Das Rad

An update of Abel Gance's silent masterpiece (1920) , the original screenplay underwent some changes:the girl is adopted at the beginning of WW2, and the whole story was sweetened: the train driver does not become blind after the explosion, and it's happy end for everybody.

This modern remake went unnoticed when it was released ; it is not devoid of qualities though ; melodrama is kept to the minimum ,and the movie focussed on the evolution of the railroad from 1940 to the late fifties ,from the steam-powered trains to electricity ,which caused problems to the railroad men who had to learn new techniques. The rapport the principals ,Jean Servais and Pierre Mondy ,have ,is thoroughly convincing .Servais 's fall as his skills and his declining health lead him to go down from a train driver (his passion ,he lives for his engine he calls "la petite" , when he can't drive anymore ,his psyche is shot)to a mechanic to a night watchman avoids pathos .He has neglected his children (a son and an adopted daughter) and when they grow up, he's jealous of her suitor ,a handsome air force officer ,and does not care about his son who climbs the career ladder quickly.

Beginning a la René Clément's "bataille du rail" ,the film essentially continues as a tribute to the railroad men.

A post-war reimagining of Gance's silent epic, this version of The Wheel represents a thoroughly different experience to that of the original one that transitions from whistles to horns as the age of steam and the men who worked tirelessly to keep it on track are slowly left behind, a fleeting glimpse from the brake van. Gance's original film was streamlined, cutting the script down from its original mammoth 7-hour runtime to a mere 100 minutes meant that details and subplots were going to be lost in the process but for the most part, the base narrative remains somewhat similar even if the tone is vastly more upbeat. On a technical level, I'm very impressed, there are plenty of great shots throughout; directors Haguet and Delbez have done an admirable job, there's a few instances of them even paying tribute to Gance with select scenes, the turntable shot being a prime example, taken as its own thing, it's hard not to be impressed with a lot of the film. With some solid lead performances from its cast and decent music to back it up, The Wheel is a very admirable update on Gance's original. Although lacking a lot of the finer details due to its shorter runtime, it makes for a very interesting companion piece and is well worth seeking out a copy although given the film's very little internet presence in the English-speaking world, that's easier said than done.