The Dumb Girl of Portici

1916

Action / Drama / History / Romance

3
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 80%
IMDb Rating 6.4/10 10 342 342

dynamic soundtrack record breaking costume budget silent film woman director based on opera

Please enable your VPΝ when downloading torrents

If you torrent without a VPΝ, your ISP can see that you're torrenting and may throttle your connection and get fined by legal action!

Get Surf VPΝ

Plot summary

Fenella, a poor Italian girl, falls in love with a Spanish nobleman, but their affair triggers a revolution and national catastrophe.

Director

Phillips Smalley Photo
Phillips Smalley

Top cast

Edna Maison Photo
Edna Maison as Elvira
Lois Wilson Photo
Lois Wilson as
Joe Murphy Photo
Joe Murphy as Man in Crowd at madman Masaniello Gathering
Lina Basquette Photo
Lina Basquette as Child
720p.BLU 1080p.BLU
1.03 GB
968*720
English 2.0
NR
24 fps
1 hr 54 min
Seeds ...
1.91 GB
1440*1072
English 2.0
NR
24 fps
1 hr 54 min
Seeds ...

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by Nick M 6 / 10

Lois Weber says, "Eat the rich!" in this

Lois Weber says, "Eat the rich!" in this film adaptation of the opera La muette de Portici, which stars the most famous international ballerina of the day: Anna Pavlova. Despite being silent, the movie *feels* like an opera--it has all of the spectacle, the cadence, and the plot structure--while remembering that it is still a film. It is an interesting subject for a silent picture, and the choice of Pavlova was a smart one. The character has grown up unable to speak, so she must use her body more than the average person to communicate. This gives her an excuse to lean heavily into expressive pantomime that would seem outlandish for a speaking character, and Pavlova is experienced and adept with this form of expression because of her work on stage. She had been touring the US for several years as part of a world tour, and is considered largely responsible for popularizing ballet in this country. The public knew of her and many would have been curious to see her perform in a new, and more accessible, medium. This is her only real film acting credit, but I could not take my eyes off of her from the first scene to the very last. She is a master at communicating her thoughts and emotions. Weber's direction also deserves credit, as there were several strong, impactful moments that left an impression on me. Despite feeling important, however, I didn't find myself loving this. Pavlova had a good excuse for being outlandishly expressive, but the rest of the cast's pantomime was allowed to become over the top as well, which is representative of a style that had mostly been abandoned on screen by this point in favor of a more natural approach. It also felt about 30 minutes too long. I appreciate this film, but from modern reviews I've read online I think people who are not well-versed in cinema of the day give this too much credit.
Reviewed by

Reviewed by Maniac_In_Black 6 / 10

She doesn't speak, but she dances

"The Mute Girl of Portici", would be the modern translation for the title as "dumb" is no longer used to describe someone who is mute.

Supposedly the first american epic directed by a woman. The film currently stands at a 6.5 and I believe that's an accurate rating. Its not great but its definitely a one time view for fans of silent cinema. If you find yourself disinterested in the first half, do not give up.. It gets better in the second half. Its color tinted, the majority being a greenish blue, yellow and even some red during the rioting scenes to represent the heat of the fire.

I believe the music, sets, plot and the cinematography all improved in the second half. The film is a bit stagey as another reviewer mentioned. The final dream like sequence could have been a short film of its own.

Read more IMDb reviews

2 Comments

Be the first to leave a comment