Dante's Inferno is a 2007 comedy film performed with hand-drawn paper puppets on a theater stage. The film was adapted from the book "Dante's Inferno" by Sandow Birk and Marcus Sanders (Chronicle Books, 2004), a modern update of the canticle Inferno from Dante Alighieri's epic poem Divine Comedy. The film chronicles Dante's (voiced by Dermot Mulroney) journeys through the underworld, guided by Virgil (voiced by James Cromwell). The head puppeteer was Paul Zaloom and the puppets were designed by Elyse Pignolet and drawn by Sandow Birk. The film premiered January 20, 2007 at the 2007 Slamdance Film Festival.Dante's Inferno - Slamdance Film Festival 2007 . Slamdance.com. Retrieved 2007-08-26 The film has also been shown at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, Sarasota Film Festival, Atlanta Film Festival, Newport Beach Film Festival, Maryland Film Festival, Silver Lake Film Festival, the Boston Underground Film Festival, and on the Ovation TV cable network.
Plot The film opens with a theater stage and Dante Alighieri waking up in a stupor. With little memory of where he is, he finds Virgil, an old man in a bathrobe, who identifies himself; shows Dante an image of Beatrice, his dead lover; and guides him to the gates of hell.
After passing the street sign which reads "Abandon all hope on entry here," Virgil shows Dante those in Limbo (for they never chose a side in life) forced to forever protest at a harbor. They meet Charon and, after an earthquake and crossing the Acheron, enter the first circle— for those whose vice was not being Christians— who have no punishment but separation from God. Virgil introduces Dante to the poets and describes the liberation of famous Old Testament figures from hell.
Continuing, they witness King Minos judging sinners. In the second circle, they see the lustful being forced to eternally have sex. After hearing the story of Francesca and Paulo, Dante passes out. He wakes up in the third circle, a construction zone full of trash; after Virgil shoots Cerberus, they see the gluttonous who are forced to eternally eat. In the fourth circle lies the greedy, with obscured identities, forced to push a car in a circle.
Reaching the river Styx, Dante and Virgil cross it via a taxi boat; in the river fight the souls of the wrathful. Reaching the City of Dis, a suburban "planned community," Virgil convinces the occupants to let him and Dante in. The two visit the sixth circle where heretics burn in Jacuzzis. Dante, recognizing his old landlord, Farinata, explains the souls ability to vaguely see past and future. After encountering a terrible stench, Virgil advises them to take a break. While resting, he explains the next three circles of violence, fraud, and treachery as mugshots of various historical figures in those circles cycle on the screen.
After going to the Minotaur's Greek food stand, Dante and Virgil meet Chiron and other centaurs in police uniforms who they pay to get a ride by the Phlegethon, a flaming river with those who committed violence against others. Going farther, the two enter a park full of those who committed suicide whose souls are trapped in trees. Continuing, they enter The White Swallow, where Dante finds Mr. Latini, his teacher, who shows him those in this ring are forced to continuously dance.
Meeting a giant hole, Dante and Virgil descend on a Fox News helicopter. After getting kicked out of the plane by Virgil, Dante sees the seducers (pimps) and the two get a ride with demon-pimp Celia. At Capitol Hill, home of the flatterers, they hear musical number which condemns lobbyists. Farther down, Dante enters the church of the simonist, those who abused their religious positions. Next, the diviners are stuck with their heads twisted around. Celia drops of Dante and Virgil at an airport where barrators are punished. After Spiro Agnew is beat by the TSA for taking bribes, Virgil and Dante, chased, run and jump off of a jet bridge where they meet the hypocrites in mascot costumes. Farther, Dante is almost deceived by the identity thieves who are only able to assume the identities of others but leaves shortly. In a puppet show, Ulysses tells his story in which he abandoned his family and convinced his crew to "civilize" the rest of the world; the weight of the loot eventually causing his crew to drown. Outside, a Muslim taxi-driver berates Dante and Virgil; they are punished by being split in two. In a skyscraper are the falsifiers; going down an elevator, they witness the ironic torturing of money launderers, asset-inflaters, and insider-traders.
