While D.W. Griffith and other pioneers were developing American cinema, across the Atlantic filmmakers in Europe were also experimenting with film and developing the movie industry prior to World War I. Challenging France as the pre-eminent film producers was Italy, which hosted some fifty film production companies by 1914.

For obvious reasons, ancient history was a popular subject for early Italian filmmakers, who could utilize the local scenery in a relatively inexpensive way. Italy also had decided advantages with its ideal Mediterranean climate and excellent natural lighting.

Thus, in 1913 two great Italian spectacles were made--Enrico Guazzoni's Quo Vadis and Mario Caserini's The Last Days of Pompeii (Gli Ultimi giorni di Pompeii). Both feature-length films pre-date Griffith's landmark The Birth of a Nation and must receive credit for demonstrating that audiences were ready for longer films. Of course these were the days of static cameras and title cards to announce the coming action; so filmmakers had to rely upon simple plots, grand sets and costuming, and pantomime to communicate the story.

Caserini's landmark disaster movie about Pompeii is based on Edward Bulwer-Lytton's novel. Set in 79 AD The Last Days of Pompeii centers around blind girl Nidia (Frenanda Negri Pouget), who is owned by the abusive Stratonica until the heroic and handsome Glaucus (Ubaldo Stefani) buys her. Naturally, Nidia falls in unrequited love for Glaucus, who is already head over heels in love for the dark-haired beauty Jone (Eugenia Tertoni Flor). But this is only the beginning of the melodrama!

Also in love with Jone is the evil Egyptian priest Arbace (Antonio Grisanti), who uses Nidia to deliver a potion to Glaucus. This whole sorting out of characters and silly love story takes up nearly 75 minutes of the 90 minute film, before we finally get what we've been waiting for--the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius and resulting mass hysteria with people racing through the streets amidst falling buildings and flaming debris.

The lava "flow" is practically non existent and consists of dry lava rocks being tossed about, but in 1913 it would have been difficult to fly to some Pacific Island to obtain some stock footage of molten lava. Although the special effects are laughable by modern standards, it's easy to see how 1913 audiences were mesmerized by the reddish tones of the film stock and the illusion of the erupting miniature volcano being juxtaposed with the real Mediterranean.

Although the chaos of people running through the streets is supposed to be really serious stuff, one scene with Glaucus battling an obstinate woman left me in stitches. After a dramatic push, she falls, gets up and searches for an escape path just as a heavy column crushes her. (I'm not sure how the 1913 audiences reacted, but knowing that the columns are movie props it just struck me as unintentional slapstick). I'm not entirely sure who the woman was because the camera remains stationary for medium and long shots only--a close-up may have revealed her as the evil Stratonica.

More modern melodramas would have made sure that the audience sees each of the "bad" guys perish horribly while allowing the "good" guys to narrowly escape. The Last Days of Pompeii only shows the latter, with the blind Nadia proving the most reliable guide during these "dark" days of disaster (at least the title card explains that it is dark, despite the natural lightness of the reddish tint).

The operatically designed spectacle remains interesting for film buffs for historical purposes. The old film is remarkably preserved except for the opening sequences of the Vesuvius eruption where the damage is very obvious, but those flaws are easily overlooked in order to have a more complete rendition.

The set designs are intriguing, but the straightforward storytelling is overwhelmed by the love stories and treacheries without enough disaster footage. Naturally the static camera doesn't allow the film to express itself as fully as Griffith will soon create with a far more dynamic camera while including cross cutting and juxtaposition editing techniques. Even though Mario Caserini's influential film marks a breakthrough in film history with its massive crowd scenes and feature length timing, much greater artistic breakthroughs are soon to come. A viewing of this Italian epic should give the viewer a greater appreciation for The Birth of a Nation.