Julian - the Movie

[silverwhistle]

Before going to Italy, we watched the 1919 Italian silent film, Giuliano l'Apostata. It's rather hokey (plot focuses on intersecting love-triangles, entirely fictional!), but the costumes and sets are gorgeous, by Duilio Cambellotti (1876-1960), a major figure in Italian Art Nouveau (unfortunately, later also Fascist art), influenced by Morris and the Pre-Raphs. There are some shots which are modelled on Pre-Raph and Alma-Tadema type paintings, including Rossetti's Mariana. The music score (composed for the film by Luigi Mancinelli)  is very fine. The lead actor, Guido Graziosi, is at least attractive, although I was a tad peeved he didn't have his shirt off in the final death-bed scene... (Come on! This was the perfect excuse for a good bit of historical h/c!) ;-D

I discovered the film thanks to Giuseppe Pucci, who has written an excellent piece on it here, in The Ancient World in Silent Cinema.