''The Bacchantes'' ( it, Le baccanti) is a 1961 adventure-fantasy film directed by
Giorgio Ferroni
Giorgio Ferroni (12 April 1908 – 1981) was an Italian film director.
Life and career
Giorgio Ferroni was born in Perugia on 12 April 1908. Ferroni began his career in film with short documentaries during World War II. He directed his first dra ...
. It is loosely based on the
Euripides
Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian
Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful e ...
'
tragedy
Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy ...
''
The Bacchae
''The Bacchae'' (; grc-gre, Βάκχαι, ''Bakchai''; also known as ''The Bacchantes'' ) is an ancient Greek tragedy, written by the Athenian playwright Euripides during his final years in Macedonia, at the court of Archelaus I of Macedon. ...
''.
Plot
Thebes, the birthplace of
Dionysus
In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Romans ...
(born from the union between the god
Zeus
Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label=Genitive case, genitive Aeolic Greek, Boeotian Aeolic and Doric Greek#Laconian, Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label=Genitive case, genitive el, Δίας, ''D ...
and the mortal woman
Semele
Semele (; Ancient Greek: Σεμέλη ), in Greek mythology, was the youngest daughter of Cadmus and Harmonia (Greek goddess), Harmonia, and the mother of Dionysus by Zeus in one of his many origin myths.
Certain elements of the cult of Dionysu ...
) suffers from a terrible drought, which triggers popular discontent. This adds up to the accusations of the prophet
Tiresias
In Greek mythology, Tiresias (; grc, Τειρεσίας, Teiresías) was a blind prophet of Apollo in Thebes, famous for clairvoyance and for being transformed into a woman for seven years. He was the son of the shepherd Everes and the nymph ...
, who alleges drought to the wrath of Dionysus, blaming King
Pentheus
In Greek mythology, Pentheus (; grc, Πενθεύς, Pentheús) was a king of Thebes. His father was Echion, the wisest of the Spartoi. His mother was Agave, the daughter of Cadmus, the founder of Thebes, and the goddess Harmonia. His sister was ...
for not believing in his divine nature and not revering him.
Manto may refer to:
People
* Mando (singer), Greek singer
* Manto Mavrogenous, Greek national heroine
* Saadat Hasan Manto, Urdu short story writer known by his pen name Manto
* Manto Tshabalala-Msimang (1940–2009), South African politician
* Manto ...
, daughter of Tiresias, gives water to a stranger, who reciprocates with wine sacred to Dionysus. She then confides in her friend
Dirce
Dirce (; , , modern Greek , meaning "double" or "cleft") was a queen of Thebes as the wife of Lycus in Greek mythology.
Family
Dirce was a daughter of the river-gods Achelous or Ismenus, or of Helios.
Mythology
After Zeus impregnated Dir ...
, discussing their respective unhappy destinies: Manto will become a virgin sacred to
Demeter
In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Demeter (; Attic: ''Dēmḗtēr'' ; Doric: ''Dāmā́tēr'') is the Olympian goddess of the harvest and agriculture, presiding over crops, grains, food, and the fertility of the earth. Although s ...
, despite her being in love with the servant Lacdamos, while Dirce is engaged to Pentheus, while dreaming of a life free from the court.
Following an omen reported by a priest,
Agave
''Agave'' (; ; ) is a genus of monocots native to the hot and arid regions of the Americas and the Caribbean, although some ''Agave'' species are also native to tropical areas of North America, such as Mexico. The genus is primarily known for ...
, Semele's sister and Pentheus's mother, reveals to her son the existence of an ancient prophecy, according to which Lacdamos will marry a virgin sacred to Demeter and their son will become king of Thebes. Lacdamos is in fact the son of
Ino, Agave's elder sister, who had him kidnapped and raised as a servant to keep the throne for Pentheus. According to the priest, Manto is the virgin of prophecy, and rumors have come that she already knows Lacdamos. To avoid both the fulfillment of the prophecy and the popular turmoil, Pentheus orders the sacrifice of Manto in honor of Demeter to obtain better harvests. Dirce intercedes in vain with Pentheus to prevent Manto's sacrifice, involuntarily confirming that she is already in love with Lacdamos.
