L'Enfer

L'Inferno was the first feature film released in Italy, beginning that country's long career of storied cinema. An adaptation of the famous Inferno by Dante Alighieri, L'Inferno is not a horror film in the traditional sense. The images of Hell are appropriately disturbing, as are it's inhabitants. The scenes of death and torture are shocking for the time. And to top it all off the old footage (now 108 years old) only adds to the creepy atmosphere. Anyone interested in old horror movies has to see this one.

This was made in 1911! Give me a break! When one sees what was done with primitive assets available to this filmmaker, this is an astounding effort. I did not get in on the Tangerine Dream soundtrack. I watched it cold, without music. It was wonderful. And that is from someone who has absolutely no literal belief in any of this fairy tale. The director frames each circle wonderfully, barely repeating himself and giving us a view of the Danta/Dore woodcuts in cinematic terms. One could sit her and criticize the religious bigotry that brings about this portrayal of God's wrath and all that. There are some pretty nasty jabs at some remarkable people. Nevertheless, the film never strays far from what the great Italian poet intended. I was annoyed at Dante at times tormenting the already tormented souls. Lets face it. These guys are going to be here a long time. They don't need some jackass visitor pulling out their hair or reprimanding them. But that's neither here nor there. I've always wanted to see this film and it fills in a gap in my cinematic experience.

L'Inferno (1911)

*** (out of 4)

Historically important film as it stands as the first feature from Italy as well as the first film to show full frontal nudity. Dante travels to Hell where he gets to see what really goes on down there. The special effects and sets in this thing are downright beautiful and quite a sight to behold, which is the real reason to check this thing out. The pits of Hell look incredibly good and compared to what was being done in America at the time there's no question why this thing would go over well in this country. The only downside to the actual film is that it's visually rather bland. What Griffith was doing in America through editing would have certainly improved this film. Another gripe is that the DVD producer's added an electronic music score, which also features lyrics from some woman singer, which sound horrid and really doesn't add anything to the film. After the first few minutes I turned the soundtrack off and watched the film without any music. Hopefully a different version, with a new score, will be released someday.

A strange beast this one; apparently the first ever Italian feature film, based on Dante (with some unacknowledged visual indebtedness to Gustav Dore) L'inferno has lately resurfaced on DVD complete with a new soundtrack, and by Tangerine Dream no less. A great film, full of early fantastical touches, L'inferno still makes for reasonably enthralling viewing, especially as the shooting style of the time - slow moving tableaux, with no close ups - is eminently suited to Dante's epic narrative based around a grand tour of horror. Some of the many special effects are reminiscent of Melies' imagination (if far less studio bound than the work of the French master), as Dante and his guide, the poet Virgil, progress through the various circles of Hell, viewing increasingly horrendous torments on display. Silent film buffs will find a chance to acquire this version, a composite, taken from a couple of archives hard to miss. But the downside is the condition of the print: understandably a bit ragged given its age, surely it could still have been digitally restored and cleaned up more than this? The film is also presented conservatively in black and white, where most silent films, especially those of this importance, would have had a degree of tinting at the time, a process which would have considerably enhanced this work. There is also the music, which is sometimes a distraction, sometimes just a pleasant undercurrent, but which never rises to the required heights of inspiration. One is reminded of the old Giorgio Moroeder version of Lang's Metropolis which, with all faults, at least offered a viable and somewhat invigorated version of a great classic. By comparison the less thoughtfully done L'inferno to some extent represents a lost opportunity, but one still worth seeing, as it is probably the only version that will be available for some time. And one can always turn the sound down.

When did this film first make its appearance in America? The notes in the DVD say that the film was not widely released until after the First World War, but I've found the following quote in "The Warner Bros. Story" by Clive Hirschhorn, telling what the Warner brothers did after Edison's infamous Trust had "persuaded" them to sell their film exchange business, which would have been in 1911 or 1912, "It was only a matter of months, however, before Sam Warner returned from a trip to New York having bought the rights for a five-reeler called Dante's Inferno based on the famous poem. Sam's idea was to take the film on the road, together with a narrator, who, while the movie unspooled, would read extracts from the original poem. The idea worked. The film opened in Hartford, Connecticut, and, according to Jack Warner, you could hear the cash registers ringing all the way to Ohio. The tour netted them $1,500 which Sam and Jack blew on a crap game in New York." The 2004 DVD release actually follows in Sam's footsteps by having some of the words sung, with music by Tangerine Dream. The music creates a dreamlike atmosphere which helps to overcome the creaky aspects of the film. I feel that an over-the-top, heavily dramatic orchestral soundtrack wouldn't work, as the creakiness would undermine the music. The credits at the start and end of the film were in keeping with those I've seen on other silent movie DVD's, except that they put some fuzzy stills behind them, so I found myself wondering if the entire movie was going to be that indistinct. The film turned out to be in pretty good condition overall, but it did vary a bit, as you'd expect in a film this old. This very important movie is easily worthwhile for any fan of silent film, and it is interesting enough to show to others as well, with the modern soundtrack providing a cushion of familiarity for those who aren't used to silent film. Highly recommended!