Dante's Inferno (1911)

Loosely adapted from Dante's Divine Comedy and inspired by the illustrations of Gustav Doré the original silent film has been restored and has a new score by Tangerine Dream.

Directors:

Francesco Bertolini, Adolfo Padovan

Writer:

Dante Alighieri (poem)

Stars:

Salvatore Papa, Arturo Pirovano, Giuseppe de Liguoro

Cast

Cast overview:
Salvatore Papa	...	Dante Alighieri
Arturo Pirovano	...	Virgilio
Giuseppe de Liguoro	...	Farinata degli Uberti
Pier Delle Vigne	...	Il conte Ugolino
Augusto Milla	...	Lucifer
Attilio Motta
Emilise Beretta

Storyline

The poet Dante is lost in a dark and gloomy wood. At the summit of a mountain he sees the light of salvation. He endeavors to ascend to it, but his way is barred by three wild beasts, symbolizing Avarice, Pride and Lust. Beatrice sees his predicament and descends from Paradise into Limbo, where she asks the poet Virgil to rescue and guide Dante. Virgil knows another way to go, but this leads straight through the entire Inferno, before it continues towards Paradise. Virgil leads Dante to the portals of Inferno. Charon ferries them over the river Acheron, and then they start their journey downwards through the different circles of Inferno. Dante meets all kind of sinners and sees the never-ending punishments they have to undergo. The various punishments are adjusted to the different transgressions. Among the sinners Dante recognizes many persons he has met in Florence, when they were still alive. They tell him their sad stories and why they have ended here. At last Dante and Virgil ...

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Plot Keywords:

sinner | punishment | charon | reference to the holy spirit | brain eating | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Fantasy | Horror

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Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

July 1911 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dante's Inferno

Company Credits

Production Co:

Milano Film, SAFFI-Comerio

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White (tinted)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The first depiction in film of flight and wires: The patrolling demons of Fraud who have Virgillio and Dante briefly captured contend with a tortured soul in their circle of hello Ciampolo leap back into the boiling pitch aside them to escape them. The winged demons follow in pursuit leaping into hovering flight over the pitch.

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Goofs

When Francesca and Paolo fly down to speak to Dante in the Circle of Lust, the Kirby wires supporting them are visible.

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Connections

Edited into Bastard Pink (2016)

User Reviews

Shot on location.

Well well well... This is a spectacle worth seeing. Filmed in 1910 and released early in 1911, it must have had a terrific impact on the viewer. It's full of special effects, flashbacks, monsters, appearances and disappearances, giants, dragons, demons and other hellish apparitions. There's a lot of nudity and agony, smoke and mud. But make no mistake: it's all according to 1911 standards. There still are no close-ups, no proper editing, and no acting to speak of aside from gestures as broad as one's hands are capable of doing. There's also no real story: it's a series of tableaux depicting Dante and Virgil moving through the different circles of Hell. It's all shot in broad daylight of course, in some weird looking mountains that can look quite majestic, but can also be no better than an disused Italian quarry. It's not boring, but it's very unclear what the viewer is supposed to think. There are lengthy title cards in very weird English, summarizing the action to come. Some of the trick photography is among the best that was available at that time (and men like Melies did a fantastic job even ten years before the release of this film); some is 'rags on a stick'-variety. Had there been at least a few close-ups, or anything to make it look more cinematic, I would have been much happier. The picture quality is so-so, it's obviously edited from two or three different prints that can vary quite a lot. It also could have been made more interesting using colour tinting for different hellish locations, such as red for fire and brimstone and blue for the ice lake. The music by Tangerine Dream became annoying very quickly. As long as it is ambiance background, it's OK, but as soon as the lady vocalist bursts into weird pseudo-Dantean songs, it's pure Hell indeed. I was seriously considering turning the sound down, but then I sort of grew used to it. This film might prove to be a bit heavy for those who are not prepared to sit through 1,5 hours of agonizing and slow moving journey that doesn't seem to lead nowhere. Then again, the selection of pre-WW I full length films released on DVD isn't wide enough to dismiss this one. But you need to know your Dante before you delve into this one, otherwise it's a total mishmash. A good friend and a bottle of strong booze would come handy as well.