Taking the subway to Cocytus, a frozen city, they ice-skate. Meeting Dick Cheney, he tells how a demon possesses his body on Earth. At hell's center, Satan, a human in red body paint, is eating Judas, Brutus, and Heinrich Himmler. Nearly being killed, Dante escapes through Satan's behind and leaves the underworld.
Voice cast Tony Abatemacro - Lying Defendant, Farinata Scott Adsit - Judge Minos, Paolo, Hirohito, Spiro Agnew Matt Besser - Metallica Defendant, L. Ron Hubbard, Curtis LeMay, Bill Chott - Ciaccio 'El Gordo', Calvacanti, Joseph Stalin, Ulysses' Crew Mike Coleman - Charon, Phlegyas, Senator, Dick Cheney James Cromwell - Virgil Andrew Daly - Lucan, "Right On" Glutton, Jim Jones, Airport Screener, Ulysses' Naysayer John Fleck - Brunetto Latini Sean Forrester - Horace, Filippo Argenti, White Pimp, Beating Victim, Airport Security, Insider Trader #2 Tony Hale - Ovid, Real Estate Broker, Pope Nicholas III Tom Hallick - George Sanders, Deep Voiced Lobbyist Brandon Johnson - Irate Driver, Mounted Policeman, Pimp #1, Pimp #3, Airport Security Laura Krafft - George Sand, Airport P.A., Subway P.A. Dermot Mulroney - Dante Martha Plimpton - Celia, Lobbyist Singer, Lizzie Borden Kit Pongetti - W.M.D. Defendant, Francesca, Marilyn Monroe, Elena Ceaușescu Tami Sagher - George Eliot, Greed Seductress, Barbara Bates, Penelope Dana Snyder - Strom Thurmond, Ulysses Janet Varney - Teacher, Cleopatra, City of Dis Intercom, Ulysses' Usher Matt Walsh - Benito Mussolini, Fox Reporter, Airport Security Pursuer Paul Zaloom - Homer, God, Officer Chiron, Southern Lobbyist, Airport Security, Caiaphas, Ulysses' Crew, Mahmoud, Insider Trader #1, Nicolae Ceaușescu
Mark Ritts - Gianciotto or Giovanni Malatesta
Characters The two main characters of Dante's Inferno are Dante Alighieri and Virgil. Mentioned before their entering to hell is Ralph, a friend of Dante whom he calls after exiting hell, and Beatrice, Dante's dead lover. God is additionally a character portrayed in the Harrowing of Hell scene. The following is an incomplete list of characters ordered quasi-chronologically in the film and where in hell they reside: +CharacterCircleSubsectionSinNotesCharonLimbo—Charon is the ferryman over the Acheron riverOvid1stBorn before ChristHoraceHomerGeorge SandGeorge EliotAbelPreviously in the 1st circle; ascended to heaven during the Harrowing of HellNoahMosesSamuelKing Minos2nd—At the entrance of the 2nd circle; determines entering sinners punishmentCleopatraLustHelen of TroyFatty ArbuckleJohn F. KennedyPaul GauguinFrancescaIs having sex with PauloPauloIs having sex with FrancescaCerberus3rdGluttonyThree-headed guard dog who lives in the 3rd circleEl GordoReferred to as "Ciacco" in the InfernoMr. Argenti5thWrathDante's swim coach; he is in the river StyxFarinata6thHeresyDante's landlordL. Ron HubbardJim JonesBilly SundayFather DivineRuhollah KohmoneiJohn O' ConnorMinotaur7th—Right outside the 6th circle, the Minotaur runs a Greek food standChiron Head of the other police officer centaurs; punishes the sinners of this circleVasco Nunez de Balboa7th1stStealingFeatured in a slideshow of headshots and not pictured elsewhereHernando de SotoDestruction of propertyBoss TweedExtortionJ.P. MorganRobberyAttila the HunRapeJohn Wilkes BoothMurderJoseph StalinWarmongeringCurtis LeMayBenito MussoliniHirohitoGeorge Sanders2ndSuicideBarbara BatesMarilyn MonroeHermann GoeringKaiser WilhelmWasted personal propertyFeatured in a slideshow of headshots and not pictured elsewhereKing FaroukGambling and whoredomDean