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2016 | Buch

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Abel Gance and the End of Silent Cinema

Sounding out Utopia

verfasst von: Paul Cuff

Verlag: Springer International Publishing

Enthalten in: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Wirtschaft" , Springer Professional "Technik"

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This book explores the creation and destruction of Abel Gance’s most ambitious film project, and seeks to explain why his meteoric career was so nearly extinguished at the end of silent cinema. By 1929, Gance was France’s most famous director. Acclaimed for his technical innovation and visual imagination, he was also admonished for the excessive length and expense of his productions. Gance’s first sound film, La Fin du Monde (1930), was a critical and financial disaster so great that it nearly destroyed his career. But what went wrong? Gance claimed it was commercial sabotage whilst critics blamed the director’s inexperience with new technology. Neither excuse is satisfactory. Based on extensive archival research, this book re-investigates the cultural background and aesthetic consequences of Gance’s transition from silent filmmaking to sound cinema. La Fin du Monde is revealed to be only one element of an extraordinary cultural project to transform cinema into a universal religion and propagate its power through the League of Nations. From unfinished films to unrealized social revolutions, the reader is given a fascinating tour of Gance’s lost cinematic utopia.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter

Overcoming the Past

Frontmatter

Chapter 1. In the Shadow of War

Abstract

This chapter details the sequence of projects Gance envisaged during the 1910s and 1920s, concentrating on the ways in which they were informed by the humanitarian disaster of the Great War. Cuff contextualizes Gance’s pacifist political position in relation to controversial writers like Emile Zola, Henri Barbusse, and Richard Grelling. The chapter details the relationship between the finished production of J’accuse! (1919) and the unfinished war trilogy of which it was part, as well as the aborted film Ecce Homo (1918) and the religious trilogy of which it was part. Cuff shows how their ideological concern with cultural reform was the basis for many subsequent projects, and concludes the chapter by evaluating La Roue (1922) and Napoléon (1927) in this post-war context.

Paul Cuff

Chapter 2. Towards Utopia

Abstract

This chapter explores the ideological background to La Fin du Monde, in particular Gance’s view of cinema as a utopian art form that could overcome entrenched cultural divisions. Cuff follows the thematic link from Gance’s religious projects of the 1910s to Les grands initiés in the 1920s. The chapter relates how this series was to portray the life of religious prophets and culminate in La Fin du Monde. Cuff interrogates how Gance’s work continued to reflect his interest in apocalyptic destruction and utopian rebirth. Tracing the literary and mystical background to the filmmaker’s approach, Cuff examines the relationship between historical and fantastical narratives in Gance’s work and how the apocalyptic theme of La Fin du Monde embodies these ideas.

Paul Cuff

Chapter 3. Prophets of the Future

Abstract

In this chapter, Cuff explores the blend of science and mysticism at the heart of Gance’s cinematic ideology. The chapter focuses on the way these utopian ideas are embodied by Gance’s cinematic prophets—particularly the main characters of La Fin du Monde, Jean and Martial Novalic. Cuff relates how the figure of the messianic artist or prophet recurs in Gance’s work, and compares the characters of Jean and Martial Novalic with Jean Diaz in J’accuse and Napoléon Bonaparte in Napoléon. The chapter explores the way in which Gance’s prophets of cinema drew upon Romantic ideas of the artist-hero and their role in shaping human society. In particular, Cuff demonstrates the influence on Gance of Novalis, Henri de Saint-Simon, Gérard de Nerval, and Edouard Schuré.

Paul Cuff

Chapter 4. Cinema and the Life of Space

Abstract

This chapter analyses how the narrative of terrestrial disaster in La Fin du Monde relates to Gance’s spiritual view of the universe—and the role he believed cinema should play in reshaping humanity’s awareness of reality. Cuff relates the various literary, philosophic, and scientific influences on Gance’s utopian conception of cinema. The chapter shows how this conception of cinema drew upon various forms of scientific mysticism. The figures Cuff discusses include Erasmus Darwin, Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, Arthur Schopenhauer, Friedrich Nietzsche, Camille Flammarion, and Ricciotto Canudo. The chapter examines how aspects of pantheism, spiritualism, and utopian discourse shaped Gance’s belief in the power of cinema to solve international discord.

