The Lost Cause of Napoleon

If we judge by technical virtuousity then these are the best of times. But if the times make us willing to judge by technical virtuousity then they are the worst of times. Touring the country now, playing with full orchestra to a well-rehearsed chorus of critics, is Abel Gance’s film Napoleon: in the words of the Boston Globe’s Bruce McCabe, “a symphony of visionary cinematic technique, a montage of moods, colors and tones, orchestrated so as to present a vital, vivid and en...