The poet Dante Alighieri (Salvatore Papa) awakes lost in a dark and gloomy wood, and sees the light of salvation at the top of a mountain. He endeavors to ascend to it, but his way is barred by three wild beasts, symbolizing Avarice, Pride and Lust. His muse Beatrice sees his difficulty from Paradise and descends into Limbo and asks the poet Virgil to rescue and guide Dante. Virgil guides Dante through the circles of Inferno to reach salvation in Paradise. During his journey, Dante meets poets and different sinners being punished by their transgressions."L'Inferno" is a must-see view of the poem of Dante Alighieri with the music of Tangerine Dream. One century later, the visual concept of Limbo and Inferno of Gustavo Doré used by directors Francesco Bertolini, Adolfo Padovan and Giuseppe de Liguoro is still impressive, giving the sensation of pictures in movement at an exhibition, specially considering that the cinema technology was in its beginning. The original film was first screened in Naples in the Teatro Mercadante on 10 March 1911. My vote is eight.Title (Brazil): "Inferno"

The sets are crude and the acting is over the top by almost any modern standard -- but, well, it's from 1911. This remains a remarkable film, particularly given its time.It helps to have read Dante's "L'Inferno" before seeing it. Still, these images (derived from Gustav Dore's illustrations) remain powerful; any student of film should be acquainted with this one. There's plenty of nudity, true, but none of it is remotely titillating.But what's up with the garbage from Tangerine Dream (whoever or whatever that is) and the horrible, anachronistic soundtrack that's been plastered onto the movie as the only audio alternative? Turn down the sound: your experience will only be negatively influenced if you listen to it. Try some Liszt or Berlioz instead.

Well well well... This is a spectacle worth seeing. Filmed in 1910 and released early in 1911, it must have had a terrific impact on the viewer. It's full of special effects, flashbacks, monsters, appearances and disappearances, giants, dragons, demons and other hellish apparitions. There's a lot of nudity and agony, smoke and mud. But make no mistake: it's all according to 1911 standards. There still are no close-ups, no proper editing, and no acting to speak of aside from gestures as broad as one's hands are capable of doing. There's also no real story: it's a series of tableaux depicting Dante and Virgil moving through the different circles of Hell. It's all shot in broad daylight of course, in some weird looking mountains that can look quite majestic, but can also be no better than an disused Italian quarry. It's not boring, but it's very unclear what the viewer is supposed to think. There are lengthy title cards in very weird English, summarizing the action to come. Some of the trick photography is among the best that was available at that time (and men like Melies did a fantastic job even ten years before the release of this film); some is 'rags on a stick'-variety. Had there been at least a few close-ups, or anything to make it look more cinematic, I would have been much happier. The picture quality is so-so, it's obviously edited from two or three different prints that can vary quite a lot. It also could have been made more interesting using colour tinting for different hellish locations, such as red for fire and brimstone and blue for the ice lake. The music by Tangerine Dream became annoying very quickly. As long as it is ambiance background, it's OK, but as soon as the lady vocalist bursts into weird pseudo-Dantean songs, it's pure Hell indeed. I was seriously considering turning the sound down, but then I sort of grew used to it. This film might prove to be a bit heavy for those who are not prepared to sit through 1,5 hours of agonizing and slow moving journey that doesn't seem to lead nowhere. Then again, the selection of pre-WW I full length films released on DVD isn't wide enough to dismiss this one. But you need to know your Dante before you delve into this one, otherwise it's a total mishmash. A good friend and a bottle of strong booze would come handy as well.

I have not seen the new issue of this Italian classic with music by Tangerine Dream, although that kind of seemingly inappropriate track makes me cringe just thinking about it. I do look forward to seeing it, however, to note any additional footage that may exist here and for what seems, from advance reports, to be a very decent visual quality of the materials.I used to teach Italian to high school students and for many years I taught Dante's Inferno in translation, often acting out various episodes while donning horns and carrying a pitchfork. It used to go over very well. After finishing the book I would always devote a class to showing a 16mm print I used to own of this silent movie. Its source was the Library of Congress materials. The students, while finding the whole thing quaint and the special effects primitive, watched it with great interest. There were problems with the print. It was very dupey, some episodes were in the incorrect spot, some inter-titles were inane or misleading. The print carried a logo to the effect that it was approved by the Ohio Film Board.The double-perforation print carried no soundtrack. The music I used to use in showing the movie was a CD recording of Franz Liszt's "Dante Symphony." It is about 50 minutes worth of music. I used the Daniel Barenboim recording with the Berlin Philharmonic. It also includes Barenboim playing the Dante Sonata for piano. The beginning of the symphony can be repeated if you run out of music. Surprisingly, and pleasingly, the drama of the symphonic piece, especially the first and second part (Inferno and Purgatorio), worked very well as an accompaniment.I have had a great deal of experience with this film, have seen it hundred of times, and I would certainly recommend that anyone showing or watching this DVD would turn off the sound and play this music instead. Franz Liszt and Dante Alighieri. It works!