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Durham E-Theses MARTYRS ON THE SILVER SCREEN: EARLY CHURCH MARTYRDOM IN ITALIAN SILENT CINEMA (1898-1930) NORTH, JOSEPH,ALBERT How to cite: NORTH, JOSEPH,ALBERT (2016) MARTYRS ON THE SILVER SCREEN: EARLY CHURCH MARTYRDOM IN ITALIAN SILENT CINEMA (1898-1930), Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/11728/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 ii MARTYRS ON THE SILVER SCREEN: EARLY CHURCH MARTYRDOM IN ITALIAN SILENT CINEMA (1898-1930) JOSEPH ALBERT NORTH Doctoral Thesis Italian department, School of Modern Languages and Cultures Durham University 2015 iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract i Title Page ii Table of Contents ii List of Abbreviations v List of Images vi Copyright xi Note on Referencing xii Acknowledgements xiii Dedication xiv Introduction 1 A Lost World 1 Corpus and Method 4 Selection and Structure 10 Religion in Italian Silent Cinema 15 Italian silent cinema and religious themes 17 Religion and the Cinema of Attractions (1895-1907) 24 The Italian religious one-reeler (1908-1912) 30 The religious feature film (1913-1930) 37 Conclusion 45 Early Church Martyrdom, Intertexts and Cinema 49 Setting the scene: mise-en-scène and the historical film 52 Martyrs of literature 59 Within touching distance: martyrdom and devotional culture 67 Conclusion 75 Rodolfo Kanzler: Between Archaeology, the Magic Lantern and Cinema 79 Kanzler’s Magic Latern Talks (1898-1907) 81 Kanzler’s catacomb magic: analysing lecture style 88 Baron Kanzler, Film Pioneer? 97 Conclusion 102 The Short Martyrdoms (1908-1911) 105 Gli ultimi giorni di Pompei (1908) and Nerone (1909) 106 San Paolo dramma biblico (1910) 112 Love and martyrdom: Dall’amore al martirio (1910) and Santa Cecilia (1911) 119 The martyrdoms of Sebastian (1911) 126 iv Conclusion 131 Quo Vadis and the Circus of Suffering 133 Success of failure? 135 Christianity and the narrative 138 Spectacle and suffering 146 The orgy and the erotic spectacular 149 The arena and the human torches 152 Conclusion 161 Legends of martyrdom, 1913-1918 166 In hoc signo vinces: Constantine and martyrdom 169 The Legend of Saint Barbara 176 Fabulous Fabiola 182 Conclusion 194 Martyrdom, 1923-1930 195 Messalina and the quasi-martyrs 196 The Last Days of Pompeii: Return of the Christians 205 Christian Triumph 209 Conclusion 218 Conclusion 221 The research journey 222 Concluding thoughts 229 Areas for future research 232 Illustrations 235 Bibliography 278 Filmography 317 Appendix One: Filmography of Italian Religious Films (1900-1931) 323 Appendix Two: Italian silent films of Early Church martyrdom and their 329 availability for this study Appendix Three: Publicity leaflet for Trionfo Cristiano (1930) 330 v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AC Author’s collection. AIRSC Associazione Italiana per le Ricerche di Storia del Cinema ASV Archivio Segreto Vaticano, Vatican City BFI British Film Institute, London CAS Commissione di Archaeologia Sacra. CCB Cineteca Del Comune di Bologna, Bologna CSC Centro Sperimentale del Cinema- Cineteca Nazionale, Rome EYE Eye Film Institute, Amsterdam FRI Cineteca del Friuli, Gemona. ICR Italian Interior Ministry censorship record (Visto di censura). MNC Museo Nazionale Del Cinema, Turin. NYCR New York State Censorship Record UCI Unione Cinematografica Italiana. A company which purchased many Italian studios in the 1920s, before going bankrupt. vi LIST OF IMAGES Unless stated, all of the images listed below are from my own collection of photographs and postcards, or public domain films. Fig Image information. Page 2.1 Quo Vadis? 4e Acte-Scéne des Martyrs de la Cirque. J. Geiser, photo Alger. 235 Paris, c.1912. 2.2 Théâtre de la Passion, 1913- Fabiola. Le Banquet chez Fabius. Imp. 236 [unreadable name] Nancy. 3.1 Scala d’ingresso di Priscilla con figure. “La Vita Cristiana” postcards. Rome: 237 Associazione “Amici delle Catacombe”, c.1930. 3.2 Galleria di Priscilla con fossore. LVC postcards: c.1930. 237 3.3 Vestizione di una vergine sacra (Cimitero Ostiano). LVC postcards: c.1930. 238 3.4 Scena animata della Messa (Cimitero di San Callisto). LVC postcards: c.1930. 238 3.5 Deposizione in una cripta (Domitilla). LVC postcards: c.1930. 239 3.6 Il poeta Prudenzio. LVC postcards: c.1930. 