Product Details

• Actors: Francesca Bertini, Lyda Borelli, Pina Menichelli
• Directors: Peter Delpeut
• Format: Color, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled
• Language: Dutch, English, Italian
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Zeitgeist Films
• DVD Release Date: March 25, 2008
• Run Time: 70 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• ASIN: B0012IT7AS
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #222,639 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Diva Dolorosa" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A rhapsodic, heart-rendingly scored tone poem about fin-de-siècle Black Romanticism.... Anyone with a weakness for the naked tragedy of frozen cinematic time will plotz and then some." --Michael Atkinson, The Village Voice

Product Description

In this mesmerizing collage of silent Italian melodrama, found-footage filmmaker Peter Delpeut (Lyrical Nitrate) affectionately captures the spirit of the World War One-era opera-cum-cinema diva. In all-but-lost gems such as La donna nuda (1914), and Tigre reale (1916), superstars such as Lyda Borelli and Pina Menichelli portrayed heroines teetering dangerously between defiant indulgence in sexual passion and hysterical remorse at their own cruelties. Delpeut's inventive celebration of Black Romanticism is both striking and heartbreaking in its composition--a beautifully woven narrative of tempted fate and self-torment, elegantly guided by Loek Dikker's original score. Zeitgeist Films is proud to present Delpeut's stunningly experimental work in all its heaving bosomed, luridly tinted glory.


SPECIAL FEATURES
- Historical essay by noted film scholar Angela Dalle Vacche, author of the new book Diva: Defiance and Passion in Early Italian Cinema (University of Texas Press)
- Statement from director Peter Delpeut
- Italian Diva photo gallery

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Poetic Dreamscapes, November 12, 2008

By 

ravennamoon (Naples, Italy) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Diva Dolorosa (DVD)

I initially rented this video, and after viewing it, knew I wanted to
have it as part of my collection of Italian cinema on dvd.
This is silent film at its most romantic, dramatic, and poetic.
At first you might want to giggle at the over-the-top performances,
but as you watch you see the truth at the core of the scenes.
Bits and pieces may seem absurd, and yet it is also the language
of a mirror...your own passions, suffering and impulses, acted out,
on the silver screen...so long ago. It is haunting and beautiful,
and you will never forget it. Highly recommended for those who adore
art, love Italian cinema or silent film, and for all the romantics
out there. Enjoy!