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
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 | underworld | christianity | visions of hell | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Fantasy | Horror

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Lucifer as he appears in the ninth circle Treachery and the last obstacle before Virgillio and Dante's descent and escape from Hell is feasting upon three male corpses at once. Despite his mostly darkened human face the Devil as he appears bears two siding demonic faces with chewing mouths playing in accordance to Gustave Doré's depiction of Satan in Treachery.

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Goofs

The penultimate scene: as Virgil leads Dante through the subterranean passage, he suffers an uncharacteristic moment of clumsiness (he trips, stumbles, and has to pull his own toga out from under his foot).

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Connections

Featured in Go Down, Death! (1945)

User Reviews

At little more than an hour, L'Inferno is monumental in the scope of history.

L'Inferno was the first feature film released in Italy, beginning that country's long career of storied cinema. An adaptation of the famous Inferno by Dante Alighieri, L'Inferno is not a horror film in the traditional sense. The images of Hell are appropriately disturbing, as are it's inhabitants. The scenes of death and torture are shocking for the time. And to top it all off the old footage (now 108 years old) only adds to the creepy atmosphere. Anyone interested in old horror movies has to see this one.

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

None Italian

Release Date:

July 1911 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dante's Inferno

Company Credits

Production Co:

Milano Film, SAFFI-Comerio

Technical Specs

Runtime:

71 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White (tinted)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1