MartinDrunkennessPol Pot3rdGeneral violence against GodRobert MosesGoing against natureLyndon B. JohnsonCursingMarge SchottSwearingFriedrich NietzscheBlasphemyBrunetto LatiniSodomy and homosexualityMr. Latini, as he is referred to as, is Dante's teacher, Brunetto Latini, who states that he is in hell due to "sodomy" laws and "Christian values;" he heavily applies he is non-heterosexual and dons a rainbow headband.Roy CohnHeavily implied sexual acts against nature e.g. homosexualtiyBrunetto Latini points out these sinners as currently dancing in The White Swallow. Additionally listed is "a bunch of fun guys from the Diocese of Boston."Joseph McCarthyJ. Edgar HooverClyde TolsonLiberaceAndrew CunananErnst RöhmGreyon [sic]7th—Greyon, analagous to Geryon, is a Fox News helicopterRichard M. Nixon8thCrookeryFeatured in a slideshow of headshots and not pictured elsewhereTokyo RoseLyingLee AtwaterConningAl CaponeTax EvasionPeter LawfordPimpdom and flatteryRichard HelmsDrug dealingLeni RiefenstahiGriftingBilly CarterFreeloadingF. Lee BaileyAmbulance chasingFrancisco FrancoBeing a "plain old prick"Celia8th1st—A "demon pimp" who gives Dante and Virgil a ride in her convertibleStatue of Freedom2nd—Unnamed; begins the musical number of the lobbyistsNicholas III3rdSimony and abuse of church positionsAlexander VIJohn XIIBoniface VIIIRonald Reagan4thConsulting astrologistsAdolf HitlerDante reports his shock that Hitler is in hell for astrology and not genocideSpiro Agnew5thBarratryStrom Thurmond6thHypocrisyCaiaphasCaiaphas is wearing a Barney costume and is being crucified, singing "I love you, you love me" repeatedly.Ulysses8thPersuading his men to sinUlysses performs a puppet show that explains how he led his men astray after the Trojan War and on a global conquest of looting and murdering, eventually drowning with his men from the weight of the lootMahmoudBeing MuslimHe complains and berates Dante regarding his sentencing in Hell, islamophobia (especially regarding the September 11 attacks), and his portrayal in the movie as a taxi-driver.AbdulBrother-in-law of MahmoudJohn Gotti9th1stFraud against familyFeatured in a slideshow of headshots and not pictured elsewhereCharles PonziFraud against friendsHenri-Philippe Petain2ndFraud against countryJohn Wayne Gacy3rdFraud against hospitalityHerff Applewhite—TreacheryNathuran Godse [sic]Lizzie Borden9thTreachery against kinNicolae CeausescuTreachery against countryElena CeausescuQuislingTreacheryUgolinoTreachery against countryUgolino is chewing on the ear of Ruggieri, who is portrayed yet unnamedDick CheneyTreacheryCheney was still vice president when the film released; similar to Fra Alberigo in the Inferno, he was "so evil" that his soul went to hell before his death, his body being possessed by a demonSatanCenter of HellSatan is at the center of hell, gnawing on the three following sinners: Judas, Brutus, and Heinrich HimmlerJudas IscariotBrutusHeinrich HimmlerPope John Paul II—In a repeated visual gag, John Paul II appears rolling around in a wheelchair, confused why he is not in heaven
Reception Film critic Curt Holman gave the film 3 stars and said it had a "far-ranging and bawdy satirical spirit." Film critic Kevin Stewart said "such political satire is very fitting for the manner and the times."
"There’s enough of the divinely comic in this 'Inferno' to justify a pair of sequels" -Peter Keough, Boston Phoenix, March 2007
"...feels like the unholy offspring of Mike Judge and R. Crumb." – Robert Abele, LA Times, May 2007