Paul Cuff

Backmatter

Impossible Dreams

Frontmatter

Chapter 5. Artistic Integrity and Industrial Change

Abstract

This chapter offers a chronological contextualization of Gance’s place within the European film industry. Cuff details the relationship between Gance and his producers: Louis Nalpas, Charles Pathé, and Jacques Grinieff. The chapter argues that Gance grew increasingly frustrated with the commercial constraints imposed upon his artistic ambitions. Cuff reveals how Gance sought to establish an international film syndicate whose work would be supported by the League of Nations. The chapter explores how Gance planned to mobilize cinema to achieve global pacifism and cultural reconciliation. Cuff concludes by showing the ways in which Gance accommodated sound technology into his utopian schemes.

Paul Cuff

Chapter 6. A History of Incompletion

Abstract

This chapter contains a detailed production history of La Fin du Monde. Cuff analyses how and why Gance lost control of his most cherished project, offering a precise chronology of the film’s production from scripting to release. Using a wealth of archival evidence, Cuff demonstrates how the narrative scale and technological complexity of La Fin du Monde led to the breakdown of Gance’s relationship with his producer Vassili Ivanoff. The chapter reveals the financial, logistical, organizational, and personal crises that ultimately compromised La Fin du Monde in its French- and German-language editions. Cuff concludes with an account of the different versions of La Fin du Monde issued in the 1930s, and explains the physical history of surviving prints in relation to this original material.

Paul Cuff

Backmatter

The Marvel of Ruins

Frontmatter

Chapter 7. Passion and Performance

Abstract

This chapter begins a chronological analysis of Gance’s La Fin du Monde. Cuff analyses ‘Part One’ of the film, discussing the impact of various changes from screenplay to film. The chapter pays particular attention to the opening scenes of La Fin du Monde, exploring how and why Gance’s characterization of Jean Novalic is problematic for the viewer. Cuff discusses performance style and the use of sound in La Fin du Monde, exploring key aesthetic and narrative tensions apparent in both screenplay and film. The chapter also evaluates missing and cut scenes, highlighting the ambition of Gance’s plans and the difficulties in their realization.

Paul Cuff

Chapter 8. Fighting to be Heard

Abstract

This chapter analyses Part Two of La Fin du Monde. Cuff examines the surviving film in conjunction with the scenario and screenplay to determine the differences in narrative and character development. The chapter explores how these differences affect the viewer’s understanding of character motivation, as well as the portrayal of modern capitalism and technology in La Fin du Monde. Cuff also analyses the relationship between sound and image in Part Two of the film, paying particular attention to the way La Fin du Monde uses audio technology such as radio and telephony as part of its narrative design.

Paul Cuff

Chapter 9. The World on Fire

Abstract

This chapter analyses the final part of La Fin du Monde and its depiction of global catastrophe. Cuff explores the radical differences between the screenplay and the surviving montage of La Fin du Monde. The chapter emphasizes how unlikely it was for Gance to realize his original ideas within the context of early sound technology. Cuff analyses the film’s uneven attempts to depict the threat of an incoming comet on life on Earth. The chapter counters some of the negative critical reactions to La Fin du Monde, making a case for the aesthetic value of scenes such as the orgy, Martial’s announcement of the ‘universal republic’, and the worldwide panic.

Paul Cuff

Backmatter

Titel: Abel Gance and the End of Silent Cinema
verfasst von: Paul Cuff
Verlag: Springer International Publishing
Electronic ISBN: 978-3-319-38818-2
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-38817-5
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-38818-2