A TV Dante (1989– )

The first eight cantos of Dante's Inferno (up to the entrance to the city of Dis). The text is read entirely in "talking head" fashion, and punctuated with a kaleidoscopic blend of both newly shot and archival footage.

Stars:

John Gielgud, Bob Peck, Fernando Bordeu

Cast

Series cast summary:
John Gielgud	...	Virgil (6 episodes, 1991)
Bob Peck	...	the voice of Dante (6 episodes, 1991)
Fernando Bordeu	...	Virgil (6 episodes, 1991)
Francisco Reyes	...	Dante (6 episodes, 1991)
Joanne Whalley	...	Beatrice (4 episodes, 1990)

Storyline

The first eight cantos of Dante's Inferno (up to the entrance to the city of Dis). The text is read entirely in "talking head" fashion, and punctuated with a kaleidoscopic blend of both newly shot and archival footage.

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Plot Keywords:

dante's inferno | dante | tv mini series | virgil | santiago chile | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

Netherlands UK

Language:

English

Also Known As:

A TV Dante: The Inferno - Cantos I-VIII

Company Credits

Production Co:

Artifax, CAL Videographics Ltd., Channel 4 Television Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min 88 min (8 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Version of Pokol - Inferno (1974)

User Reviews

The clue's in the name

I've not seen this since it appeared on Channel 4 back in the late '80s, when I enjoyed it a lot. However, that was all a long time ago, and many of the techniques used here were deployed more successfully in Prospero's Books a couple of years later, perhaps making this seem outmoded.

All I really want to say here is that reviews critiquing this as a piece of cinematic art are missing a pretty important point, namely that it was never intended to be shown in the cinema. It was made for broadcast on TV in (if I remember) ten-minute segments, just before the Channel 4 News. In that context, it worked very well indeed.