Giuseppe de Liguoro: A Pioneer of Early Italian Cinema

Giuseppe de Liguoro
Credit: Museo Nazionale del Cinema – Torino

Born in Naples on January 10, 1869, Giuseppe de Liguoro is credited with creating historical, epic films that reached beyond the borders of his country.

Among the iconic silent films he directed during the second decade of the 1900s are "L'Inferno" and "L'Odissea" (Homer's Odyssey), which were both made in 1911.

"L'inferno" was roughly adapted from the first part of Dante Alighieri's "Divine Comedy" and was Italy's first completed feature film. The project took over three years to make and was directed by de Liguoro, Adolfo Padovan and Francesco Bertolini.

The gruesome story, which in the original poem, begins on the night before Good Friday in 1300, is set in the depths of Hell as Dante is guided through the "Nine Circles" by the poet Virgil. During their journey, they come in contact with a whole host of characters from the three-headed Cerberus to the flying serpent Geryon. They witness the devil savaging eating people, harpies eating the bodies of those who committed suicide, a man forced to carry his own severed head and people covered in lava. As limited as the special effects crews of that time may have been, the visuals are quite stunning and give testament to their ingenuity.

The film premiered in Naples at the Teatro Mercadante on March 10, 1911. It was deemed an international success, grossing more than $2 million in the United States.

This year marks 700 years since the death of Alighieri. In remembrance, the Uffizi Galleries in Florence has made 88 images available on its website. The very first image is from Inferno. Click here to take a virtual tour.

Check out the film below accompanied by a modern soundtrack...

Directed by the same three filmmakers, "L'Odissea" was produced for the world's fair of Torino to mark the 50th anniversary of the Unification of Italy. It premiered in the United States the following year and was declared to have begun "a new epoch in the history of the motion picture as a factory of education" by The Moving Picture World, a trade journal for the American film industry.

Check out the film below and enjoy the stunning images and rich colors...

The legacy of de Liguoro was carried on by his children. His son Eugenio was a director who also acted occasionally in his father's films. His other son Wladimiro de Liguoro was also an actor and director, and married to actress Rina De Liguoro, who appeared in Luchino Visconti's "Il Gattopardo."

Giuseppe de Liguoro passed away in Rome on March 19, 1944 at the age of 75. He will forever be remembered as one of the early pioneers of Italian cinema.

Comments

Federico Fellini: A Look into the Life and Career of an Icon

A Fellini family portrait “The term became a common word to describe something on the surface you can say is bizarre or strange, but actually is really like a painter working on a film,” said Martin Scorsese when asked to define “Felliniesque,” an adjective inspired by one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. The oldest of three children, Federico Fellini was born in the seaside town of Rimini in 1920. His father was a traveling salesman, so his mother was left to do the bulk of raising the children. One can argue that Fellini was born for his destiny. “You could tell that even as a child, he was different and unique. He was very intelligent, well above average. He was always the one to organize things, direct the others, make up games. He could control the other kids with just a look, said Fellini’s sister, Maddalena, in an interview with journalist Gideon Bachmann. Not only was Fellini directing the children, but he was also putting on shows and charging ...

The Legend of Alberto Sordi - Rome's Eternal Son

′′They will always judge you, whether you behave well or if you behave badly. So screw it and live as you want but above all don't listen to anyone.′′ - Alberto Sordi By giving his fellow Italians something to laugh about during tumultuous times, he emerged as his generation’s King of Comedy. One of Italy’s best-loved personalities, Alberto Sordi played a pivotal role in Italian cinema from the end of World War II to the postwar economic boom of the 1950s. During those tumultuous years, he gave his countrymen a hearty laugh when they might have otherwise cried. Former Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi perhaps said it best: “Alberto Sordi interpreted the feelings of Italians, especially in their most difficult and tough moments.” Born in the Trastevere neighborhood of Rome in 1920, Sordi grew up in a creative household. His mother was an elementary school teacher and his father, a professional musician for the Rome Opera House. A young Sordi joined the children’s choir o...

Martin Scorsese's Voyage to Italy

Martin Scorsese’s deeply personal documentary “My Voyage to Italy” is an exploration of Italian cinema and the films that shaped him as a director and storyteller. Released in 1999, the documentary is both a history lesson on Italian cinema and an autobiography of Scorsese’s childhood and artistic influences. Using family movies and actual footage, Scorsese begins by explaining how important movies were during his childhood in New York’s Little Italy. Because he suffered from asthma, he could not play outside often, so he spent much of his time watching films with his family. Italian cinema became a way for him to connect with his heritage and understand the lives, emotions, and struggles of not only Italian people but also his close relatives. He notes that these films were different from Hollywood movies because they felt more realistic and emotional. A large part of the documentary focuses on the Italian Neorealism film movement that emerged in the wake of World War II. The fil...

Alessandro Gassmann: Born to Act

Alessandro Gassmannin his directorial debut "Razzabastarda" Alessandro Gassmann is the son of the iconic Italian actor/director Vittorio Gassman and French actress Juliette Mayniel. He was born in 1965 and grew up around cinema royalty. He made his cinema debut in 1982 at the age of 17 in his father's autobiographical film, "Di padre in figlio." He went on to study his craft under his father's direction at the Theatre Workshop of Florence. Vittorio Gassman was very active in theater and seemed just as comfortable on stage as he did in front of the camera. Known for his powerful interpretations of Dante's "Inferno" and "Paradiso," it is no surprise that he nurtured his son's acting aspirations on stage before he launched his career in television and film. One of Gassmann's strong qualities, which he undoubtedly inherited from his father is his incredible range and ease in going from genre to genre. He can play ...

Iconic scenes from 'Totò, Peppino e la malafemmina' highlight Italy's North-South divide

If you’re in the mood for a quintessential old-school Italian comedy, look no further than “Totò, Peppino e la malafemmina.” Directed in the mid-1950s by Camillo Mastrocinque, the film has stood the test of time. Starring two of Italy’s most beloved comic actors, Totò (Antonio De Curtis) and Peppino De Filippo, it is widely regarded as one of the country’s most iconic comedies, showcasing mid-century Neapolitan humor. The film also features a young Nino Manfredi at the beginning of his prolific six-decade career. “Totò, Peppino e la malafemmina” is the story of two simple, old-fashioned brothers from Naples, Antonio and Peppino Caponi (Totò and De Filippo respectively), who embark on a trip up north to check on their young nephew Gianni. Gianni has moved to Milan and fallen for a seductive nightclub dancer named Marisa (Maria Luisa Mangini, aka Dorian Gray), whom they refer to as a “malafemmina,” meaning a “bad woman” or femme fatale. Believing she is corrupting him, Totò and Peppino ...

Italian Cinema Today

Search This Blog