08. Jean A. Gili - Le Cinéma italien - 2011 (La Martinière)

1911 silent film and Italy's first full-length feature film, loosely adapted from "Inferno", the first canticle of Dante Alighieri's "Divine Comedy". It chronicles Dante's travel through the Circles of Hell, guided by the poet Virgil.

Roman commander Vinicius becomes infatuated with Christian hostage Lygia and meets apostle Peter. Witnessing their plight in decadent Rome he begins to question the tyrannical leadership of the despotic emperor Nero.

Leslie Swayne, an adventurer, in order to obtain enough money to satisfy the needs of his extravagant life, has been bribed to steal the plans of the fortification from the staff officers of the Grand Duchy of Wallenstein. This undertaking, which at one time would have seemed difficult to him, becomes very easy, due to the friendship between himself and Colonel Julius Holbein, chief of the staff, and father of Elsa, for whom Swayne has shown a great deal of friendship, and in return he has Elsa's sincere love. After a dinner held at the Colonel's, during which the villain Swayne whispered sweet words of love into Elsa's ear, he succeeds in stealing the desired documents, and, protected by the darkness of the night, he escapes. Overcome by the sad reality, the Colonel is in a desperate state of mind. Elsa tries to efface from her mind her terrible suspicions, but in going to the hotel she learns of the sudden departure of Swayne, and her suspicions are confirmed. Colonel Holbein, to whom the precious document had been entrusted, is suspected as a traitor. This man shot himself for being so wrongfully accused. Elsa is asked by the Grand Duchy of Wallenstein to leave the Duchy, and is taken to one of the stations of the domain, where she is abandoned. Possessed of the qualities of a pianist and singer, under the false name of Marjorie Manners, she becomes famous. At her first performance she receives flowers from a large number of admirers, and long applause, but the memory of her father comes to her suddenly and that recollection takes away the joy of her triumph. One evening, while she is eating on the terrace of a hotel surrounded by ardent admirers, Marjorie is surprised at the sight of a young man, sad and pale like herself, who is observing her with a languid look. The pale young man is the Prince Arthur of Wallenstein, the son of the Grand Duke, who has come to the Riviera to recuperate from a long illness, under the name of Count L'Estrange. Surprised by the divine beauty and charm of Marjorie, he is a constant visitor at the theater. One morning they chance to meet and immediately they understand each other and a sense of sympathy seems to envelop their souls. They gaze into each other's eyes and seal their unspoken troth by a lingering kiss. From that day on their love becomes more intense and soon they are married. On board a ship the living apparition of the villain, Swayne, appears before them. Marjorie faints. Arthur calls for help and in the meanwhile Swayne approaches Marjorie, begging for her pardon and love. She repulses him violently, and just at that, instant Arthur returns. Swayne, to avenge himself, advises the Prince's country that the Prince amuses himself with sweet woman while the Duchy is in danger, and the Duke of Wallenstein recalls his son home. While Marjorie and Arthur are together at the hotel the message arrives, and his wife finds out who is her husband. She realizes then that she could not hide her true name any longer, and Colonel Theubner, an old friend of her poor father, tells the Prince the truth. She gets up and departs like a crazy person, and a few days later she returns to the theater which she had left. Arthur, through the Colonel, learns Elsa's history and the reason why she is compelled to go upon the stage, but in spite of this information he continues to look for her. He finds her, pale and trembling. His eyes fixed upon her from his box in the theater. Suddenly Elsa observes his look. She becomes pale, trembles, and tries to control herself, but drops to the floor. The curtain falls; the Prince hurries to her and while he feels her getting cold in his arms, he hears these feeble words, "But my love shall never die." Poor Elsa, after so many troubles and anxieties, had taken poison, as she wished to die for him upon the stage that brought her so much applause.

Cabiria is a Roman child when her home is destroyed by a volcano. Sold in Carthage to be sacrificed in a temple, she is saved by Fulvio, a Roman spy. But danger lurks, and hatred between Rome and Carthage can only lead to war.

