L'INFERNO
DANTE'S INFERNO
Francesco Bertolini / Italy / 1911 / 68 min / Black and white
Within the framework of the 2016 thematic tribute dedicated to the underground (grottoes, caves, the Hereafter), the Film Festival della Lessinia commissioned Mauro Ottolini to create a new musical accompaniment to the film Inferno, by Francesco Bertolini, performed here in a world premiere with the screening of the film that has been newly restored by the Cineteca di Bologna. Considered one of the most impressive production accomplishments for the time in which it was filmed, Dante's Inferno marked a revolution in the history of cinema. Through steep pinnacles, moors punctured by open graves, blind cavities with sudden flashes, stony canyons and lava flows, Dante and Virgil move amongst the damned who crawl in fetid thermal baths, moan while stuck in tombs, or are tortured naked.
Francesco Bertolini
A pioneer of Italian cinema, he dedicated his career to bringing the great epics to the big screen, learning and utilising innovative special effects techniques learned from the brilliant Georges Mèliès. Among his best-known films are L'Inferno (1911), the short L'Odissea (1911), Il disco d'oro (1921) and Il trionfo di Ercole (1922).
Credits
Subject Dante AlighieriScreenplay Sandro Properzi, Francesco BertoliniCinematography Emilio RoncaroloMain cast Salvatore Papa, Arturo Pirovano, Giuseppe de Liguoro, Attilio Motta, Emilise Beretta, Augusto MillaProduction company Saffi-Comerio, Milano Films
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