant silent epic NAPOLEON, focusing on the titanic battle between the "emperors"' armies and their overwhelming opposition. Although there is an undeniable grandeur to THE BATTLE OF AUSTERLITZ, it is nearly impossible to judge Gance's original intent in its radically edited (read `shred to ribbons') videocassette format. Even the battle scenes (which were so stunning in NAPOLEON) are disjointed and meaningless here. The $4-million price tag for this opus was staggering at the time, nearly bankrupting its producers, yet today one can pick up a public domain copy of the videocassette for as little as $5.99. Unfortunately, these tapes are far inferior to the nicely packaged version from U.S.A. Home Video. If the name of Abel Gance isn't reason enough to rent the film, then how about a cast that includes Orson Welles, Claudia Cardinale, Michel Simon, Vittorio De Sica, Jean Marais, Jack Palance, and Leslie Caron? The original script for the film was written in 1924 as part of an unrealized cycle of films about Napoleon's career. leave a comment
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