Dante's Inferno

Italy's first feature-length film, and the oldest fully surviving feature in the world — a distinction that alone would make it essential. But this adaptation of Dante's Divine Comedy earns its place on sheer ambition: elaborate sets depicting the circles of Hell, populated by tormented sinners in tableaux inspired by Gustave Doré's iconic illustrations. The special effects are remarkably inventive for 1911, and the scale was unprecedented. It played to enormous audiences across Europe and America, proving that cinema could tackle literary classics and fill theaters for over an hour. The epic film was born here.