You´ve got to hand it to this Dante Alighieri guy. Something he wrote way back in the 14th century made its way to the 21st century. That something is the "Divine Comedy," otherwise known as "Dante´s Inferno." The story is simple (at least this version of it): a poor schmuck named Dante (voiced by Dermot Mulroney) finds himself at the threshold of hell with Virgil (James Cromwell) as his guide. Together they travel through the nine circles of hell in an attempt to scare Dante straight, more or less.
First off, I need to explain something about the most current version of this story. There is one live actor in the entire 78-minute production. And he comes in near the end. The rest of the action is portrayed using puppet theater. Remember the 1980s fad Shrinkidnks? The plastic characters which kids could cut out, color and then bake to make them (1) hard and (2) shrink? Imagine pulling off a feature length film using Shrinkidinks. That´s puppet theater.
Now imagine creating a hundred different expressions for every character, background characters, sets, vehicles, props and every other conceivable part of the production. It´s not a matter of director Sean Meredith calling up Central Casting and asking for a dozen generic audience members; no, these things all need to be created from scratch. Therein lies one of the great strengths of "Dante´s Inferno": it is inventive, fresh and new.
(Still don´t believe me? In order to make their characters have some semblance of movement, various shots employ puppets with brass tacks in their shoulder blades, or other body parts, to simulate movement. There is no desire or intent to deceive the audience by hiding the rods and wires moving the characters. In an age when CGI is used ad nauseum to remove these types of filmmaking devices, it´s nice to see a film which embraces them.)
Another point I want to make is this is an adaptation. (Some online critics say co-writer Sandow Birk´s novel, on which the movie is based, simply takes various English translations of the "Divine Comedy" and smashes them together.) An adaptation means, by definition, a form of structure modified to fit a changed environment.
The environment of the original poem is the early 1300´s. It stands to reason Birk´s adaptation uses contemporary settings, language and people to make its point. "A Christmas Carol" has been adapted in a thousand different ways, each time adding something new to the overall story while retaining the flavor, the spirit.
So what does this version add to the legacy of "Dante´s Inferno"? A certain level of playfulness, a more relaxed feel and the ability to find humor in fear. There remains a serious tone to the film, though just enough comedy is included in the proceedings to take the edge off. Watching Adolf Hitler and Ronald Reagan toil in one of hell´s circles for consulting astrologers is amusing in one respect, yet terrifying in another. If the mere act of trying to see into the future is cause for eternal damnation, what chance do the rest of us who commit "normal" sins stand?
But that´s beside the point. None of the filmmakers are overly concerned with making a political or social point, nor are they worried about making the film politically correct. Dante´s original intent was to stick it to the people he disagreed with-politicians, businesspeople and the like. The script here takes its own shots at present day personalities. Marilyn Monroe, JFK, Dean Martin, Pope John Paul II…they all inhabit some circle of hell for any number of sins. An explicit point is made in one of the commentary tracks that the source material was adhered to despite any moral qualms the production crew had with Dante. They argue it is not their role to change the work; rather, they only adapt what has already been written.
If you haven´t noticed, I´ve shied away from any in depth critique of the story proper. With material this old and integrated into our culture, what is the point-really-in trying to figure out where it goes wrong, if it goes wrong at all? This is a straight forward quest film, one in which the ultimate goal is to return home. None of the characters Dante and Virgil meet along the way are terribly deep. Perhaps they could be called two dimensional, but I´d be accused of making a bad joke. The story doesn´t have the time or ambition to delve into side plots and explore this world more thoroughly. There´s a one track mind at work here. I can´t say that´s a totally bad thing.
VIDEO:
Coming in with an aspect ratio of 1.77:1 (anamorphic), "Dante´s Inferno" actually looks pretty good. Not reference quality, mind you, though other discs can learn a great deal based on how the transfer deals with the color red. Simply put, certain sequences are bathed in red light and they come out without a smear to their name. There are one or two moments where a stray artifact or slight grain enters the picture, though neither turns out to be anything to worry about. The colors are appropriately subdued; no version of hell is going to look quite right with neon green and fluorescent yellow.
AUDIO:
There´s only one option here, an English 5.1 track (no subtitles). It works as well as it can, considering a rather limited audio field to work with. Sound effects are generally distributed through all the speakers, with the dialogue mostly coming from the front speakers. The track doesn´t distort the soundtrack at any level.
EXTRAS:
As already alluded to, there are two commentary tracks included. The first features director Sean Meredith, art director/co-writer Sandow Birk and head puppeteer Paul Zaloom. These three are a wealth of information when it comes to the production of the film, as should be expected. From creating the puppets to the script and a twelve day shoot, there is barely a moment of quiet between the three.
Somewhat more technical and dry is the second commentary with puppetry historian John Bell and Dante historian Peter Hawkins. Hawkins and Bell excel in their areas of expertise to be sure; however, there is such a thing as information overload. What would have happened if all five participants were put in the same room and recorded one track? The fun of the first would carry over into the second without a doubt, creating a better experience for the audience.
A fifteen minute making of featurette comes next. It´s primary focus is on the puppet´s, naturally. The problem here, though, is we don´t get to see the creation of each character, only the finished product and behind the scenes on shooting. I would have thought with a production like this, everything would have been documented. A photo gallery with fourteen images comes next, followed by a series of trailers ("Dante´s Inferno," "Storm," "Rapturious," "The Living and the Dead" and "Man, Woman and the Wall"). Lastly, a CD-Rom feature provides access to two musical numbers from the film.
PARTING THOUGHTS:
As long as the word "adaptation" doesn´t stray far from your consciousness, "Dante´s Inferno" should be an enjoyable experience. It is true some of the in-jokes are too obscure for most audiences and any attempt at explaining them ruins the humor. Kudos must be given to the crew, though, for going out on a limb to bring a different type of production to the screen. Some people will appreciate it, some won´t. The work, though, should be admired.