An influential Italian epic that paved the way for the elaborate costume drama, The Last Days Of Pompeii romanticizes the final hours of those ill-fated souls living in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius. In this rendition of Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s classic novel, set in 79 A.D., the lives of a prominent statesman, a beautiful woman, a pagan priest, a spiteful witch and a blind beggar are carefully interwoven. The intrigues that connect them are brought to a climax in the gladiatorial arena, at the moment the sleeping volcano unleashes its molten fury.
Among the last of the great tableaux films, in which most scenes are explained by a title, then dramatized within a single wide shot, this 1913 silent-screen spectacle is one of the earliest and most enduring cinematic adaptations of the Pompeii story. Courtesy of Kino-Lorber, The Last Days of Pompeii was digitally mastered from a remarkably crisp 35mm print. It is color-tinted with newly translated intertitles and a dramatic piano score adapted by Beatrice Jona Affron from a variety of classical works.
Presented as part of The Painters of Pompeii – Members’ Preview Day, theses screenings are free and exclusive to OKCMOA Members. Seating is limited and first-come, first-served.