At the suggestion of Tiresias, the night before the sacrifice Dirce drinks the sacred wine to Dionysus and goes with other women to
Mount Cithaeron
Cithaeron or Kithairon (Κιθαιρών, -ῶνος) is a mountain and mountain range about sixteen kilometres (ten miles) long in Central Greece. The range is the physical boundary between Boeotia in the north and Attica in the south. It is mai ...
, where she meets the stranger who gave the wine to Manto. The next day the stranger instigate the people against Pentheus, while a lightning bolt blocks the hand of the priest who would have killed Manto. The Theban youth then goes to the Cithaeron to celebrate
bacchanalia
The Bacchanalia were unofficial, privately funded popular Roman festivals of Bacchus, based on various ecstatic elements of the Greek Dionysia. They were almost certainly associated with Rome's native cult of Liber, and probably arrived in Rome ...
in honor of Dionysus, as well as the marriage between Manto and Lacdamos. The stranger reveals indeed that Lacdamos is actually the cousin of Pentheus and legitimate king of Thebes; according to the laws, he can therefore take Manto as his wife even if she has already been consecrated to Demeter.
Pentheus sends soldiers to the Cytheron and imprisons the rebels. The stranger manages to save himself but the next day he spontaneously goes to the palace before Pentheus' wedding, which has him chained to the cliffs of the Cithaeron. However, to appease the people's spirits, he decides to free all the captured people, except Manto and Lacdamos. Dirce visits the chained stranger, with whom she has fallen in love, who nevertheless reveals that he is Dionysus and will soon leave his mortal body.
Meanwhile, Tiresias reveals to Polycrates, the current head of the tribe that belonged to
Athamas
In Greek mythology, Athamas (; grc, Ἀθάμας, Athámas) was a Boeotian king.Apollodorus1.9.1/ref>
Family
Athamas was formerly a Thessalian prince and the son of King Aeolus of Aeolia and Enarete, daughter of Deimachus. He was the brothe ...
(Lacdamo's father), that Lacdamos is the true king of Thebes. Polychrates' soldiers free him and Manto and join the
Bacchae
''The Bacchae'' (; grc-gre, Βάκχαι, ''Bakchai''; also known as ''The Bacchantes'' ) is an ancient Greek tragedy, written by the Athenian playwright Euripides during his final years in Macedonia, at the court of Archelaus I of Macedon. ...
, fighting against the army of Pentheus. Lacdamos defeats Pentheus in a duel and becomes the new king of Thebes; Dionysus finally ascends to god, while Dirce will lead the Bacchae.
Cast
*
Taina Elg
__NOTOC__
Taina may refer to:
People Women
* Taina Asili (), Puerto Rican musician, filmmaker and activist
* Taïna Barioz (born 1988), French alpine skier
* Taina Bien-Aimé, Swiss social activist
* Taina Bofferding (born 1982), Luxembourgish po ...
as Dirce
*
Pierre Brice
Pierre-Louis Le Bris (6 February 1929 – 6 June 2015), known as Pierre Brice, was a French actor, best known as portraying fictional Apache-chief Winnetou in German films based on Karl May novels.
Life and films
Brice was born in Brest, Brit ...
as Dionysus
*
Alessandra Panaro
Alessandra Panaro (14 December 1939 – 1 May 2019) was an Italian film actress of the late 1950s and early 1960s.
Panaro is best known for her films in the early 1960s, notably Luchino Visconti's crime drama '' Rocco e i suoi fratelli'' in 19 ...
as Manto
*
Alberto Lupo
Alberto Lupo (byname of Alberto Zoboli; 19 December 1924 – 13 August 1984) was an Italian film and television actor best known for his roles in swash-buckling and actions films of the 1960s.
Lupo starred in films such as ''A 008, operazione ...
as Pentheus
*
Akim Tamiroff
Akim Mikhailovich Tamiroff, russian: Аким Михайлович Тамиров (born Hovakim Tamiryants; October 29, 1899 – September 17, 1972) was an Armenian-American actor of film, stage, and television. One of the premier character act ...
as Tiresias
*
Raf Mattioli
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's Air force, air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal ...
as Lacdamos
*
Erno Crisa
Erno Crisa (10 March 1914 – 4 April 1968) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in more than 50 films between 1944 and 1968. His last film was the spaghetti western ''Sugar Colt''.
