Albert Capellani occupies a pivotal position in the early development of cinema.  In addition to refining the technique of film-making, he pioneered and perfected the full-length film, at a time when the vast majority of film-makers were content with making short or medium-length films.

Capellani was born in Paris in 1870.  Having studied drama at the Paris conservatory, he began his career as a stage actor, appearing at the Théâtre Libre d'Antoine and the Odéon.   He worked as a stage manager at the Firmin Gémier, before taking up a managerial post at the Alhambra Music Hall in 1903.

Capellani’s move into cinema (then still very much in its infancy) came in 1905, when he started working for the Pathé brothers under Ferdinand Zecca.  His first films were either melodramas or extravaganzas (such as Aladin et la lampe mystérieuse).  Such was his success that in 1908 Charles Pathé appointed him artistic director of a new company, the SCAGI (la Société Cinématographique des Auteurs et Gens de Lettres).  This was created to make film adaptations of classic works of French literature (by such literary giants as Zola, Hugo, Daudet and Balzac).   

Capellani's posting with SCAGI provided the energetic young filmmaker with the opportunity and the resources to start making medium and full-length films, including Notre Dame de Paris, La Glu, Quatre-vingt treize, Les Misérables and Germinal.  In 1908, he made Assommoir , now recognised as the first full-length film (running to 740 metres in length).  Over the next 6 years, he made dozens of films of various lengths, distinguished by his masterful use of long shots, open spaces and crowd scenes.   His 1913 adaptation of Les Misérables was the director’s crowning achievement, earning international respect for himself and Pathé. 

Capellani always had an eye for talent and coached many young new directors such as George Denola, Georges Monca, Michel Carré, Henri Estievant.  He also offered the music hall star Mistinguett her first major film role (in Les Misérables).

At the outbreak of World War I in 1914, Capellani moved to the United States and continued making films.   There, he founded his own film production company Capellani Production Inc., and made a national star out of Russian actress Nazimova in such films as The Red Lantern (1919).

Capellani returned to France in 1923 and tried to bring American film-making techniques in his own country, without success.  His later years were marked by ill-health and financial insecurity.  He died in Paris in 1931, aged 57, after a serious illness, without having earned the recognition he deserved for his work.  Today, he is rightly considered to be one of the most important figures in the history of cinema.