“The following video essay takes a look at three studio films directed by the genius genre Joe Dante. While Dante’s early films emerged out of the energetic “get it done” approach of Roger Corman, his later experiences with studios were less than straightforward. The essay takes a look at the hybrid live-action animated feature Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003), the sci-fi coming-of-age flick Explorers (1985), and the marvelously chaotic blank check that is Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990). In the essay, each segment parallels the three parts of Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy (Inferno, Purgatory, and Paradise, respectively). The result is a much more measured portrait of studio relations, from the hellish to the divine.” [. . .] –Meg Shields, Film School Rejects, August 13, 2021 (retrieved March 30, 2022)
Original Sin – The Seven Sins Short Film, dir. Amy Tinkham (2021)
“Original Sin is a modern-day love story about a broken-hearted heroine and her journey through the seven sins and the quest towards the virtue of Hope. The music of the legendary global rock band INXS seamlessly accompanies the film, and ultimately, the young heroine finds true love while the world heals with her.
“The film is loosely based on and inspired by celebrated Italian writer Dante Alighieri’s Inferno and the spiritual journey through the Seven Sins of Purgatory — pride, envy, wrath, sloth, greed, gluttony, and lust. The Original Sin short film reimagines Dante’s tale through the eyes of Jane, a 21st-century heroine isolated during the recent pandemic, who continues to search for love and the means to validate her soul.” [. . .] –UMe, Cision PR Newswire, June 28, 2021 (retrieved January 6, 2022)
Watch a trailer (which includes direct quotes from the first canto of Inferno) for Original Sin here.
Listen to the short film’s Dante-inspired soundtrack here.
Paolo & Francesca paintings by Derek Overfield (2020)
“Immortalized by Dante’s Inferno and Rodin’s, The Kiss, the historical couple of Paolo and Francesca have moved audiences for over 700 years. The young couple fell in love while reading the romance of Lancelot and Guinevere, but their affair was cut short in tragedy. This collection contains 3 paintings, the first of the couple embracing. The second and third capture a moment – perhaps before their embrace, perhaps following their discovery. Twelve preparatory drawings in charcoal also accompany the painting of the embracing couple.” –from the portfolio of Derek Overfield
For more information about Derek Overfield and their work, view their portfolio here.
