Francesca Bertini

The epic tale of a class struggle in twentieth century Italy, as seen through the eyes of two childhood friends on opposing sides.

Based on Oscar Wilde's version of the story, what is noteworthy is the sheer luxury of the production, an attempt to capture the wild and weird Aubrey Beardsley illustrations that transfigure the work. The sets are elaborate, with stonework and palm trees and draperies. There seem to be dozens of dress extras, courtiers at Salome's dance and soldiers.

Assunta and Michele are in love, but others come between them and jealousy arises. Assunta Spina stands out as an early landmark of naturalistic acting and a blueprint for the Italian Neorealist films to come.

Elena and Zefor are brothers. They live with their mother in a wild country where smuggling reigns. At their modest home, Zefor plays the violin while she dances to entertain the bandits. Arturo, one of them, has conquered Elena's heart.

Madeleine is a beautiful married woman, hopelessly attracted to her former lover, Jacques. This obsession leads to the destruction of her life and eventually drives her to suicide, while her husband goes insane.

Diana is assigned to find out the details of the enemy's war tactics. Together with her partner in crime, Robertson, she manages to get in touch with Captain Argo and retrieves secret information. All is proceeding according to plan until Diana slowly gets torn by on the one hand her duty as a spy, and on the other her passionate feelings for Captain Argo.

Raymonde (Bertini) has had a passionate affair with Giacomo (Giorgio Bonaiti) and has a son with him. Life has taken a different turn, however, and Giacomo has married Elena (Mary Fleuron).

The Clemenceau Affair (Italian: Il processo Clémenceau) is a 1917 silent Italian adventure film directed by Alfredo De Antoni. The film features the first onscreen performance from Vittorio De Sica.

Hand-tinted Italian verison of the Shakespeare Classic King Lear.

The dramatic events of the composer Mario Sirchi, falsely accused of murder, and his girlfriend Adonella who is revealed to have a secret sister, Nayda.

Maria and Luigi love each other in spite of their poverty, while she resists her many wealthy suitors. But their mutual enemies figure out a lie that will separate them. Maria will become temporarily rich but then she will commit a crime and will divert into the slums. There Luigi will meet her again.

La Possession is a 1929 French film directed by Léonce Perret.

In this mesmerizing collage of silent Italian melodrama, found-footage filmmaker Peter Delpeut (Lyrical Nitrate) affectionately captures the spirit of the World War One-era cinema diva. In all-but-lost gems such as La donna nuda (1914), and Tigre reale (1916), superstars such as Lyda Borelli and Pina Menichelli portrayed heroines teetering dangerously between defiant indulgence in sexual passion and hysterical remorse at their own cruelties. Delpeut’s inventive celebration of Black Romanticism is both striking and heartbreaking in its composition—a beautifully woven narrative of tempted fate and self-torment, elegantly guided by Loek Dikker’s original score. Zeitgeist Films is proud to present Delpeut’s stunningly experimental work in all its heaving bosomed, luridly tinted glory.

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A menaced politic leaves his child with another family who will raise her unaware of her true origin. When she grows up the son of a duchess falls in love with her, but the mother rejects her based on her supposed non-aristocratic origin. Little does she suspect what truth will unveil.

A example of female fantasy is L'Histoire d'un Pierrot (1913), based on a musical pantomime by Mario Costa with Francesca Bertini in the role of Pierrot and Leda Gys as Louisette. The young and naive Pierrot is led astray by the evil wine merchant Pochinet (Emilio Ghione). He hopes to distract Pierrot with drinking and gambling while he tries to seduce Louisette.

The Princess of Monte Cabello is divorced and is granted custody of her beloved daughter. Her ex-husband's mistress hires private detectives who take seemingly incriminating photographs of the Princess with the actor Jacques Wilson. The Princess is devastated when these cause her daughter to be taken from her, and the Princess then falls into the clutches of Wilson. In order to pay his gambling debts, Wilson forces her to humiliate herself by appearing in a play. The Princess sends a note to the Prince of Monte Cabello saying that after the first performance she will not compromise his name again.

It tells the story of Dante Alighieri's love to Beatrice Portinari, loosely based on Dante's poetry.

The actress Francesca Bertini, as every diva worthy of her name, always arrives on the set extremely late. One day, in the studio, she happened to hear a colleague actor who, back from the front, tells about the brutalities suffered by the civilians in the occupied territories. At night, still troubled by that story, Bertini falls asleep and dreams: in her dream she plays the role of Mariute, a young Friulian countrywoman, mother of three kids waiting for her husband homecoming from the frontline. One day, while she is going to the well for water, she is assaulted and molested by three enemy soldiers. Her father-in-law will avenge her. In the meantime Bertini, waking up with a start, will arrive to work on time and she will end the film inviting the public to put their savings into the war bonds.

Young Cabiria is kidnapped by pirates and sold as a slave in Carthage. Just as she's to be sacrificed to Moloch, Cabiria is rescued by Fulvius Axilla, a good-hearted Roman spy, and his powerful slave, Maciste. The trio are broken up as Cabiria is entrusted to a woman of noble birth. With Cabiria's fate unknown, Maciste punished for his heroism, and Fulvius sent away to fight for Rome, is there any hope of our heroes reuniting?

The 1912 Italian version of Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet.

A lieutenant of the French navy, ready to kill himself in despair, renounces his project after spending a night with a beautiful stranger, the Princess of Lystrie.

With a friend desperate for money, a merchant takes out a loan from a ruthless money-lender. Confident that his ships will soon be bringing him great wealth, the merchant willingly agrees to conditions of the loan that put him at great personal risk.

La Signora delle Camelie chronicles the tragic love story of courtesan Marguerite Gautier and provincial bourgeois Armand Duval. Armand’s father disapproves of the relationship and convinces Marguerite to leave Armand, making him believe that she has left him for another man.

Assunta and Michele are in love, but others come between them and jealousy arises. Assunta Spina stands out as an early landmark of naturalistic acting and a blueprint for the Italian Neorealist films to come.

Assunta and Michele are in love, but others come between them and jealousy arises. Assunta Spina stands out as an early landmark of naturalistic acting and a blueprint for the Italian Neorealist films to come.

Elena and Zefor are brothers. They live with their mother in a wild country where smuggling reigns. At their modest home, Zefor plays the violin while she dances to entertain the bandits. Arturo, one of them, has conquered Elena's heart.

The dramatic events of the composer Mario Sirchi, falsely accused of murder, and his girlfriend Adonella who is revealed to have a secret sister, Nayda.

The actress Francesca Bertini, as every diva worthy of her name, always arrives on the set extremely late. One day, in the studio, she happened to hear a colleague actor who, back from the front, tells about the brutalities suffered by the civilians in the occupied territories. At night, still troubled by that story, Bertini falls asleep and dreams: in her dream she plays the role of Mariute, a young Friulian countrywoman, mother of three kids waiting for her husband homecoming from the frontline. One day, while she is going to the well for water, she is assaulted and molested by three enemy soldiers. Her father-in-law will avenge her. In the meantime Bertini, waking up with a start, will arrive to work on time and she will end the film inviting the public to put their savings into the war bonds.

An Italian melodrama. Only the final reel survives.