Tag Archives: floral symbolism

Lina Cavalieri in Sposa nella morte! | The Shadow of Her Past (IT 1915)

Posted on 2 March 2017 by silentsplease

Known as “the most beautiful woman in the world”, opera singer Lina Cavalieri starred opposite Caruso, was fêted by D’Annunzio, and was painted by Boldini. She began her career singing in the café-chantants of Rome, Naples, and Paris; rising to … Continue reading →

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Diva December! Lyda Borelli in Malombra (1917)

Posted on 3 December 2015 by silentsplease

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to a very important blogging event: Diva December! This is the month that I devote to coverage of the Italian divas and their films. If you are wondering: “who?”, I have previously published the introductory … Continue reading →

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Hesperia! The diva as star attraction in Emilio Ghione’s Anime Buie (IT 1916)

Posted on 13 July 2015 by silentsplease

Today marks the 99th anniversary of the première of Anime Buie | Dark Souls, fourth in a series of films featuring the character Za La Mort, an honourable French apache (street criminal gang member) and his adventures in the criminal underworld and beyond. The character … Continue reading →

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Feminine threat! Menichelli in La moglie di Claudio | The Wife of Claudius (IT 1918)

Posted on 25 March 2015 by silentsplease

In 1918, Itala-Film released a film adaptation of Alexandre Dumas fils’ La Femme de Claude (1873), a play which updated the Messalina myth to 19th century France. The wife of Claudius, the legendary monstrous feminine – just what kind of woman is she, here in 1910s … Continue reading →

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Death, love, and beauty: Lyda Borelli in Rapsodia Satanica (IT 1917)

Posted on 13 December 2014 by silentsplease

Lyda Borelli is the star of this update of the Faust legend. La diva Lyda plays Contessa Alba d’Oltrevita, who at the beginning of the picture is an elderly woman, looking on jealously at the youthful beauty that surrounds her. … Continue reading →

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Грёзы | Daydreams (RU 1915)

Posted on 14 September 2014 by silentsplease

Daydreams is a story about love, grief, and the blindness that can result from these states. As the story opens, Sergei Nedelin (Aleksandr Vyrubov) is mourning his wife Elena, whom he had loved passionately. Out walking one day, he sees a … Continue reading →

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The flowers of romance? Хризантемы | Chrysanthemums (RU 1914)

Posted on 4 August 2014 by silentsplease

Today it’s back to pre-revolutionary Russia, where indeed I’ve been spending a lot of my reading + watching time lately. Chrysanthemums (translit. Khrizantemy; 1914) is the story of Vera Alekseevna Nevolina, played by the radiant Vera Karalli in her first film role (her … Continue reading →

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