J'Accuse: d'après le film d'Abel Gance
Paris: Editions de la Lampe Merveilleuse, 1922. First edition. Softcover. Octavo (7 3/4 x 5 3/4"). 112, [14]pp. Moderne glassine over original printed wrappers, with black lettering to spine and back cover, and red and black lettering to front cover. Photographic frontispiece portrait of Abel Gance.*
Scarce first edition of Léon Moussinac's movie script on Abel Gance's pacifist silent film "J'Accuse" (1919). Illustrated with 81 b/w photographic reproductions (including frontispiece) depicting behind-the-scenes and movie scenes, this work tells the story of the epic "J'Accuse," a film whose production began in 1918, during the last months of WWI. Some scenes were even filmed on real battlefields.
The film's powerful depiction of wartime suffering, and particularly its climactic sequence of the "return of the dead", made it an international success, and confirmed Gance as one of the most important directors in Europe.
Text in French. Glassine, wrappers and interior in very good condition. vg. Item #41897
* Abel Gance (1889-1981) was a French film director and producer, writer and actor. A pioneer in the theory and practice of montage, he is best known for three major silent films: "J'accuse" (1919), "La Roue" (1923), and the monumental "Napoléon" (1927).
Price: $375.00