Quo Vadis is an Italian film directed by Enrico Guazzoni for Cines in 1913, based on the 1896 novel of the same name written by Henryk Sienkiewicz. It was one of the first blockbusters in the history of cinema, with 5,000 extras, lavish sets, and a lengthy running time of two hours, setting the standard for "superspectacles" for decades to come. A worldwide success, it premiered in Germany at the opening night of the Ufa-Pavillon am Nollendorfplatz (Berlin's first purpose-built, free-standing cinema), on 19 March 1913. In an unusual departure from normal cinematic practice, the crowd scenes were reinforced with "special mobs" of live costumed actors in the auditorium. Quo Vadis was the first film to be projected in a first-class Broadway theater (the Astor Theatre), where it was screened for nine months from April to December 1913. The film's first screening in London was for King George V, in the Royal Albert Hall, who complimented the performers. Cast Amleto Novelli as Vinicius Gustavo Serena as Petronius Amelia Cattaneo as Eunice Carlo Cattaneo as Nero Lea Giunchi as Lygia Augusto Mastripietri as Chilo Cesare Moltini as Tigellinus Olga Brandini as Poppaea Ignazio Lupi as Aulus Giovanni Gizzi as Saint Peter Lia Orlandini as servant Livia Matilde Guillaume Ida Carloni Talli as priestess Bruto Castellani as Ursus Giuseppe Gambardella
Quo Vadis is an Italian film directed by Enrico Guazzoni for Cines in 1913, based on the 1896 novel of the same name written by Henryk Sienkiewicz. It was one of the first blockbusters in the history of cinema, with 5,000 extras, lavish sets, and a lengthy running time of two hours, setting the standard for "superspectacles" for decades to come. A worldwide success, it premiered in Germany at the opening night of the Ufa-Pavillon am Nollendorfplatz (Berlin's first purpose-built, free-standing cinema), on 19 March 1913. In an unusual departure from normal cinematic practice, the crowd scenes were reinforced with "special mobs" of live costumed actors in the auditorium. Quo Vadis was the first film to be projected in a first-class Broadway theater (the Astor Theatre), where it was screened for nine months from April to December 1913. The film's first screening in London was for King George V, in the Royal Albert Hall, who complimented the performers. Cast Amleto Novelli as Vinicius Gustavo Serena as Petronius Amelia Cattaneo as Eunice Carlo Cattaneo as Nero Lea Giunchi as Lygia Augusto Mastripietri as Chilo Cesare Moltini as Tigellinus Olga Brandini as Poppaea Ignazio Lupi as Aulus Giovanni Gizzi as Saint Peter Lia Orlandini as servant Livia Matilde Guillaume Ida Carloni Talli as priestess Bruto Castellani as Ursus Giuseppe Gambardella