Abel Gance
Birthday: October 25, 1889 in Paris, France
Born an illegitimate son of a wealthy physician, Abel Flamant, and a working class mother, Francoise Perethon. He was raised by his mother and her boyfriend, who later became her husband, Adolphe Ganc ...Show More
[on being asked by a French general, while filming the opening sequence of J'accuse (1919), in which Show more
[on being asked by a French general, while filming the opening sequence of J'accuse (1919), in which hundreds of soldiers come together to form the films title on the battlefield, whom he was accusing] I am accusing war... I am accusing man... I am accusing universal stupidity. Hide
I'm not interested in politics... But I am against war, because war is futile. Ten or twenty years a Show more
I'm not interested in politics... But I am against war, because war is futile. Ten or twenty years afterward, one reflects that millions have died and all for nothing. One has found friends among one's old enemies, and enemies among one's friends. Hide
My greatest mistake was ever to have compromised. My greatest achievement has been to survive.
My greatest mistake was ever to have compromised. My greatest achievement has been to survive.
[on J'accuse (1919)] The conditions in which we filmed were profoundly moving... These men had come Show more
[on J'accuse (1919)] The conditions in which we filmed were profoundly moving... These men had come straight from the Front - from Verdun - and they were due back eight days later. They played the dead knowing that in all probability they'd be dead themselves before long. Within a few weeks of their return, eighty per cent had been killed. Hide
Abel Gance's FILMOGRAPHY
as Actor (1)