Dante's Inferno

I saw this film at the Huntington Beach Film Festival in April 2007, and I loved it! Sandow Birk has an amazing ability to modernize classics, and his adaptation of the Divine Comedy is a prime example. I was delighted to see that he still isn't afraid to use popular culture in his work (as evidenced by the many food chains displayed blatantly in the background sets). Anyone could have made a half-decent film adaptation of the Inferno, but Birk and his crew went above and beyond to display innovation and creativity. I've never seen a puppet show on film, but this film manages to employ humor with a modern twist, without sacrificing the details of Dante's work. Really well done. Granted, this film will not please all audiences and I would be surprised to see it anywhere other than indie-theaters or film fests, but if you have an opportunity to see this, take it!

It was a good modern take on "Inferno" and delivered well. Often movies of Inferno are tedious, but this kept me interested without straying from the text too much. You've got a Dante walking around in a hoodie in a big city through the levels of hell. He and Virgil meander through airport security, strip malls and less desirable parts of a modern city. The punished souls of presidents, politicians, popes and pop-culture icons are sentenced to eternal suffering of the most unusual kind. The two dimensional paper characters tell the story in a simplistic yet imaginative way. The artistry matches the level of entertainment in the storyline.

I am disappointed that I cannot find it for sale or anywhere to stream.

It's been around 10 years since my last run in with anything related to Dante Allegeri. Junior year of high school we had a project where we had to make our own circle of hell. Ya know, cut outs, drawings etc. My circle of hell was dedicated to Pedophiles and Rapists, and it turned out pretty good. Though I was frowned upon by the nudity. So getting back on track, I enjoyed Dante's Inferno back then, and when I had the opportunity to watch this version of Dante's Inferno I became pretty excited. And when it was all said and done, I was pretty impressed with this unique little flick.

Present day Dante Allegeri is brought by Virgil (Roman someone) to the 9 circles of hell. From circles that have places chosen out for Money-Launderers, the angry, and even plain old fashion murderers. They go from the beginning right to the end, being circle 9. A linear story, but still a fun one with plenty of creativity.

Sometimes the film does feel like it's sole purpose is to be creative in the sense that they're just trying to throw certain celebrities in the circle of hell where they belong. Like you'd find Marilyn Monroe in the circle where you'll find suicides, and you'll find Cleopatra with all the whores. Eh, see what I'm saying? Actually trying to think of people that they mentioned is kinda tough. They used a ton of well-known people from history and it just kind of mashes together by the end. But that's not a complaint perse, since the movie showed intelligence and again, creativity.

With a witty, and intelligent approach to telling this story, and to the detailed art style it had, the film is definitely recommendable to the right viewer. Anyone who can appreciate films that clearly are labors of love, like let's say City of Rott or Blood, Tea and Red String, or hell, any film by Jan Svankmajer should find this film to be a welcome addition to their well-rounded viewings.

If you ever wanted to see a film based on Dante's Inferno that was performed with cutout puppetry, then you'll get just that with this 2007 unknown indie project. I never thought I'd see the day when Alighieri's work would be adapted into the world of puppets that look like they were done by Mike Judge, Robert Crumb, and Rob Zombie. The many different vignettes that our leads roam through are impressively crafted, but they do go on a bit too long, although that is depending on your appreciation for the music on display. Besides, the two dimensional puppetry allows for some creative design work that makes one feel like they're seeing a puppet show caught on film. The film is sadly hard to find nowadays, but for what it is worth, there's a lot to appreciate in the craftsmanship.

I had been flipping through the channels and I saw a preview for this movie and I thought it looked very interesting so I watched it and fell in love with it. I went out and bought the modern version of the book. I loved the art work in the book and being an artist myself I decided to draw a few pieces based on the art in the book. I latter went back to watch the movie again and found that almost all of the sets (backgrounds) were almost identical to the artwork in the book and the banter between Dante and Virgil was about the same also (although the movie is MUCH more humorous) I think it's a great modern spin on the old classic.