L'Inferno by Milano Films was the first full cinematic adaptation of a canticle from Dante's Divine Comedy and the first true blockbuster of Italian cinema. A monumental undertaking, it combined philological rigour with spectacular effects, legitimising cinema both as an art form and as a vehicle for popularising high culture.

The fullness of its light and colour envelops the audience in the horrid and wondrous vision of figurations inspired by Gustave Doré but revisited by a cruel Méliès: desolate wastelands, sudden flashes, crawling damned souls, decapitated bodies, bizarre creatures and monstrous metamorphoses. As Henri Langlois wrote once, the plastic beauty of L'Inferno already heralded the fantasy of the great Swedish and German masterpieces that were to follow.

The screening will feature an introduction by film critic and programmer Roberto Oggiano and a live soundtrack composed and performed by sound artist Lorenzo Prati.

Doors open 6:30pm, screening starts 7pm.

Tickets £7

Contact the host of L'Inferno (1911) with live score

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