Arturo Ambrosio

Non-musical account of Puccini's opera: Tosca and Cavaradossi are in love, but the tyrant Scarpia desires Tosca and oppresses Cavaradossi who is fighting for freedom.

The newly-settled city of Venice in the Sixth Century AD: A wandering people struggle to establish Christian Theocracy. Basiliola Faledro, an exotic dancer, wicked and cunning, arrives from faraway lands seeking to avenge her pagan lineage; Her father and brothers blinded and humilated by frenzied zealots. Her primary targets are the brothers Gràtico, both newly-elected to positions of power: One, Marco, an arbiter and tribune, the other, Sergio, a bishop. The title refers to a bold pronouncement made by Deaconess Ema Gràtico to her subjects the Venetians, a seafaring and desperate tribe-- That their native homeland is aboard a ship.

Teodora, a Roman courtesan and former slave girl, marries the Roman emperor Justinian and assumes the throne as Empress of Rome. But a love affair with a handsome Greek whom she meets in Byzantium leads to revolution and armed conflict in both Byzantium and Rome.

Dame Eleonora Duse plays a poor woman who, incapable of raising and feed him, leaves her illegitimate son with foster parents. Before she leaves her boy, the woman gives to the child an amulet in order to protect him. The amulet will be the key to put him in connection with his old mother when the boy grows up.

Pisa, 11th century. Spina, a young priestess daughter of Peter, is devoted to keeping a flame burning that illuminates the way back for those returning from the Crusade. But the Florentine knight Lamberto falls in love with her and the two young men fail in the vow of chastity that Spina committed. The shame for having betrayed the promise of purity made pushes Spina to suicide and Lamberto kills himself with her.

The 1914 Italian version of William Shakespeare's Othello.

Italian drama from the Società Anonima Ambrosio company.

A short comedy for the actor Marcel Perez

Robinet gets punched by a boxer in the ring and decides to challenge him for a match. To win, he needs to train as much as he can.

Early biopic of Dante. From the Cineteca Milano collection.

Robinet disguises himself as a woman to get away from his girlfriend’s husband, and discovers the unexpected pleasures of public drag amidst mobs of flirtatious men. (MoMA)

The new maid and her mistress devise a plan to foil the men in the house. ...[The mistress of the house finds her chambermaid using her toiletries.]... She is dismissed and the lady advertises for a new maid. The new maid arrives at the front gate and the bemused gate keeper lets her in. The page boy sees her walking up to the house and admires her beauty. She is shown in to meet her new master, who also admires her, and mistress.

A fantasy film about the knight Parsifal, who has to protect the Holy Grail from wizards.

A grandfather recalls how he and his wife met and fell in love during the Second Italian War of Independence.

A grandfather recalls how he and his wife met and fell in love during the Second Italian War of Independence.

Classic biblical story.

In this play on the symmetry of black and white, Robinet leaves home in his bright new suit for a stroll through a blackening industrial landscape. (MoMA)

While making fun of the frailty of an old lady in the street, a little devil is immediately taken home by the offended policeman who catches him carrying out his nasty prank. Arriving at the child’s home, the keeper of order vehemently lists the facts. However the scallywag doesn’t bow to authority and stands up to the policeman, even mocking his mother who he leaves in despair. But soap bubbles with a strange divinatory power help him to make amends. A film from the catalogues of the company founded by Arturo Ambrosio in Turin in 1904.

Robinet, the lead in this Italian slapstick comedy, wants to be an aviator in the worst way, and this being an Italian slapstick, that's how he does it. Italian slapstick in this period was absolutely bone-breaking, so much so that it makes Keystone slapstick look like drawing-room comedy by contrast.

Italian silent film

Italian silent film

Robinet wants to try out to be a jockey, but has to go through a lot of exercise to reach the weight needed.

Robinet is challenged to a duel, but owing to an overpowering fear, ludicrously depictd, the weapons are discarded, one by one, and two bottles of champagne subistituted. (Moving Picture world Synopsis)

The mighty King of Babylon falls in love with a beautiful girl, ruthlessly tears her away from her lover, who is left wounded upon the ground, and carries her to his palace, where he seeks to will her affections, showering her with gifts of precious stones from his treasure chests. The heart-broken girl repulses all his overtures and dashes the jewels to the floor, and the infuriated monarch, incensed at her refusal to share his throne, orders her cast into the lions' den. An immense throng of his court followers are invited to witness the execution, but the expectant throng is dumbfounded when the ferocious beasts, instead of rending the victim to pieces, fawn upon her. A wave of superstitious awe sweeps through the gathering, who regard the incident as a miracle and believe that the girl is under the protection of the gods. The King's guards are overpowered and the girl released, and the monarch, by this time imbued with fear, pays homage to the maiden, who is restored to her lover.

Italian short drama

This is a documentary short on the eruption of the volcano Etna in Italy.

A man goes out on New Year's Day and is greeted by everyone with "Happy New Year", in the hope of getting a tip. The fellow is so annoyed that he runs into trouble with the law and almost loses his mind.

Roman emperor Nero is used to getting what he wants. He has grown tired of his wife Octavia, and has become infatuated with Poppea. He succeeds in making Poppea the new empress, but soon he faces opposition from an outraged populace. Informed of the danger of an imminent popular uprising, Nero orders to set fire to the city, which he watches from a terrace, rejoicing and playing his lyra.

Roman emperor Nero is used to getting what he wants. He has grown tired of his wife Octavia, and has become infatuated with Poppea. He succeeds in making Poppea the new empress, but soon he faces opposition from an outraged populace. Informed of the danger of an imminent popular uprising, Nero orders to set fire to the city, which he watches from a terrace, rejoicing and playing his lyra.

An adaptation of Balzac's La Grande Bretêche

An adaptation of Balzac's La Grande Bretêche

During the carnival in Pont Canavese a polenta is prepared in the square and the whole town finds itself rejoicing around the stage and the big pot. The brentatori fill the saucepan with water, the cooks begin the preparation. The passing of the band on a cart cheers the villagers. The steaming polenta is ready: it is overturned on a table and a pennant is planted in the middle: “Ricordo dei Rivarolesi ai Pontesi 1909”. The crowd eagerly awaits the distribution of the rations and begins the binge.

Pompeii 79AD, mere days before the Vesuvian eruption. Glaucus and Jone are in love with each other. Arbaces, the Egyptian High Priest, is determined to conquer Jone. Glaucus purchases Nydia, the blind and long-suffering slave. Nydia falls in love with Glaucus and asks Arbaces for his help. He gives her a potion to make Glaucus fall in love with her-- In fact, a poison which will cause violent insanity. Produced by Turin-based Ambrosio Films.

Pompeii 79AD, mere days before the Vesuvian eruption. Glaucus and Jone are in love with each other. Arbaces, the Egyptian High Priest, is determined to conquer Jone. Glaucus purchases Nydia, the blind and long-suffering slave. Nydia falls in love with Glaucus and asks Arbaces for his help. He gives her a potion to make Glaucus fall in love with her-- In fact, a poison which will cause violent insanity. Produced by Turin-based Ambrosio Films.

Images of Sicily.

Images of Sicily.