Editing Cinema of Italy (section)

==== Historical blockbusters (1910s) ====
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 | image1 = Quo Vadis poster.jpg
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 | caption1 = ''[[Quo Vadis (1913 film)|Quo Vadis]]'' (1913), regarded as one of the first [[blockbuster (entertainment)|blockbusters]] in the [[history of cinema]]

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 | caption2 = ''[[Cabiria]]'' (1914), the first [[epic film]] ever made
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The [[archetype]]s of this film genre were ''[[The Last Days of Pompeii (1908 film)|The Last Days of Pompeii]]'' (1908), by [[Arturo Ambrosio]] and [[Luigi Maggi]] and ''[[Nero (1909 film)|Nero]]'' (1909), by Maggi himself and [[Arrigo Frusta]]. This last film was inspired by the work of [[Pietro Cossa]] who is iconographically based on the etchings of [[Bartolomeo Pinelli]], neoclassicism and the show ''Nero, or the Destruction of Rome'' represented by the [[Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus|Barnum circus]].<ref>{{cite book|first=Mario|last=Verdone|title=Spettacolo romano|publisher=Golem|year=1970|pages=141–147|language=it}}{{No ISBN}}</ref> Followed by ''Marin Faliero, Doge of Venice'' (1909), by [[Giuseppe De Liguoro]], ''Otello'' (1909) by [[Yambo (writer)|Yambo]] and ''[[L'Odissea (1911 film)|L'Odissea]]'' (1911), by Bertolini, Padovan and De Liguoro.

''[[L'Inferno]]'', produced by [[Milano Films]] in 1911, even before being an adaptation of [[Inferno (Dante)|Dante's canticle]], was a cinematic translation of [[Gustave Doré]]'s engravings that experiments with the integration of optical effects and stage action, and it was the first Italian [[feature film]] ever made.<ref name="Welle">{{cite book |last=Welle |first=John P. |editor-last=Iannucci |editor-first=Amilcare A. |contribution=Early Cinema, Dante's Inferno of 1911, and the Origins of Italian Film Culture |title=Dante, Cinema, and Television |publisher=University of Toronto Press |year=2004 |pages=36, 38–40 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7oYFJXwbi9sC |isbn=0-8020-8827-9}}</ref> ''[[The Last Days of Pompeii (1913 film)|The Last Days of Pompeii]]'' (1913), by [[Eleuterio Rodolfi]], used innovative special effects.

[[Enrico Guazzoni]]'s 1913 film ''[[Quo Vadis (1913 film)|Quo Vadis]]'' was one of the first [[blockbuster (entertainment)|blockbusters]] in the [[history of cinema]], using thousands of [[extra (acting)|extras]] and a lavish set design.<ref name="Sheldon">{{cite book |last1=Hall |first1=Sheldon |last2=Neale |first2=Steve |title=Epics, Spectacles and Blockbusters: A Hollywood History |date=2010 |publisher=Wayne State University Press |isbn=978-0-8143-3008-1 |page=31}}</ref> The international success of the film marked the maturation of the genre and allows Guazzoni to make increasingly spectacular films such as ''[[Antony and Cleopatra (1913 film)|Antony and Cleopatra]]'' (1913) and ''[[Julius Caesar (1914 film)|Julius Caesar]]'' (1914). [[Giovanni Pastrone]]'s 1914 film ''[[Cabiria]]'' was an even larger production, requiring two years and a record budget to produce, it was the first [[epic film]] ever made and it is considered the most famous Italian [[silent film]].<ref name="treccani-cinematografia"/><ref>{{cite book|first=Andrea |last=Fioravanti|publisher=Morlacchi Editore|year=2006 | page=121 | title=La "storia" senza storia. Racconti del passato tra letteratura, cinema e televisione|isbn=978-88-6074-066-3|language=it}}</ref> It was also the first film in history to be shown in the [[White House]].<ref>{{cite book|first=Robert K. |last=Klepper|publisher=McFarland | year=1999 | page=78 | title=Silent Films, 1877-1996: A Critical Guide to 646 Movies | isbn=978-0-7864-0595-4}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| first=Patrick |last=Robertson | publisher=Abbeville Press | year=1991 | page=217 | title=Guinness Book of Movie Facts and Feats | isbn=978-1-55859-236-0}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| first=John |last=Alberti | publisher=Routledge | year=2014 | page=45 | title=Screen Ages: A Survey of American Cinema | isbn=978-1-317-65028-7}}</ref> After Guazzoni came [[Emilio Ghione]], [[Febo Mari]], [[Carmine Gallone]], [[Giulio Antamoro]] and many others who contributed to the expansion of the genre.

After the great success of ''Cabiria'', with the changing tastes of the public and the first signs of the industrial crisis, the genre began to show signs of crisis. Pastrone's plan to adapt the ''Bible'' with thousands of extras remained unfulfilled. Antamoro's ''Christus'' (1916) and Guazzoni's ''[[The Crusaders (1918 film)|The Crusaders]]'' (1918) remained notable for their iconographic complexity but offered no substantial novelties. Despite sporadic attempts to reconnect with the ''grandeur'' of the past, the trend of historical blockbusters was interrupted at the beginning of the 1920s.