Dante - The Divine Comedy

Dante - The Divine Comedy
A powerful introduction to the greatest work of medieval literature, which draws upon new dramatic filmed sequences, contemporary images and the work of artists inspired by Dante’s epic voyage of the imagination. This stirring film provides the ideal starting point for the study of this major work. Entertaining and informative, Dante and the Divine Comedy will inspire viewers to want to study this work.
"There is no greater sorrow than to recall happiness in times of misery" - Dante Alighieri (The Inferno)

Visual interpretations of ‘The Divine Comedy’ by the Topiary Dance Group
The Doré illustrations, first published in 1861
New location footage from Florence, Dante’s birthplace
The themes, plot, characters with interpretation and analysis by Professor Zygmont, Dr. Catherine Keen of St John’s College, Cambridge, Dr. Simon Gilson of Warwick University, Dr. Robin Kirkpatrick of Robinson College, Cambridge, plus author and leading Dante authority Dr. Anna Lawrence.
Customer Review: Informative, and worth watching again
Recently, I purchased a copy of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's rendition of the Divine Comedy, with drawings by Doré, and thought it was time to look into more background for this landmark work of literature. I already had John Ciardi's more modern translation of the Inferno, with endnotes, which is a very useful tool for studying Dante. But more helpful still is the background material provided here, along with a video presentation of some of the greatest Dante-related masterpieces ever painted, including as you'd guess, works by Hieronymus Bosch. The scholars' comments on this disc are interesting and insightful, and the paintings well documented. My only complaint being; the enactment of the action described in the book is somewhat disposable, although forgivably brief. I have seen the first part of the TV Dante, prepared for the BBC, no longer available, and never released on DVD, and that was very interesting and frightening. I keep holding out hope someone will see fit to release that series as a set, and for either a reissue of the obscure movie, or perhaps a completely new version. A modernized re-telling of the story, with characters from our would, although problematic, would be welcome*. In the meantime, this documentary is an interesting and reasonably scholarly addition to the video library of anyone committed to a serious study of classic literature. *Someone finally did this. See: Dante's Inferno ~ James Cromwell, John Fleck, Dermot Mulroney, and Martha Plimpton (DVD - 2008). It won't be out until August 26th, and I haven't seen it, but I can hardly wait: It's bound to be worth the purchase price just for the concept alone.