L'Inferno (1911)
Encyclopedia
L'Inferno is a 1911
silent film
by Giuseppe de Liguoro, loosely adapted from Dante
's The Divine Comedy
.
L'Inferno was first screened in Naples
in the Teatro Mercadante on March 10, 1911. The film took over three years to make and was the first full-length Italian
feature film
ever made. The film was an international success, taking more than $2 million in the United States
alone. It is considered by many scholars and fans as being the finest film adaptation of Dante's work to date.
The first music score for the film was written by Raffaele Caravaglios. The film was released on DVD in 2004, with a score by Tangerine Dream
. The popularity of Tangerine Dream has helped the sales of the DVD. Another DVD, based on a version restored by Cineteca di Bologna in 2006, was published in 2011 with an original soundtrack by Edison Studio in Cinema Ritrovato collection.
Nancy Mitford recorded seeing the film in Italy in 1922, referring to it as Dante. She records that it lasted from 9 until 12.15 including two intervals. She details many of the deaths and tortures. Her description in her letter home is copied in her biography "Nancy Mitford" by Harold Acton.
1911 in film
The year 1911 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*March 23: D.W Griffith shows the first major close-up shot on film with the successful release of The Lonedale Operator proving his ever growing mastery of how to utilise film....
silent film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
by Giuseppe de Liguoro, loosely adapted from Dante
Dante Alighieri
Durante degli Alighieri, mononymously referred to as Dante , was an Italian poet, prose writer, literary theorist, moral philosopher, and political thinker. He is best known for the monumental epic poem La commedia, later named La divina commedia ...
's The Divine Comedy
The Divine Comedy
The Divine Comedy is an epic poem written by Dante Alighieri between 1308 and his death in 1321. It is widely considered the preeminent work of Italian literature, and is seen as one of the greatest works of world literature...
.
L'Inferno was first screened in Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
in the Teatro Mercadante on March 10, 1911. The film took over three years to make and was the first full-length Italian
Cinema of Italy
The history of Italian cinema began just a few months after the Lumière brothers had patented their Cinematographe, when Pope Leo XIII was filmed for a few seconds in the act of blessing the camera.-Early years:...
feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
ever made. The film was an international success, taking more than $2 million in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
alone. It is considered by many scholars and fans as being the finest film adaptation of Dante's work to date.
The first music score for the film was written by Raffaele Caravaglios. The film was released on DVD in 2004, with a score by Tangerine Dream
Tangerine Dream
Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music group founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The band has undergone many personnel changes over the years, with Froese being the only continuous member...
. The popularity of Tangerine Dream has helped the sales of the DVD. Another DVD, based on a version restored by Cineteca di Bologna in 2006, was published in 2011 with an original soundtrack by Edison Studio in Cinema Ritrovato collection.
Nancy Mitford recorded seeing the film in Italy in 1922, referring to it as Dante. She records that it lasted from 9 until 12.15 including two intervals. She details many of the deaths and tortures. Her description in her letter home is copied in her biography "Nancy Mitford" by Harold Acton.