Quo Vadis (1913 film)

Quo Vadis
Quo Vadis
	Film poster
Directed by	Enrico Guazzoni
Written by	Enrico Guazzoni
Based on	Quo Vadis; by Henryk Sienkiewicz
Starring	Amleto Novelli; Gustavo Serena; Carlo Cattaneo; Amelia Cattaneo; Lea Giunchi; Bruto Castellani; Augusto Mastripietri; Cesare Moltini; Olga Brandini; Ignazio Lupi; Giovanni Gizzi; Lia Orlandini; Matilde Guillaume; Ida Carloni Talli
Cinematography	Eugenio Bava; Alessandro Bona
Production; company	Cines
Distributed by	George Kleine (U.S.)
Release date	March 1913;
Running time	120 minutes
Country	Italy
Language	Silent

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,^[3] 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.^[4]^[6]

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.

The film

^ Patrick Lucanio (1994). With fire and sword: Italian spectacles on American screens, 1958–1968. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810828162.
^ Riccardo Redi (2009). La Cines: storia di una casa di produzione italian. Persiani Editore, 2009. ISBN 9788896013045.
^ Hall, Sheldon; Neale, Steve (2010). Epics, Spectacles and Blockbusters: A Hollywood History. Wayne State University Press. p. 31. ISBN 978-0-8143-3008-1.
^ "Berlin crazy on film shows". New York Times. (Free PDF). 23 March 1913. p. 4c?.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
^ Lichtbild-Bühne, Nr. 26, 16 May 1914 (in German) at filmportal.de
^ This practice seems to have begun with The Miracle, the world's first full-colour feature-length film which opened in London in December 1912 and in New York in April 1913. The US rights were owned by Al. Woods, an international theatre impresario who was also involved in the building of the Nollendorf Theatre in Berlin. The Miracle, with similar crowds of live costumed actors in the auditorium, opened in another Berlin cinema originally leased by Woods, the Ufa-Palast am Zoo, in May 1914.^[5]

[QV-1] Patrick Lucanio (1994). With fire and sword: Italian spectacles on American screens, 1958–1968. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810828162.

[QV2-2] Riccardo Redi (2009). La Cines: storia di una casa di produzione italian. Persiani Editore, 2009. ISBN 9788896013045.

[3] Hall, Sheldon; Neale, Steve (2010). Epics, Spectacles and Blockbusters: A Hollywood History. Wayne State University Press. p. 31. ISBN 978-0-8143-3008-1.

[NYT_1913_03_23-4] "Berlin crazy on film shows". New York Times. (Free PDF). 23 March 1913. p. 4c?.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: others (link)

[Lichtbild_16-May-1916-5] Lichtbild-Bühne, Nr. 26, 16 May 1914 (in German) at filmportal.de

[6] This practice seems to have begun with The Miracle, the world's first full-colour feature-length film which opened in London in December 1912 and in New York in April 1913. The US rights were owned by Al. Woods, an international theatre impresario who was also involved in the building of the Nollendorf Theatre in Berlin. The Miracle, with similar crowds of live costumed actors in the auditorium, opened in another Berlin cinema originally leased by Woods, the Ufa-Palast am Zoo, in May 1914.^[5]

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