Dante, Cinema, and Television (Toronto Italian Studies)

The __Divine Comedy__ of Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) is one of the seminal works of western literature. Its impact on modern culture has been enormous, nourishing a plethora of twentieth century authors from Joyce and Borges to Kenzaburo Oe. Although Dante's influence in the literary sphere is well documented, very little has been written on his equally determining role in the evolution of the visual media unique to our times, namely, cinema and television. __Dante, Cinema, and Television__ corrects this oversight. The essays, from a broad range of disciplines, cover the influence of the __Divine Comedy__ from cinema's silent era on through to the era of sound and the advent of television, as well as its impact on specific directors, actors, and episodes, on national/regional cinema and television, and on genres. They also consider the different modes of appropriation by cinema and television. __Dante, Cinema, and Television__ demonstrates the many subtle ways in which Dante's __Divine Comedy__ has been given 'new life' by cinema and television, and underscores the tremendous extent of Dante's staying power in the modern world.

The Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) is one of the seminal works of western literature. Its impact on modern culture has been enormous, nourishing a plethora of twentieth century authors from Joyce and Borges to Kenzaburo Oe. Although Dante's influence in the literary sphere is well documented, very little has been written on his equally determining role in the evolution of the visual media unique to our times, namely, cinema and television. Dante, Cinema, and Television corrects this oversight.

The essays, from a broad range of disciplines, cover the influence of the Divine Comedy from cinema's silent era on through to the era of sound and the advent of television, as well as its impact on specific directors, actors, and episodes, on national/regional cinema and television, and on genres. They also consider the different modes of appropriation by cinema and television. Dante, Cinema, and Television demonstrates the many subtle ways in which Dante's Divine Comedy has been given 'new life' by cinema and television, and underscores the tremendous extent of Dante's staying power in the modern world.

Contents......Page 6 Acknowledgments......Page 8 Introduction......Page 10 Dante and Hollywood......Page 22 Early Cinema, Dante's Inferno of 1911, and the Origins of Italian Film Culture......Page 40 The Helios-Psiche Dante Trilogy......Page 70 Back to the Future: Dante and the Languages of Post-war Italian Film......Page 93 Beginning to Think about Salò......Page 116 The Off-Screen Landscape: Dante's Ravenna and Antonioni's Red Desert......Page 125 Spencer Williams and Dante: An African-American Filmmaker at the Gates of Hell......Page 148 Television, Translation, and Vulgarization: Reflections on Phillips' and Greenaway's A TV Dante......Page 164 Dopo Tanto Veder: Pasolini's Dante after the Disappearance of the Fireflies......Page 172 'Non Senti Come Tutto Questo Ti Assomiglia?' Fellini's Infernal Circles......Page 185 Dante and Canadian Cinema......Page 195 Dante and Cinema: Film across a Chasm......Page 208 Dante by Heart and Dante Declaimed: The 'Realization' of the Comedy on Italian Radio and Television......Page 232 Notes on Contributors......Page 244 Index of Films......Page 248 Index of Names......Page 254 Dante and Hollywood -- Amilcare A. Iannucci Early cinema, Dante's Inferno of 1911, and the origins of Italian film culture -- John P. Welle The Helios-Psiche Dante trilogy -- Vittoria Colonnese Benni Back to the future: Dante and the languages of post-war Italian film -- Marguerite R. Waller Beginning to think about Sal o -- Gabrielle Lesperance The off-screen landscape: Dante's Ravenna and Antonioni's Red desert -- Victoria Kirkham Spencer Williams and Dante: an African-American filmaker at the Gates of Hell -- Dennis Looney Television, translation, and vulgarization: reflections on Phillips' and Greenaway's A TV Dante -- Andrew Taylor Dopo Tanto Veder: Pasolini's Dante after the disappearance of the fireflies -- Patrick Rumble 'Non senti come tutto questo ti assomiglia?' Fellini's infernal circles -- Guido Fink Dante and Canadian cinema -- John Tulk Dante and cinema: film across a chasm -- Bart Testa Dante by heart and Dante declaimed: the "realization' of the Comedy on Italian radio and television -- Rino Caputo. Dante and Hollywood -- Amilcare A. Iannucci Early cinema, Dante's Inferno of 1911, and the origins of Italian film culture -- John P. Welle The Helios-Psiche Dante trilogy -- Vittoria Colonnese Benni Back to the future: Dante and the languages of post-war Italian film -- Marguerite R. Waller Beginning to think about Salò -- Gabrielle Lesperance The off-screen landscape: Dante's Ravenna and Antonioni's Red desert -- Victoria Kirkham Spencer Williams and Dante: an African-American filmaker at the Gates of Hell -- Dennis Looney Television, translation, and vulgarization: reflections on Phillips' and Greenaway's A TV Dante -- Andrew Taylor Dopo Tanto Veder: Pasolini's Dante after the disappearance of the fireflies -- Patrick Rumble 'Non senti come tutto questo ti assomiglia?' Fellini's infernal circles -- Guido Fink Dante and Canadian cinema -- John Tulk Dante and cinema: film across a chasm -- Bart Testa Dante by heart and Dante declaimed: the "realization' of the Comedy on Italian radio and television -- Rino Caputo. "Although Dante's influence in the literary sphere is well documented, little has been written on his role in the evolution of the visual media unique to our times, namely cinema and television. Dante, Cinema, and Television corrects this oversight." "The essays in this volume, written by scholars from a broad range of disciplines, examine the impact of the Divine Comedy on film and television, focusing on specific directors, writers, producers, and actors, from cinema's silent era to the present. The essays also consider individual productions and the different modes of appropriation used in cinema and television. Dante Cinema, and Television demonstrates the many ways, both subtle and bold, in which Dante's Divine Comedy has been given new life by cinema and television, and underscores Dante's vast legacy to modern culture."--Résumé de l'éditeur "Although Dante's influence in the literary sphere is well documented, little has been written on his role in the evolution of the visual media unique to our times, namely cinema and television. Dante, Cinema, and Television corrects this oversight." "The essays in this volume, written by scholars from a broad range of disciplines, examine the impact of the Divine Comedy on film and television, focusing on specific directors, writers, producers, and actors, from cinema's silent era to the present. The essays also consider individual productions and the different modes of appropriation used in cinema and television. Dante Cinema, and Television demonstrates the many ways, both subtle and bold, in which Dante's Divine Comedy has been given new life by cinema and television, and underscores Dante's vast legacy to modern culture."--BOOK JACKET.