La Roue

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William L La Roue is a cinematic proof-of-concept, technically impressive for 1923, but also a rather uninspired melodrama in any age, and unnecessarily long even in its shortened, modern form. Gance's direction and Burel's cinematography are both top-notch for the period, with beautifully composed scene direction, capability and vision in its range of setpieces, and the integration of production techniques that were as of yet far from standard. At the same time though, La Roue treats trains the same way Melville treated whaling - unnecessarily in-depth and high profile compared to the actual story. Tough viewing, especially given the exceptional length. (3/5) Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/25/21 Full Review Audience Member A classic tale of tortured and impossible love, narrated with a visionary and compelling cinematography. Gance is not afraid to dig into the despair and struggle of the early 20th century working class without providing any element of comfort for the viewer. A masterful historical commentary, wrapped in a timeless melodrama. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/07/23 Full Review s r 1001 Movies You must see before you die. Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Too elaborate and repetitive; the story loses interest. It needed a lot of editing to have pace. Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/21/23 Full Review Audience Member I forced myself to watch this, due to its important place in film history, and was dreading the 4 1/2 hours of viewing to come. However, I was quite surprised with how engaged I was throughout. It is slow, melodramatic, and tedious at times - but likewise full of beauty, and washes over the senses like a daydream. It is also quite dark and a bit depressing - but in a poetic & symphonic way. It was a similar experience to listening to compositions by Debussey while gazing out a window as Spring blooms or Autumn falls. I admit that I was annoyed at the continual overwrought expressions made my Sisif (Severin-Mars), and particularly his eye aerobics upon going blind. A touch of subtlety would have been nice. Overall I enjoyed it. I wouldn't want to watch it again - but I'm glad I finally did! Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/12/23 Full Review Audience Member Abel Gance's La Roue, is the epic story about the railroad worker Sisif, who witness a fatal train crash that causes many people's life. He rescue a young girl named Norma English from the ruins, whom he adopts and raise as his own, along with his own son, Elie. Then we jump fifteen years forward in time, where we see a drunken and miserable Sisif, who is that way because he has fallen in love with his own adoptive daughter. His son does not know, but there is still a very strong connection between them. Sisif tells this secret to the railroad owner Jacques de Hersan, who propose that he might help Sisif, by marrying the young and beautiful Norma, in order to take her off Sisif's mind. Which of course Sisif does. But does it really help? La Roue is a masterpiece of epic proportions. Gance's use of fast editing is also quiet amazing. This was some years before Sergei Eisenstein started experimenting. We have the fast editing when the train is rolling too fast, to make us audience more scared. And it also feature the very first "life flashed before my eyes" scene, with a bunch of random images from the past. There's no doubt that La Roue is a technical wonder. But the story itself is also great. It's an epic tale about forbidden love and selfless devotion. It's such a deep story, with a lot of deep characters. It's certainly no ordinary love story. It might even be something that todays directors can learn from. Thumbs up. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/08/23 Full Review Read all reviews

La Roue

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