Films were theatrical enough in the beginning, and although D.W. Griffith and others were forming a new art, others, like the two directors of this photographed play, were working to replicate theatre--fettering cinema in its infancy. There's a close-up of birds, a scene with a split-screen and the camera movement, editing and special effects (fire and falling buildings) mildly pick up in the climax. The mise-en-scène is as good as it got at the time, with multi-layered sets adding some depth. Otherwise, this is a very boring photoplay. For the most part, the scenes are long takes of stationary long shots--the proscenium arch. Titles explain the proceeding action in tableau vivant style. The acting is histrionic. The story is a stupid melodrama, too. "The Last Days of Pompeii" is only a landmark, a noteworthy event in film history, in that it's one of many photoplays, including "Queen Elizabeth," "Quo Vadis?" and "Cabiria," that helped convince American studio-heads to let good filmmakers, like Griffith, make feature-length films that weren't ostentatiously theatrical.
(This film does improve with age in one respect: its deterioration has resulted in some bleeding during the volcanic climax--unintentionally appropriate.)
(This film does improve with age in one respect: its deterioration has resulted in some bleeding during the volcanic climax--unintentionally appropriate.)