The Fall Of Troy / La caduta di Troia (1911) :
Brief Review -
The First Ever Grand Epic tale in World Cinema. Giovanni Pastrone's Spectacular Magnus Opus much before Griffith's 'The Birth Of A Nation' and 'Intolerance'. I was so happy when i learnt that Scorsese believed that it was Pastrone who invented Epic genre, not Griffith, rather it was Pastrone's work that influenced Griffith to make those grandeur. Even though there is no clarification from Griffith about this, one cannot take anything away from the legacy of Giovanni Pastrone. The Italian filmmaker was thinking way ahead of its time, it's just out of our and everybody's reach. Just look at the grand scale execution of The Fall Of Troy and try to convince yourself that this was made in 1911. Holy smoke! That just seems unbelievable. Whatever historical epics i have seen till date which includes all the major classics made in these 110 years, this has to be the granddaddy of all. A historical war film with huge sets, humongous battalion, spectacular visuals, unthinkable explosions (of its time i mean) and fulfilling storyline in 1911 couldn't have got better than this. The film tells a story of Menelaus, King of Sparta who temporarily departs from his residence, leaving his wife behind only to get kidnapped by Paris Of Troy and fall in love with him. When Menelaus learns about it he declares a war against Troy to seek revenge. The entire structure of the film is gargantuan and Giovanni Pastrone's visionary direction justifies its massive nature without any compromises in production value. The battle scenes, Huge crowd, Big sets everything will fascinate you like never before because such grandeur was never ever seen by anybody before its time. In short, a pioneer of Historical Epics.
RATING - 8/10*
By - #samthebestest.
The First Ever Grand Epic tale in World Cinema. Giovanni Pastrone's Spectacular Magnus Opus much before Griffith's 'The Birth Of A Nation' and 'Intolerance'. I was so happy when i learnt that Scorsese believed that it was Pastrone who invented Epic genre, not Griffith, rather it was Pastrone's work that influenced Griffith to make those grandeur. Even though there is no clarification from Griffith about this, one cannot take anything away from the legacy of Giovanni Pastrone. The Italian filmmaker was thinking way ahead of its time, it's just out of our and everybody's reach. Just look at the grand scale execution of The Fall Of Troy and try to convince yourself that this was made in 1911. Holy smoke! That just seems unbelievable. Whatever historical epics i have seen till date which includes all the major classics made in these 110 years, this has to be the granddaddy of all. A historical war film with huge sets, humongous battalion, spectacular visuals, unthinkable explosions (of its time i mean) and fulfilling storyline in 1911 couldn't have got better than this. The film tells a story of Menelaus, King of Sparta who temporarily departs from his residence, leaving his wife behind only to get kidnapped by Paris Of Troy and fall in love with him. When Menelaus learns about it he declares a war against Troy to seek revenge. The entire structure of the film is gargantuan and Giovanni Pastrone's visionary direction justifies its massive nature without any compromises in production value. The battle scenes, Huge crowd, Big sets everything will fascinate you like never before because such grandeur was never ever seen by anybody before its time. In short, a pioneer of Historical Epics.
RATING - 8/10*
By - #samthebestest.