The Inferno (1911)
from Reel Deep Dive Hosted by Ryan Valentine
This adaptation of Dante Alighieri's narrative poem, one of the earliest feature-length films, finds the poet braving the terrors of hell with Virgil as a guide. Drawing from Gustave Doré's famed engravings and employing many of the trick photography techniques pioneered by Georges Méliès, The Inferno caused an instant sensation upon its 1911 debut and has yet to lose its ability to strike audiences. Only about a third of the film's three hours have survived to the present day, but The Inferno remains a bold, unique, and captivating example of cinema's formative era. Ryan is joined by Cheryl for a deconstruction of this work. Discussion points include Dante's use of Greco-Roman mythological iconography in a Christian parable, the struggles inherent in transposing a work of epic verbiage to the medium of silent film, the ramifications of depicting the prophet Muhammad, and how The Inferno influenced Hollywood's penchant for slipping violence and nudity past censors by basing their stories on religious sources.
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