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Hello!

A note from Stefan Andersson answers some questions and raises others about a disc I reviewed just last week, Abel Gance's 1938 version of J'accuse. It looks as if I in no way had a handle on the whole story. In my review I stated that the finish seemed to be a revision, as if Monsieur Gance had prepared a changed version for release after the war. That's an understatement.

Andersson points me (us) to three fascinating and educational online resources. First is a scholarly article comparing the two versions of J'accuse, adding in comments about a Bertrand Tavernier film with a related theme, Le vie et rien d'autre (Life and Nothing But), from 1989. It's long and convoluted; Stefan points us to footnote #35, which talks about a re-cut of J'accuse '38:

Next up is a new note on the Home Theater Forum from expert Robert Harris, who reportedly did restoration work on the title in the late 1980s. Harris likes the new disc but is disappointed that the version accessed by Olive and Gaumont is a revision done by Gance himself; the filmmaker dropped a final scene in which Jean Diaz joins the marching undead and returns with them to the massive Verdun cemetery:

Finally, Stefan Andersson slips us a link to a rough 'n' ragged DailyMotion copy of J'accuse, which includes what Harris and Kelly call the original cut:

I looked at the finish, and the difference is amazing. Abel Gance once again overcooks the stew and goes all 'Christian Symbolism' with his story. Terrified of the marching dead, the angry mob blames Jean Diaz. They seize him, lash him to a stone (cross?) and burn him, as if he were the False Maria from Metropolis. The exaggerated delirium is almost amusing --- Gance's righteous poetic rhapsodizing overloads the film, as if he really expected viewers to stagger from the theater with their souls completely changed. At least it's not as bad as Gance's La fin du monde, where he narcissistically casts himself as a saint-like prophet and savior of the world, who even takes the role of Christ in a passion play.

You heard it last at DVD Savant. It's a lot to absorb. A century from now some dusty film-ologist will be trying to explain to people that George Lucas's Star Wars movies were constantly being revised, while 22nd-century schoolkids pretend to be interested.

Thank you Stefan. Again, Stefan, your email address seems to be blocked -- it keeps getting kicked back.

Thanks for reading! --- Glenn Erickson