A TV Dante
Encyclopedia
A TV Dante is a 1989 film directed by Tom Phillips and Peter Greenaway. It covers eight of the thirty-four Cantos in Inferno
(part of Dante's poem Divine Comedy).
Peter Greenaway
and Tom Phillips
won the Prix Italia
for A TV Dante, their ambitious project to produce a video version of Dante’s Inferno. Greenaway was first inspired by artist Tom Phillips’ illustrated translation of the work and they collaborated on this, the first eight Cantos of the work, using all the state-of-the-art technological resources available to the electronic media at the time. The eight Cantos of the film are not conventionally dramatised, rather they are illuminated with layered and juxtaposed imagery and a soundtrack which comments, counterpoints and clarifies. There are visual footnotes delivered by relevant expert authorities, and these often perform the function of narration as well as illustration. The result is a dazzling video journey through Dante's underworld. The press was unanimous in welcoming their bold new approach to the art of television when A TV Dante was transmitted on Channel 4
in 1990.
Starring Sir John Gielgud, Bob Peck
and Joanne Whalley
-Kilmer.
(The Guardian
)
“Nothing quite like it has been seen on television before. The extraordinary, multi-layered images on the screen are not so much state-of-the-art video but the state after that.”
(The Times
)
“That rare and beautiful thing, an attempt to do something new with the medium.”
(The Observer
)
Inferno (Dante)
Inferno is the first part of Dante Alighieri's 14th-century epic poem Divine Comedy. It is followed by Purgatorio and Paradiso. It is an allegory telling of the journey of Dante through what is largely the medieval concept of Hell, guided by the Roman poet Virgil. In the poem, Hell is depicted as...
(part of Dante's poem Divine Comedy).
Peter Greenaway
Peter Greenaway
Peter Greenaway, CBE is a British film director. His films are noted for the distinct influence of Renaissance and Baroque painting, and Flemish painting in particular...
and Tom Phillips
Tom Phillips
Thomas Phillips was an English painter.Thomas Phillips or Tom Phillips may also refer to:-Culture:* Sir Thomas Phillipps , British antiquary and book collector...
won the Prix Italia
Prix Italia
The Prix Italia is an international Italian television, radio-broadcasting and Website award. It was established in 1948 by RAI - Radiotelevisione Italiana in Capri...
for A TV Dante, their ambitious project to produce a video version of Dante’s Inferno. Greenaway was first inspired by artist Tom Phillips’ illustrated translation of the work and they collaborated on this, the first eight Cantos of the work, using all the state-of-the-art technological resources available to the electronic media at the time. The eight Cantos of the film are not conventionally dramatised, rather they are illuminated with layered and juxtaposed imagery and a soundtrack which comments, counterpoints and clarifies. There are visual footnotes delivered by relevant expert authorities, and these often perform the function of narration as well as illustration. The result is a dazzling video journey through Dante's underworld. The press was unanimous in welcoming their bold new approach to the art of television when A TV Dante was transmitted on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
in 1990.
Starring Sir John Gielgud, Bob Peck
Bob Peck
Bob Peck was an English stage, television and film actor.-Early life:He went to Leeds Modern School in Lawnswood...
and Joanne Whalley
Joanne Whalley
-Early life:Whalley was born in Salford but brought up in Stockport where she studied at the Braeside School of Speech and Drama, Marple.Whalley first appeared as a child in How We Used To Live and bit parts in soap operas, especially Coronation Street and Emmerdale...
-Kilmer.
Prizes
- Winner: Special Prize Prix ItaliaPrix ItaliaThe Prix Italia is an international Italian television, radio-broadcasting and Website award. It was established in 1948 by RAI - Radiotelevisione Italiana in Capri...
- Winner: Festival International du Nouveau Cinema el de LA Video
- Winner: Finalist Award - New York International Film and TV Festival
Press Quotes
“A dazzling and inventive piece of video-image making...an eye-stitching use of television.”(The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
)
“Nothing quite like it has been seen on television before. The extraordinary, multi-layered images on the screen are not so much state-of-the-art video but the state after that.”
(The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
)
“That rare and beautiful thing, an attempt to do something new with the medium.”
(The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
)