thanks for the clip (it´s a scene from assunta spina) and for giving further information,flyme2themoon
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you have already listed almost all of the films/compilations that are still available .assunta spina shows a passionate,earthy, very italian francesca bertini in a tale of love and sacrifice.unfortunately my print doesn´t include the documentary.you can also get glimpses of francesa bertini in 2 non-diva films :the british dvd "silent shakespeare" does include an early, short italian version of "king lear" with her playing cordelia and also another short version of "the merchant of venice" in which she plays jessica.both are from 1910.
i watched "rapsodia satanica" (1917) with lyda borelli on tv.it is a variation on the faust-theme with lyda borelli as the female faust.i first had to get used to her acting style.out of the three divas lyda borelli is probably the most extreme example for diva -acting.her performance is very excessive with gestures and expressions that are larger than life.... at first i found it terribly exaggerated and simply overacted (reminding me a bit of theda bara in a fool there was).but the italian divas used a different "acting-vocabulary" relieing heavily on their bodies as a means of expression,almost like dancers-choreographing emotions.
i saw that imdb (like amazon)lists pina menichelli and francesca bertini as part of the cast in "cabiria".
the weird thing is that i cannot remember that i actually saw them in the film
.but there´s another famous italian diva who plays a smaller part in cabiria-italia manzini.cabiria is an interesting mixture of monumental epic and lyricism...probably the most impressive intertitles i´ve ever read.
there´s a great book about the italian diva-films you might find interesting..i found it quite difficult to read but it´s worth it since it gives vast background information -diva by angela dalle vacche.the book comes together with the dvd you´ve already mentioned:diva dolorosa.it´s an archival compilation film.it contains footage from different diva-films showing bertini,menichelli,borelli and also other actresses like helena makowska and soava gallone.i found it a bit disturbing at first because it jumps wildly from one film to another without giving further details, but a great chance nevertheless to see these actresses on the screen.
i havent´seen lyrical nitrate unfortunately...
i´ll scan more pics later..
btw,i love your new avatar...beautiful miss swanson
The reason why all of the titles didn't appear is because not all of the actors & actresses are listed in these film's cast credits on Netflix.
She was already familiar with the story line, and dialogue, since she was in the play before the film. (Although, she wasn't cast as Assunta in the play).
