L'Inferno, 1911 silent film; anyone seen it?
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1Mithalogica
In my meandering vis-a-vis the Dante course I'm doing, I came upon the 1911 silent film, L'Inferno Apparently, it was restored with a soundtrack by Tangerine Dream and released on DVD in 2004. There are some clips available around the net*, and I must say, it's kind of amazing! There's an interesting write-up of it on this film blog: 1911: A Criminally Overlooked Masterpiece.
The oddly flat black and white of the silent era gives it the feel of the Doré illustrations (which seem to have influenced it a bit, from the few clips I saw) come to life. The effects are pretty impressive for 1911, and really capture the imagery of Inferno. (Though I did notice that Lucifer seemed to be markedly Jewish; or is that just me?) Coming almost 5 years before Griffith's Birth of a Nation, it was a massive innovation in film at the time. It was one of the more ambitious projects undertaken to date, one of the first feature-length films made, and the first ever full-length film from Italy. In its day, it made $2 million in the US as well, comparable to our blockbusters in today's dollars.
Once I've seen the entire thing, I'll share a review here, but in the meantime: Have any of you good folks seen it? What are your thoughts?
*(I am sure the whole thing is out there somewhere, but I have it on order, and am resisting watching lo-res versions of it on YouTube until it gets here!)
The oddly flat black and white of the silent era gives it the feel of the Doré illustrations (which seem to have influenced it a bit, from the few clips I saw) come to life. The effects are pretty impressive for 1911, and really capture the imagery of Inferno. (Though I did notice that Lucifer seemed to be markedly Jewish; or is that just me?) Coming almost 5 years before Griffith's Birth of a Nation, it was a massive innovation in film at the time. It was one of the more ambitious projects undertaken to date, one of the first feature-length films made, and the first ever full-length film from Italy. In its day, it made $2 million in the US as well, comparable to our blockbusters in today's dollars.
Once I've seen the entire thing, I'll share a review here, but in the meantime: Have any of you good folks seen it? What are your thoughts?
*(I am sure the whole thing is out there somewhere, but I have it on order, and am resisting watching lo-res versions of it on YouTube until it gets here!)
2brunolatini
I had heard of it but I have never seen it . I must check it out. Peter Greenaway ( he of The Cook The Thief His Wife Her Lover fame) did a version of the first 6 cantos about fifteen years ago.I think the money ran out after that .It is a strange kind of a hybrid - poetry reading/Documentary/multi media kind of thing. Interesting nonetheless
3matthewmason
I feel the same, bruno -- thanks for this recommendation, Raven, and also, wonderful to see you both here once again! I'll have to track down this version (forgiving its more dated aspects). I wish I had seen it before!
In a somewhat related note, I located this wild and postmodern short last year, during a break in my university library, while researching for my thesis (on Dante, naturally):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDV3CMfK4dU
In a somewhat related note, I located this wild and postmodern short last year, during a break in my university library, while researching for my thesis (on Dante, naturally):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDV3CMfK4dU
4Mithalogica
>2 brunolatini: Never heard of the Greenway piece - I'll see if I can track it down. (University libraries have their advantages...) I'll definitely post a review once I get L'Inferno!
>3 matthewmason: If you find it, let me know what you think! If by dated aspects you mean the silent-era look, I rather like it. I'm curious to know what you make of it! Like I said, it really makes me thing of the Doré illustrations. If you mean the soundtrack, well... From what I've read, reviews are mixed on the Tangerine Dream soundtrack. I'm a little iffy on that idea myself, much as I still love some of TD.... (Would it just be ever so trite to watch it to something like Carmina Burana?)
Wow, that YT is... interesting! I can sort of see a slant on the Commedia, if I squint. 'Wild and postmodern' is an excellent way to put it!
I remember seeing some sort of documentary on Dante a few years back. I think it was the entire Commedia, but I only really recall the bit on Paradiso and the center of the Rose in the Empyrean (which was early on in the documentary as I recall, sort of a 'flash-forward'). I remember that very specifically because they tried to do a visual representation of it, and I can't say for sure, but it looked exactly like one of those vintage glass doorknobs, and once that was in my head, I just couldn't take it seriously from then on!
>3 matthewmason: If you find it, let me know what you think! If by dated aspects you mean the silent-era look, I rather like it. I'm curious to know what you make of it! Like I said, it really makes me thing of the Doré illustrations. If you mean the soundtrack, well... From what I've read, reviews are mixed on the Tangerine Dream soundtrack. I'm a little iffy on that idea myself, much as I still love some of TD.... (Would it just be ever so trite to watch it to something like Carmina Burana?)
Wow, that YT is... interesting! I can sort of see a slant on the Commedia, if I squint. 'Wild and postmodern' is an excellent way to put it!
I remember seeing some sort of documentary on Dante a few years back. I think it was the entire Commedia, but I only really recall the bit on Paradiso and the center of the Rose in the Empyrean (which was early on in the documentary as I recall, sort of a 'flash-forward'). I remember that very specifically because they tried to do a visual representation of it, and I can't say for sure, but it looked exactly like one of those vintage glass doorknobs, and once that was in my head, I just couldn't take it seriously from then on!
