100 years ago the first screening of Christus, one of the silent film masterpieces

100 years ago the first screening of Christus, one of the silent film masterpieces

It was on November 8, 1916, at the height of World War I, when Christus by Julius Antamoro was screened for the first time the public at the Teatro Augusteo in Rome. It was a triumph. She also attended the queen Elena, wife of King Vittorio Emanuele III. Also representatives of the Government, ambassadors of various countries and cultural personalities.

The success was not limited to national borders, but expanded to the whole world. In France it was projected for a year in a row. In 1917, through Switzerland, the Vatican managed to send the film to Germany. It was also screened in the United States and South America.

Film

It is the first film that fully retraces the life of Jesus, from the Annunciation of angel Gabriel to the ascension into heaven. It lasts 90 minutes; about 2279 meters of film.

Taken from the iconographic poem by Fausto Salvatori, disciple of Gabriele D'Annunzio , written specifically for the film on the director's solicitation.

The film is divided into three acts called "Mysteries": the Annunciation and the Nativity, Life and Works, Death and Resurrection. The first recounts the birth and infancy of Jesus until the flight into Egypt. The second recounts the public life of Jesus up to the triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The third is divided into three parts: the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus.

Many shots are inspired by works of important artists: Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael, Mantegna.

The screenplay is of the same Antamoro and Ignazio Lupi, the captions are Maurice V. Samuel, music by Don Giocondo Fino and photography by Renato Cartoni.

Actors

Jesus Christ is played by Alberto Pasquali, stage actor in his feature film debut. Pasquali played often religious roles, both in the theater is to the movies. He re-interpretedJesus Christ  in the film Redemption (1919) and The Twice Born Woman (1921), the latter shot in America. It was also interpreter of St. Francis of Assisi in the 1927 film Brother Francis.

The other performers are Leda Gys, a note of Italian silent film actress (she played about 80 films), in the Madonna shoes, the popular Amleto Novelli (Pontius Pilate), Augusto Mastripietri (Judas Iscariot), Amalia Cattaneo (Mary Magdalene).

Production and location

The production of the film is a piece of the history of Italian cinema.

It is the first film shot entirely abroad, in Egypt. Substantial resources are committed for production: at least 2,000 extras, scenic reconstructions of quality, elementary special effects but that were news for the cinema at the time.

A series of scenes, which had deteriorated during transporting in Italy, were filmed again.

Because Antamoro was engaged in other productions, or more likely because of disagreements between him and the production company, the new scenes were directed by director Enrico Guazzoni.

Many of the remade scenes were filmed in the town of Cori, in the province of Latina.

Of the film, after the great success, they sank into oblivion in the late twenties.

It was then restored in 2000 by the Municipal Cineteca di Bologna thanks to Goffredo Lombardo, director of Titanus and son of Leda Gys, which in the original film plays Marie.

In the restored movie is completely new the musical accompaniment, composed by Monsignor Marco Frisina. The original, by the Master Don Giocondo Fino, went in fact hopelessly lost.

The restored film was screened at the 57th edition of the International Film Festival of Venice obtaining again an extraordinary and warm response of the audience.