A TV Dante 

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:

Bob Peck, Joanne Whalley, John Gielgud

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 | reference to dante's inferno | virgil | santiago de chile | 

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Genres:

Drama

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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.

Details

Country:

Netherlands UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 July 1990 (UK)

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 (8 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1