Quo Vadis (1913)

Original title

Quo Vadis?

Directed by

Enrico Guazzoni

Genre

drama film, silent film, sword-and-sandal film, historical film

Country

Kingdom of Italy

Runtime

2h

Rating

5.7 of 10 from 22 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

This is a silent Italian epic set in ancient Rome. It follows a Roman commander who falls in love with a Christian woman during the reign of Emperor Nero.

epicgrandiosespectacularstatelyhistoricalsolemndramaticimpressive

What happens

Quo Vadis is an Italian film directed by Enrico Guazzoni for Cines in 1913, based on the 1896 novel of the same name written by Henryk Sienkiewicz. It was one of the first blockbusters in the history of cinema, with 5,000 extras, lavish sets, and a lengthy running time of two hours, setting the standard for "superspectacles" for decades to come. A worldwide success, it premiered in Germany at the opening night of the Ufa-Pavillon am Nollendorfplatz (Berlin's first purpose-built, free-standing cinema), on 19 March 1913. In an unusual departure from normal cinematic practice, the crowd scenes were reinforced with "special mobs" of live costumed actors in the auditorium. Quo Vadis was the first film to be projected in the Astor Theatre, a first-class theater on Broadway, where it was screened for nine months from April to December 1913. The film's first screening in London was for King George V, in the Royal Albert Hall, who complimented the performers. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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• Quo Vadis (1924)
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