Dante's Inferno (2007)

Director:

Sean Meredith

Writers:

Dante Alighieri (novel)
Sandow Birk (writer)
(more)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

The epic film of a lost young man's journey through hell.

Plot:

A darkly comedic travelogue of the underworld - set against an all-too-familiar urban backdrop of used car lots, gated communities, strip malls, and the U.S. Capitol. And populated with a contemporary cast of reprobates, including famous - and infamous - politicians, presidents, popes, pimps. And the Prince of Darkness himself.

Plot Keywords:

Pope | Inferno | Toy Theater | Dante's Inferno | Anger

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Dermot Mulroney	...	Dante (voice)
James Cromwell	...	Virgil
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Scott Adsit	...	Judge Minos (voice)
Matt Besser	...	Curtis Le May (voice)
Bill Chott	...	Ciaccio (voice)
Mike Coleman	...	Charon (voice)
Andrew Daly	...	Jim Jones (voice)
John Fleck	...	Brunetto Latini
Tony Hale	...	Pope Nicholas 3rd (voice)
Tom Hallick	...	George Sanders
Brandon Johnson	...	Pimp (voice)
Laura Krafft	...	George Sand (voice)
Martha Plimpton	...	Celia
Kit Pongetti	...	Francesca (voice)
Mark Ritts	...	Gianciotto
Tami Sagher	...	Penelope (voice)
Dana Snyder	...	Ulysses - Strom Thurmond
Janet Varney	...	Intercom (voice)
Matt Walsh	...	Fox Reporter (voice)
Paul Zaloom	...	Lucifer (voice)

Directed by
Sean Meredith

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Dante Alighieri		novel
Sandow Birk		writer
Sean Meredith		writer
Paul Zaloom		writer

Produced by
Sean Meredith	....	producer
Paul Zaloom	....	producer

Original Music by
Mark McAdam

Cinematography by
Michael Negrin

Casting by
Laura Krafft

Art Direction by
Sandow Birk
Elyse Pignolet

Visual Effects by
Tyler A. Hawes	....	DI supervisor
David Miazga	....	DI colorist
Neil W. Smith	....	DI supervisor: Hollywood-DI

Camera and Electrical Department
Kristy Baltezore	....	second assistant camera
Richard Brush	....	jib operator
Paul Lohr	....	gaffer
David McGrory	....	jib operator
David C. Negrin	....	assistant camera
Adam Peabody	....	best boy electric
Jens Piotrowski	....	camera operator

Other crew
Sam K. Hale	....	puppeteer
Elyse Pignolet	....	puppet designer
Johanna Silverman	....	assistant: Mr. Cromwell
Paul Zaloom	....	head puppeteer
Michelle Zamora	....	puppeteer

Production Companies

• Dante Film LLC

Distributors

• Hollywood Wizard (2007) (non-USA) (all media)

Other Companies

• Hollywood-DI  post-production facilities (digital intermediate and finishing services)

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Filming Locations:

Santa Monica, California, USA

Company:

Dante Film LLC

Trivia:

Dermot Mulroney (voice of Dante) plays the cello on the piece of music that opens the film.

Quotes:

Virgil: This is Hell, Dante. Not your personal fantasy.

Innovative take on a literary classic. Well done!

I saw this film at the Huntington Beach Film Festival in April 2007, and I loved it! Sandow Birk has an amazing ability to modernize classics, and his adaptation of the Divine Comedy is a prime example. I was delighted to see that he still isn't afraid to use popular culture in his work (as evidenced by the many food chains displayed blatantly in the background sets). Anyone could have made a half-decent film adaptation of the Inferno, but Birk and his crew went above and beyond to display innovation and creativity. I've never seen a puppet show on film, but this film manages to employ humor with a modern twist, without sacrificing the details of Dante's work. Really well done. Granted, this film will not please all audiences and I would be surprised to see it anywhere other than indie-theaters or film fests, but if you have an opportunity to see this, take it!