Anger

Anger is another part in the restored Italian silent film series "The Seven Deadly Sins". In their portrayal of a romantic love story the filmmakers lightly criticise the aspect of human nature which allows us to express needless anger. The main role, as in the entire series, is played by the beautiful Francesca Bertini, one of the biggest stars of Italian silent film. The essence of her success was aptly expressed by French critic and theorist Louis Delluc back in 1917: "This is an actress who deserves her fame. I couldn’t say if she had talent. But she does have what the film screen demands: a sculptural quality to her face, a good figure and sincerity. Who can show more than that? She is able to hold herself gracefully, it comes naturally to her – and also with a certain amount of will – and her spontaneously ostentatious way of showing off clothes, gowns and hats which might otherwise irritate us is, on the contrary, highly seductive, poetic, very modern and wholly enchanting. This is what captivates us about artists like Sarah Bernhardt or Max. But in the case of Francesca Bertini, it’s fascinating to see that what is essentially secondary, or, if you like, an accessory, in the end becomes a dominant feature and the essence of character". (Louis Delluc: Cinéma et Cie, Paris 1986). Today’s would probably agree with this view given the opportunity to see films starring Francesca Bertini, including the film Anger where Bertini finds herself in a smugglers’ environment. In the end, however, she still portrays a well-dressed lady in the arms of an attractive man. The base material for restoration were two richly tinted and coloured nitrate copies, one with Czech titles, the other with German titles. The copy with Czech titles was used as a basis for restoration; the second copy served to replace missing and badly damaged sections. The reconstructed copy was copied onto safe black-and-white material and then taken through a tinting and toning process. Blažena Urgošíková