Napoléon (1927) is among his most innovative works. The final reel of the film, made in a process Gance called Polyvision, used three film strips filmed by three cameras, and shown side by side, tripling the aspect ratio to show a staggering panorama of a battlefield. At the very end of the film, the outer two film panels were tinted blue and red, creating a widescreen image of a French flag.
He resumed his film making career in 1960 with historical dramas such as Austerlitz. He died in 1981 of tuberculosis in Paris, aged 92. He did, however, live to see the triumphant reception of the restored version (by Kevin Brownlow and David Gill) of his silent epic Napoléon in 1980, and the accompanying restoration of his reputation as a pioneering filmmaker.
