Ugo Falena
1875 - 1931
Giuliano l'apostata
Ugo Falena
Mila Bernard, Rina Calabria
Highly stylised biopic of the last Pagan Roman-Byzantine Emperor, Julian the Philosopher, known to Christians as 'the Apostate'. Orphaned by his cousin Constantius (Costanzo), and narrowly escaping death himself as a child, Julian is brought up on the Greek classics by his faithful tutor Mardonius.
Julian the Apostate
Salomé
Ugo Falena
Vittoria Lepanto, Laura Orette
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.
Salomé
Frate Sole
Ugo Falena, Mario Corsi
Rina Calabria, Silvia Malinverni
The intersecting lives of Francis and Claire of Assisi. Claire turns down the proposals of the wealthy and dedicates herself to the Lord. Francis is the son of a merchant who turns from his life of cavorting with courtesans to an ascetic life in service of the Lord-- Who opens up the path to sainthood for the both of them.
Frate Sole
Il ratto delle Sabine
Ugo Falena
Ciro Galvani, Carlo Duse
A early film adaptation of "The Rape of the Sabines" which is an episode in the legendary history of Rome, traditionally said to have taken place in 750 BC, in which the first generation of Roman men acquired wives for themselves from the neighboring Sabine families. The English word "rape" is a conventional translation of Latin raptio, which in this context means "abduction" rather than its prevalent modern meaning in English language of sexual violation.
The Rape of the Sabines