Assunta Spina is a tragedy set in Naples at the beginning of the twentieth century. Assunta and Michele are in love but others come between them and there is much jealousy. They fight and Michele is sent to prison for two years for assault. Nevertheless, because Assunta still loves Michele she is vulnerable when Federigo offers to help Michele but only if Assunta becomes his mistress. Michele is released early from prison, finds Assunta and Federigo together and kills Federigo. When the police arrive, Assunta takes the blame for Michele's crime.

A Faustian tale about an old woman who makes a pact with Mephisto to regain her youth, in return she must stay away from love. After the deal she meets two brothers who fall in love with her.

Mario, an unknown painter, remains struck and obsessed with meeting a famous poet, already married, who will be able to charm him, so that he will no longer have the talent created to be able to paint.

A soldier of near-superhuman strength fights battles in the First World War and wages a private war to rescue a young woman from the castle where she is imprisoned.

A silent film about a women who seduces a married man which in turn leads to deadly consequences.

In order to conquer Margaretella with expensive presents, a young man called Tore steals his mother's jewels but Margaretella seems to prefer another man.

Epic, melodramatic and rather risque adaptation of the British novel about ancient Roman decadence, culminates in the eruption of a nearby volcano.

A young Italian-educated Libyan nobleman is summoned to fight for the Ottoman Empire in 1911.

Anticipating the neo realism of over a decade later, Sole uses real locations and non professional actors to dramatize a Mussolini project: to reclaim malarial swamp south of Rome and turn it into farmland and housing.

Loose Pirandello adaptation: A young lady hides from her fiance that she is caring for a baby half brother left behind by her late mother.The fiance, like her an aspiring musical performer, has indicated he doesn't want a child yet.

Bruno, a young Milanese driver, falls in love with Mariuccia, dependent on a perfumery. Wanting to impress her, he shows up for their first date, in his employer's car.

A story about the comic adventures of a group of summertime travelers.

The film is set in a small Italian town in 1922, where a local group of Fascist blackshirts battle against rival socialists who have called a strike at the hospital. Mario, the young son of Doctor Cardini, is killed in the fighting.

Gold is a millionaire tired of the hypocrisy that surrounds him. After saving a homeless man's life, he gets hold of his clothes by wandering around town in search of someone who appreciates him for who he really is, not for his money.

A story of the Italian troops in Africa.

A story of the Second Punic Wars, beginning with Scipio's futile pleas to the Roman Senate to build an army to battle Hannibal, that climaxes with the battle of Zama.

Successful WWI pilot Luciano Serra has problems adjusting to an ordinary life in peace, so he leaves his family and becomes a pilot in America. In the 30s, his son in Italy wants also to become a pilot, and Luciano accepts an offer of a double dealing agent for a flight from Rio to Rome, but his plane crashes in the Atlantic. For the world Luciano Serra is missing, but he has entered the Italian army under a new name to fight in Ethiopia. The train in which his unit travels is attacked by Ethiopian soldiers, his son flying a reconasaince mission is shot down and wounded by the same attacking enemies. Will Luciano be able to fly the plane back, to get close air support for the outnumbered Italian troups ?

The girls of a college suspect one of them, Maria, of having an affair with Marini, a handsome chemistry teacher. Anna, another student and a snobbish socialite, is under Marini's spell and finds a rival in Maria. Things are tense for a while until the truth is unveiled: the man Maria gave a kiss to was her father, not the chemistry teacher. When Maria has an accident, her jealous co-ed repentantly helps her. She can now marry the man she loves.

During maneuvers a submarine collides with a surface vessel and drops to the ocean floor. The crew have thirty hours worth of air to get it back to the surface.

Poggioli's masterpiece, a precursor to Neorealism, was shot on location in Genoa and tells the story of a 'humiliated and mistreated' maid, who sacrifices herself to save a child. The mainstream flirts with anti-bourgeoisie sentiments. "The dance hall scene is strikingly beautiful". (G. Buttafava)

A nineteenth-century Italian noblewoman, imprisoned in a foreboding lakeside palazzo by her uncle, comes to believe she's possessed by a long ago mistress of the manor.