Dante Today

Citings & Sightings of Dante's Works in Contemporary Culture

Sylvain Reynard, Gabriel’s Inferno (2012)

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“Enigmatic and sexy, Professor Gabriel Emerson is a well-respected Dante specialist by day, but by night he devotes himself to an uninhibited life of pleasure. He uses his notorious good looks and sophisticated charm to gratify his every whim, but is secretly tortured by his dark past and consumed by the profound belief that he is beyond all hope of redemption.

“When the sweet and innocent Julia Mitchell enrolls as his graduate student, his attraction and mysterious connection to her not only jeopardizes his career, but sends him on a journey in which his past and his present collide.

“An intriguing and sinful exploration of seduction, forbidden love, and redemption, Gabriel’s Inferno is a captivating and wildly passionate tale of one man’s escape from his own personal hell as he tries to earn the impossible—forgiveness and love.”   —Penguin Random House

The 2012 novel, set in Toronto, was adapted into a three-part series of films starring Giulio Berruti and Melanie Zanetti and directed by Tosca Musk. It was produced and released by Musk’s company Passionflix in 2020. The image above comes from the Amazon Prime Video page for the film. Gabriel’s Rapture (Part Two) and Gabriel’s Redemption (Part Three) are scheduled for release in 2021 and 2022, respectively.

Contributed by Margaret Goodspeed

France Štiglic’s The Ninth Circle (1960)

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“After the qualification of the digitally restored Štiglic’s film The Valley of Peace (1956) for the 2016 Cannes Classics competition, the celebration of the 60th anniversary of its making, and its Cannes premiere, the same director’s film The Ninth Circle (1960) was the third work of his that was screened in Cannes (the first one had been the 1949 film On Our Own Land).” [. . .]    —The Film New Europe Association, July 28, 2020

Maurizio Guarini, live soundtrack for 1911 Inferno film (2017)

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“I started this live project in 2017. The director of the Italian Institute of Culture had the idea, and asked me if I wanted to do a live soundtrack with the occasion of the International Seminar on Critical Approaches to Dante organized by the University of Toronto. I saw this incredible movie from 1911—the first Italian feature film ever. and I took up the challenge.

“This first performance, that took place at the Innis Town Hall (University of Toronto), received a great audience response, so I decided to go ahead and do more shows.”   —Maurizio Guarini

A Divina Comedia, O Filme (Brazilian Movie 2020)

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“Based on the work of Dante Alighieri. The Titan Studio company in partnership with the theatre team Trupe Alcateia will give life to this incredible play that for centuries is investigating the curiosity of people all around the globe. The project consists of filming with chroma keys so CGI scenarios can be built and applied onto the background allowing more freedom with the creation and keeping the originality of the play. The performances will all be theatrical and with scripts adapted to the cinematic customs and updated language, besides having a slight ‘Shakespearian’ touch in order to maintain the romanticism of the work.” [. . .]    —ARTSTATION

The movie poster above features the film’s interpretation of Ciacco in Inferno 6. To learn more visit the Facebook page here.

How to Cite

Coggeshall, Elizabeth, and Arielle Saiber, eds. Dante Today: Citings and Sightings of Dante's Works in Contemporary Culture. Website. Access date.

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