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Quo Vadis?

1913·IT
Director: Enrico Guazzoni
DramaHistory

During the latter years of the reign of the tyrannical Roman emperor Nero, Marcus Vinicius, one of Nero's officers, falls in love with a young Christian named Lygia, attempting to enslave her. Lygia's protector, the noble and burly Ursus, works to save her from Vinicius' clutches. Pursuing Lygia, Vinicius finds himself at a catacomb prayer meeting led by the apostle Peter and finds his conscience stirring-- just as Nero orders Rome burned. A landmark in epic film, Enrico Guazzoni’s grand-scale masterpiece laid the foundations for what colossal Italian spectacles would become. The film had tremendous influence on Giovanni Pastrone’s Cabiria (1914) and D.W. Griffith’s Intolerance (1916).

During the latter years of the reign of the tyrannical Roman emperor Nero, Marcus Vinicius, one of Nero's officers, falls in love with a young Christian named Lygia, attempting to enslave her. Lygia's protector, the noble and burly Ursus, works to save her from Vinicius' clutches. Pursuing Lygia, Vinicius finds himself at a catacomb prayer meeting led by the apostle Peter and finds his conscience stirring-- just as Nero orders Rome burned. A landmark in epic film, Enrico Guazzoni’s grand-scale masterpiece laid the foundations for what colossal Italian spectacles would become. The film had tremendous influence on Giovanni Pastrone’s Cabiria (1914) and D.W. Griffith’s Intolerance (1916).

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Explore Further

Quo vadis?, Cabiria and the 'Archaeologists': Early Italian Cinema's Appropriation of Art and Archaeology — 19th C Art Worldwide

Academic article examining the film's use of art and archaeology in Italian epic cinema.

Article

Cast

Amleto Novelli

Amleto Novelli

Vinicius

Gustavo Serena

Gustavo Serena

Petronius

Bruto Castellani

Bruto Castellani

Ursus

A

Amelia Cattaneo

Eunice

C

Carlo Cattaneo

Nero

Lea Giunchi

Lea Giunchi

Lygia

A

Augusto Mastripietri

Chino

C

Cesare Moltini

Tigellinus

O

Olga Brandini

Poppaea

I

Ignazio Lupi

Aulus

G

Giovanni Gizzi

Saint Peter

Lia Orlandini

Lia Orlandini

I

Ida Carloni Talli

Crew

Enrico Guazzoni

writer

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