La roue

An epic masterwork of the silent era, Abel Gance’s LA ROUE (“The Wheel”) has in recent years been restored to its complete original form: a four-part, nearly seven-hour melodrama that reaches the heights of Greek tragedy. Séverin-Mars stars as Sisif, a humble railwayman who secretly adopts an infant orphaned in a train disaster. Over the years, Sisif lets Norma (Ivy Close) believe she is his biological daughter, even as he falls in love with the young woman. He soon shares this “curse” with his biological son, Elie (Gabriel de Gravone), who becomes smitten by Norma when he learns of his sister’s true origins. Sisif and Elie are forced to reconcile their forbidden desires; meanwhile, Norma endures a loveless marriage to the wealthy Jacques de Hersan (Pierre Magnier). Powered by Gance’s pioneering filmic and editing techniques, as well as Arthur Honegger’s original score, LA ROUE stands as one of the most ambitious achievements in the history of cinema.