239 3.7 Pancrazio istruito da Lucina. LVC postcards: c.1930. 240 3.8 La celebrazione del Matrimonio nelle Catacombe. LVC postcards: c.1930. 240 3.9 Il convegno per l’adunanza liturgica nelle case private al I. secolo. LVC 241 postcards: c.1930. 3.10 La preparazione alla Fractio panis nelle case private. LVC postcards: c.1930. 241 3.11 La celebrazione eucaristica nelle case private. LVC postcards: c.1930. 242 3.12 Flower merchants at Pompeii. In De Courten, 1903. 242 vii 3.13 Sacrifices aux Dieux Lates, Pompéi, maison des Vettii. In De Courten, 1903. 243 3.14 Le fossoyeur conduisant la jene mère sur la tombe de son enfant. In De 243 Courten, 1903. 4.1 Decoroso Bonifanti. Nerone (1909) -Watercolour for Nero’s dream sequence. 244 Museo Nazionale del Cinema (MNC), Turin. Catalogue code: M05831/011. 4.2 Decoroso Bonifanti. Nerone (1909) -Watercolour of an arena, painted by 244 Decoroso Bonifanti. MNC, Turin. M05831/013. 4.3 Gli ultimi giorni di Pompei (1908). The conclusion of the gladiator fight. 245 4.4 Gli ultimi giorni di Pompei (1908). Vesuvius erupts and Glaucus flees the 245 arena. 4.5 Nydia’s body floating in the French print of Gli ultimi giorni di Pompei (1908) 246 4.6 Nerone (1909). Nero recoils in front of a vision of Christians in the arena. 246 4.7 Nerone (1909). Nero is haunted by visions of the human torches. 247 4.8 Nerone (1909). The second dream sequence from an original publicity still, 247 printed by Brunner & Co. for the distributors Raleigh & Robert. MNC, Turin. F11447/013. 4.9 John William Waterhouse. The Remorse of the Emperor Nero after the 248 Murder of his Mother. 1878, oil on canvas. Wikimedia. 4.10 The tower at the Circus of Maxentius, used as an entrance to the Catacombs in 248 San Paolo dramma biblico (1910). Wikimedia. 4.11 The walls at the Circus of Maxentius, with the holes used as a Catacomb exit in 249 San Paolo dramma biblico (1910). Wikimedia. 4.12 Screenshot from Agrippina (1911). 249 4.13 Screenshot from Agrippina (1911). 250 4.14 A comparison of furniture in Quo Vadis (1913). 250 viii 4.15 A possible inspiration for Cines’ famous table in the Pio Clementino Museum, 251 Vatican City. 4.16 A comparison of furniture in Quo Vadis (1913). 251 4.17 A selection of images from San Sebastiano (1911, Milano). 252 5.1 Aulus’ family in the richly-decoraated Catacombs of Quo Vadis (1925). 253 5.2 Chilo and Vinicius in the Catacombs of Quo Vadis (1913). 253 5.3 A selection of images. The outraged Roman crowd cheer on the mother 254 Pomponia in Quo Vadis (1925). 5.4 A lesbian kiss in Quo Vadis (1925). 254 5.5 The woman fed to the lampreys at the start of Quo Vadis (1925). 255 5.6 A reveller strips a dancer at the orgy in Quo Vadis (1925). 255 5.7 The camera’s identification with the voyeuristic Nero is highlighted in this 256 point-of-view shot from Quo Vadis (1925). 5.8 The gory close-ups of the human torches in Quo Vadis (1925) on the top row, 256 compared with the more distant perspectives chosen in Quo Vadis (1913). 5.9 Jan Styka’s Saint Peter preaching the Gospel in the Catacombs (1902) 257 [Wikimedia], and a scene from Quo Vadis (1913). 5.10 Henryk Siemiradzki’s Nero’s Torches (1876) [Wikimedia] and the procession 257 to view the human torches from Quo Vadis (1913). 5.11 Detail from Henryk Siemiradzki’s Christian Dirce (1897) [Wikimedia], and 258 Lygia tied to the bull in Quo Vadis (1925). 5.12 One of the views of Styka’s panorama published in La Revue Illustrée (Vol. 30 258 No. 13 1900: 40) and (Right) A view from Gloria Film’s Nerone e Agrippina (1914), published in Il Maggese Cinematografico (Year 2 No. 5: 18) and kindly provided by the Museo Nazionale del Cinema, Turin. ix 5.13 Postcard of the Great Fire of Rome, by Jan Styka (date unknown), and part of 259 the Great Fire scene in Quo Vadis (1913). 5.14 Postcard of Eunice embracing Petronius’ statue, by Jan Styka (date unknown), 259 and scenes from Quo Vadis (1924). 5.15 Postcard of The End of the Show in Nero’s Circus (1912) and a scene from 259 Quo Vadis (1913). 6.1 An advertisement for Fabiola, published in Film, Year 4 No. 37 (12th 260 December 1917), 5. MNC, Turin. A propaganda postcard by Tito Corbella, depicting Edith Cavell. 6.2 The martyrdoms of Felix, Nabor and Victor in In hoc signo vinces (1913). 261 6.3 A martyr’s funeral in In hoc signo vinces. 262 6.4 I ludi gladiatori.