Dante: Inferno to Paradise

I was truly captivated as I made my way through the PBS viewing of Dante: Inferno to Paridisio. The documentary explains all three parts of Dante's manuscript. However, more importantly, it reveals how Dante's life impacted and is reflected throughout his manuscript. Realizing upfront that it was a four-hour documentary shown in two parts, I recorded both parts and then viewed them an hour at a time over four consecutive nights. I was engrossed as Dante's story unfolded within the context of his writings. I was somewhat familiar with Dante's manuscript; however, I now have a much better understanding of all three of its parts. I had no idea how much Dante's life and his exile contributed to and was reflected throughout his writings. The narration was excellent and the acting was superb. The filming of various locations in Italy and the lovely artwork interspersed throughout helped capture and hold my attention until the very end.

This documentary is dullsville. For starters, its too long. And you feel every minute of each of the two episodes because the pacing is excrutiatingly slow. The film lacks momentum or energy of any sort. And it's very repetitive. How many times do we have to listen to someone tell us how great, magnificent, innovative, marvelous, stunning, etc. The Divine Comedy is? We get it, that's why we're watching. Now tell us something we don't know. One standout positive thing: The actor who plays Dante really looks the part. My Florentine husband was very excited about this documentary. He fell asleep while watching it. Twice! Odds are you will snooze too.

I have studied the Divine Comedy since I was a student, and I fell in love with this masterwork again watching the documentary. It was so engaging in its dramatic presentation, and the scholars analysis was insightful and also left room for the listener to consider what this great work means in terms of our own lives. I found Dr. Catherine Adoyo particularly helpful in her commentary and obvious love of the work and the joy she takes in sharing her insights. So often we hear that great art of the past has little relevance to our world, but this great program emphatically proved otherwise. Kudos PBS!

Dante:Inferno to Paridisio is an absolute masterwork crafted with love and care. From expert academic viewpoints to superb dramatic interpretation, I can not say enough positive things about the series. I must say that it is longish for a contemporary documentary, roughly some 4 hours, but it is well worth the ride. From the early life of Dante Aligheri to his death, interspersed with expert viewpoints and scenes from the Divine Comedy. I must say the actors who performed as Dante, Virgil, and Beatrice were all excellent. The supporting cast was strong as well, but the leads truly gave life to the pain and ecstasy they felt as they traversed the underworld and beyond. 10/10.

As a total novice, I caught wind of this documentary through friends and family. I began to watch Part 1 and from the onset and got addicted to the dramatic scenes and flow of the show I had to ensure I had my popcorn ready for Part 2. I also I loved the narrator's voice and the story format that Eric and his team created. The experts who spoke (Profs: Pertile & Webb) were brilliant and brought a very academic appeal to the show that made us want to learn more about the legendary Poet. However, the clear star of both in Episode 1 & 2 was Prof. Catherin Adoyo who made everything I was watching make sense. Her sober yet very dramatic explanations of each significant stage in Dante's journey from Inferno to Paradise, made me and many others watching glue their eyes on the television. Team PBS, hats off to you for not only bringing to our attention the story of Dante, but for exposing us all to an exceptionally brilliant Dr. Adoyo. With her subtle speech and soft tone, she shined brightly as the only Kenyan and African American in the series. She is a pillar of pride to an entire continent of young academics who aspire to excel in academia and grow into experts in their chosen field. Thank you to Eric, the team, and thank you Dr. Catherine Adoyo for making the documentary riveting and relevant to the often-challenging society we live in today. Great show.... simply a 10!!