Napoléon 4K UHD (1927) Abel Gance - Grande Version • Potemkine. pre-order

[SpacemanDoug]

Originally Posted by rezpekt

Yes, the Coppola family.

I did hear something about that but I didn't think they'd be able to considering FFC didn't direct it, his dad only composed the score for one of the shorter cuts.

[rezpekt]

Originally Posted by SpacemanDoug

I did hear something about that but I didn't think they'd be able to considering FFC didn't direct it, his dad only composed the score for one of the shorter cuts.

Well, I guess in theory they should have the rights only to their own specific version, but they have a history of threatening legal action, and I don't think anybody wants to challenge them. It could take years and millions of dollars.

Here's a quick recap from BFI:

August 1979. At Telluride, Colorado, Gance attends a screening of Brownlow’s first major reconstruction of Napoleon. The director watches from his hotel window, standing during the final triptych sequence. Despite the lack of music and the piercing cold of the outdoor screening, the event is a revelation for its audience. Francis Ford Coppola plans to present Napoleon with live orchestra, under the auspices of his company American Zoetrope and Robert A. Harris’s Images Film Archive. He commissions his father, Carmine Coppola, to write the music.

March 1981. Radio City Music Hall, New York, hosts the US premiere of Napoleon with Carmine Coppola’s score. To avoid crippling overtime bills, Brownlow’s restoration must be reduced to less than four hours, in part by cutting material but mainly by showing the film at a faster speed. Napoleon is a triumph in New York and elsewhere in the US, but Coppola’s music is poorly received. Coppola and Harris acquire world rights outside France.

October 2001. The 2000 restoration is presented at Le Giornate del Cinema Muto in Udine, Italy. American rights-holders are reluctant to grant permission because it will not feature Carmine Coppola’s score, which they wish to extend to fit the 2000 restoration.

December 2004. Two screenings of the 2000 restoration take place in London. American rights-holders threaten legal action, challenging the right to perform Napoleon in the UK.

If I remember correctly, Eureka had similar issues when they initially wanted to release Buster Keaton's The General on Blu-ray -- the owner of one of the scores thought they owned all the rights to the film.