And now for something completely different as Monty Python might say. This film was the first full-length Italian feature and had not been seen for 80 years before its 2004 restoration. No original copy survived so this version was pieced together from film stock stored in the Library of Congress and the British Film Institute to achieve something approximating the original. Since the sources are English-speaking the intertitles were also in English which certainly suited me.
And how was it? Primitive in part but absolutely riveting as one joined Dante and Virgil on their journey through the circles of hell. The effects were charming and imaginative and to the CGI-jaded eye very refreshing.
My only quibble was the new score by Tangerine Dream. One doesn't know what the original score (if there was one) was like but I'm sure it didn't include high-voiced female vocals. I'm fussy about my silent film music and I think this is a classic case of an instance where it would be better to mute the sound and to select something more appropriate to play in the background.
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