Partial filmography
* ''Croisières sidérales'' (1942) ...
as Atteon
*
Miranda Campa
Miranda Campa (31 January 1914 – 7 May 1989) was a Swiss-born Italian actress and voice actress.
Life and career
Born Liliana Campa Capodaglio in Geneva, the nephew of actors Pio Campa and Wanda Capodaglio, Campa studied acting at the ...
as Agave
*
Gérard Landry
Landry Fernand Charles Marrier de Lagatinerie (16 October 1912 – 18 September 1999), known professionally as Gérard Landry, was an Argentinian actor. He began acting in 1932 with his first movie ''Mirages de Paris'', acted for over fifty ...
as Shepherd
*
Nerio Bernardi
Nerio Bernardi (23 July 1899 – 12 January 1971) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in nearly 200 films between 1918 and 1970. He was born in Bologna, Italy and died in Rome, Italy.
Selected filmography
* ''Nero'' (1922)
* ''The Sheph ...
as High Priest
*
Enzo Fiermonte
Enzo Fiermonte (17 July 1908 – 22 March 1993), sometimes credited as William Bird, was an Italian actor and boxer.
Early life
Vincenzo "Enzo" Fiermonte was born on 17 July 1908 in Casamassima, a rural village near Bari, in southern Italy to D ...
as Polycrates
*
Nino Marchetti
Nino or Niño may refer to:
* Nino (name)
* Niño (name)
*Antonin Scalia, American Supreme Court justice whose nickname was "Nino"
*El Niño, a climate pattern in the tropical Pacific Ocean
*NINO, an abbreviation for National Insurance number in t ...
as Theban
Differences with mythology and Euripides' work
* Lacdamos' character does not exist; the children of Ino and Athamas (
Learches and
Melicertes
In Greek mythology, Melicertes ( grc, Μελικέρτης, Melikértēs, sometimes Melecertes), later called Palaemon or Palaimon (), was a Boeotian prince as the son of King Athamas and Ino, daughter of King Cadmus of Thebes. He was the brot ...
) died as children and none of them married Manto
* Pentheus dies killed by his own mother, who has become a maenad under the control of Dionysus
* After the death of Pentheus the crown of Thebes passed to uncle
Polydorus
In Greek mythology, Polydorus (; grc, Πολύδωρος, i.e. "many-gift d) or Polydoros referred to several different people.
*Polydorus, son of Phineus and Cleopatra, and brother of Polydector (Polydectus). These two sons by his first wife were ...
(only son of
Cadmus
In Greek mythology, Cadmus (; grc-gre, Κάδμος, Kádmos) was the legendary Phoenician founder of Boeotian Thebes. He was the first Greek hero and, alongside Perseus and Bellerophon, the greatest hero and slayer of monsters before the da ...
and future great-grandfather of
Oedipus
Oedipus (, ; grc-gre, Οἰδίπους "swollen foot") was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. A tragic hero in Greek mythology, Oedipus accidentally fulfilled a prophecy that he would end up killing his father and marrying his mother, thereby ...
)
* Dirce was the wife of
Lycus, who will be the future regent of Thebes for
Labdacus In Greek mythology, Labdacus ( grc, Λάβδακος, ''Lábdakos'') was the only son of Polydorus and a king of Thebes. Labdacus was a grandson of Thebes' founder, Cadmus. His mother was Nycteïs, daughter of Nycteus.
Mythology
Polydorus die ...
(son of Polydous and cousin of Pentheus)
Release
''The Bacchantes'' was released in Italy with a 100 minute running time on March 2, 1961.
References
Sources
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bacchantes, The
1961 films
French fantasy adventure films
Italian fantasy adventure films
Films based on works by Euripides
Films based on classical mythology
Films directed by Giorgio Ferroni
Films scored by Mario Nascimbene
Peplum films
1960s fantasy adventure films
Sword and sandal films
Works based on The Bacchae
1960s Italian films
1960s French films