Theodora, Slave Empress
1954 film
- Rene Wheeler
- Claude Accursi
- Ranieri Cochetti
- Riccardo Freda[1]
- André-Paul Antoin
- Riccardo Freda[1]
- Gianna Maria Canale
- Georges Marchal
- Renato Baldini
- Henri Guisol
Production
companies
companies
- Lux Film
- Lux Compagnie Cinématographique de France[1]
- Lux Film (Italy)
- Lux Compagnie Cinématographique de France (France)
Release date
- 29 September 1954 (1954-09-29) (Italy)
Running time
- Italy
- France[1]
Theodora, Slave Empress (Italian: Teodora, imperatrice di Bisanzio) is a 1954 film about Theodora, a former slave who married Justinian I, emperor of Byzantium in AD 527–565. It was directed by Riccardo Freda.
Cast
- Gianna Maria Canale as "Theodora"
- Georges Marchal as "Justinian I"
- Renato Baldini as "Arcal", Theodora's would-be lover
- Henri Guisol as "Giovanni di Cappadocia"
- Irene Papas as "Faida", Theodora's step-sister
- Olga Solbelli as "Egina", Theodora's step-mother
- Roger Pigaut as "Captain Andres"
- Nerio Bernardi as "General Belisarius"
- Carletto Sposito as "Scarpios"
- Alessandro Fersen as "The Metropolitan"
Release
Theodora, Slave Empress was distributed theatrically in Italy on 29 September 1954 by Lux Film.[1] It grossed a total of 592 million Italian lire on this domestic release.[1]
It was also distributed in France by Lux Compagnie Cinématographique de France as Théodora, impératrice de Byzance.[1] The film was the first of director Riccardo Freda's film to obtain a wide distribution outside Italy.[2]
It was also released in the USA in December, 1954, distributed by Lux Film America as an I.F.E. release. For this occasion, the film was dubbed into English and edited to 88 minutes (from its original runtime of 124 minutes). The editing was accomplished by simply removing the middle 4 reels of film, covering the plotline from the marriage of Theodora and Justinian to the start of the nobility's revolt against Justinian and his reforms.
Reception
In a contemporary review, The Monthly Film Bulletin spoke of the film in negative terms, calling it a "dispiriting experience".[3] The piece referred to Freda's direction as "laboured", stating that he "brings neither gusto nor honest vulgarity to the narrative".[3] Regarding the action scenes, the reviewer felt that only the chariot race was staged with "any suggestion of real flamboyancy or flair" and that Canale's erotic dance before Justinian was "painfully unexciting".[3]
See also
References
Footnotes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Curti 2017, p. 311.
- ^ Quinlan 1999, p. 119.
- ^ a b c "Theodora, Slave Empress "(Teodora, Imperatrice di Bisanzio)"". Monthly Film Bulletin. 22 (252). London: British Film Institute: 36. 1955. ISSN 0027-0407.
Sources
- Curti, Roberto (2017). Riccardo Freda: The Life and Works of a Born Filmmaker. McFarland. ISBN 978-1476628387.
- Quinlan, David (1999). Quinlan's Film Directors. B.T. Batsford. ISBN 0713477539.
External links
- Theodora, Slave Empress at IMDb
- v
- t
- e
Films directed by Riccardo Freda
- Don Cesare di Bazan
- Tutta la città canta
- Non canto più
- The Black Eagle
- Les Misérables
- The Mysterious Rider
- The Iron Swordsman
- Guarany
- The Gay Swordsman
- Double Cross
- Revenge of Black Eagle
- The Legend of the Piave
- See Naples and Die
- Sins of Rome
- Theodora, Slave Empress
- Beatrice Cenci
- Trapped in Tangiers
- The White Warrior
- The Giants of Thessaly
- Maciste alla corte del Gran Khan
- Caccia all'uomo
- The Witch's Curse
- The Seventh Sword
- The Horrible Dr. Hichcock
- The Ghost
- The Magnificent Adventurer
- Romeo and Juliet
- The Two Orphans
- The Exterminators
- Trap for the Assassin
- Mexican Slayride
- No Killing Without Dollars
- Double Face
- The Iguana with the Tongue of Fire
- Tragic Ceremony
- Murder Obsession
 | This article related to an Italian film of the 1950s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- v
- t
- e
 | This article related to historical films is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- v
- t
- e
