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MUSEUM of DREAMWORLDS

MUSEUM of DREAMWORLDS

Silent Antiquity Films in the BFI National Archive
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Vestale, La (original)

1908

Alternative Titles

Alt-Römische Szene (Archive)

The Vestal

 

 

 

BFI identifier

377394

Synopsis

The scene depicts the Forum and the Temple of Vesta. Cinna returns victorious from the Gauls and is about to receive the honours of triumph, but Acté, his fiancée, having believed him dead following false news, has entered the college of vestals and it is she who is to place the crown of triumph on the hero's forehead. Cinna, more smitten than ever, declares to Acté that he will go during the night to steal her away from the temple and make her share his destiny. The scene changes. We are in the Temple, where the great vestal is handing Acté the golden rod she is to use to fan the sacred fire. No sooner has she withdrawn than the duties of the priestess and the passion of the lover take turns to turn Acté's heart upside down. Giving in to the power of her first love, she opens the door of the temple to Cinna. At the most pathetic moment of their conversation, the fire goes out on the altar. They immediately understand the horror of their situation. The vestals arrive and find Acté fainting on the altar steps. They strip her of her sacred vestments and the great pontiff pronounces the sentence of death, covering the young girl with a black veil. She leaves, escorted by the lictors. In the catacombs, we see the pit where the priestess who broke her oath is to be buried alive. The funeral procession moves forward.Acté is preparing to sacrifice her life and is praying to the gods, when Cinna, at the head of some soldiers, appears and tries to intervene on behalf of his lover.The tumult is at its height.Suddenly, lightning bursts and rekindles the fire at the altar.Cinna pulls a fainting Acté from the grave.The pontiff yielded to the divine will manifested by such a prodigy and a final tableau showed the couple in the circus of Flora, presiding over the games and dances in honour of Venus Erycina

Source: https://www.fondation-jeromeseydoux-pathe.com/document/vestale-la/5fdd2ab8af99ca9e7f27d4ea?pageId=60cb01f76fb6ab1f3a2a5382&q=la%20vestale&pos=5. Translated from French.

NB the plot quite closely follows that of the libretto of Gaspare Spontini's opera.

 

 

Production Country: France
Production Company: Pathé Frères
BFI Category: Fiction
Source: N/A

Cast

N/A

Credits

Production Company: Pathé Frères
Director: Albert Capellani
Release date: January 22, 1908 (Omnia Pathé, Paris, France)

 

Film Technical Information

Original Length: 225 m
Length of BFI Viewing Print: 116 m
Support: Viewable
Colour
Format: 35 mm , Mp4

Comments on the print:

For the website analysis, the tinted and coloured-in version of La Vestale at the CNC (Centre National de la Cinematographie, Paris) was used, based on an original distribution print. This version measures 225 m in length (same as the original), whereas the restored print at the BFI measures only 382 ft./ 116 m.  Almost half of the film is missing, e.g. the arrest of the illicit couple at the temple. The BFI print also had problems of solarisation and all its shots are inversed.

 

Printed Materials

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BnF Pathé-La Vestale : scénario
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BnF Pathé-La Vestale : scénario

1 - Introduction to website & project

In this introductory essay, we explain the layout and features of the Museum of Dreamworlds website, in order that you can see how to navigate it and make it useful for you. We explain the methods behind our inquiries and survey some of our research findings. We also indicate here some of our project’s other activities and future resources that we will be creating until and beyond the end point of the project in November 2027. We will be developing and extending this introduction as we continue to analyse the antiquity films in the BFI. At this stage, the website is also a work in progress so we would greatly welcome any questions you may have as well as suggestions for corrections, clarifications, additions or improvements, or notification of any malfunctions. We can be reached at: museumofdreamworlducl@gmail.com

1908- La Vestale (Pathé frères). The adaptation of a classic

Appearing in the Pathé catalogue in March 1908,  La Vestale (The Vestal) is a Pathé adaptation of Gaspare Spontini’s opera, based on a libretto by Barbet de Jouy. The film, credited to Albert Capellani, marks a revival of the opera of the same name. Famous during the Empire, Spontini’s version was rarely performed in the second half of the 19th century. Kicking off the revival of a classic work, the 1908 film La Vestale can be seen as a film produced for the sake of spectacle, its production methods mirroring those of the theatre. It can also be viewed as the end of an era. Indeed, Pathé did not participate in the adaptation of the bestsellers published during the same period, which were snapped up by other production companies, particularly Italian ones (Quo vadis?, The Last Days of Pompeii, and Fabiola or the Church of the Catacombs). In a sense, for the French company, Antiquity served as a backdrop rather than a narrative framework, and the focus of films such as La Vestale, Amour d’esclave, and also Idylle romaine, was primarily on romantic drama.