Social gatherings are a nightmare for an aging Italian aristocrat, Countess Alba d' Oltrevita (Lyda Borelli), who longs for the days of her carefree youth. Alba discovers a particular and special solution for her beauty problems, which is a pact with the devil.
The devil, Mephisto (Ugo Bazzini), steps down out of a family portrait, and grants her wish, but in exchange forbids Alba to fall in love, ever. However, this condition isn’t an issue as the fun-loving Countess is only interested in having a good time, flirting with eligible men and leading them on before throwing them aside. So, it doesn't seem to matter to our Italian aristocrat because she is again young and beautiful.
After the deal, Alba eagerly embraces high society’s party scene. However, not all of her prospective beaus want to play her games, particularly two brothers, Tristano (Andrea Habay) and Sergio (Giovanni Cini). Both court her and fall in love with her, and, aware of the fact, she flutters hither and thither through the party scene, playing one off against the other.
However, the brothers have a strong bond, and instead of becoming rivals, Sergio steps aside in favor of Tristano. Then, Alba rejects him, and the prospective suitor threatens to kill himself if Alba does not grant him her love, but Alba doesn't pay attention to him and chooses his brother, provoking his death.
Alba prepares to marry Tristano but the devil must have his due and Mephisto turns her into an old woman again.
A 1915 hand-painted, tinted Black & White Italian silent fantasy horror film (a/k/a "Rapsodia Satanica") directed by Nino Oxilia, based on poems by Fausto Maria Martini, cinematography by Giorgio Ricci, starring Lyda Borelli, Andrea Habay, Ugo Bazzini, Giovanni Cini, Giulio Bazzini, and Alberto Nepoti.
The film’s release was delayed for two years, which explains why some sources list it with a 1917 date. The delay was not due to concern about the content or the ongoing war in Europe but instead, in a major coup, the producers hired prestigious composer Pietro Mascagni, who wrote his only film music for the film, but the work took him two years to complete.
Part of this oeuvre was hand-coloured and that fact gives to the film a special sense of decadent and unreal feeling that fits perfectly with the story.
Although most famous as the Germanic legend of Faust, deals with the devil are rooted in the folklore of most every culture on Earth. The first historical record of the tale dates from the 6th Century when Theophilus of Adana supposedly sought Satan’s help to acquire a position as a bishop in the Byzantine Empire. The basics were already present and correct. The selfish ambition, the temptation, the repentance, the absolution and, finally, the payment of the ultimate price. The legend was an enormous favorite with early filmmakers, too, most notably French pioneer Georges Méliès, who shot multiple versions of the story.
While the film plays with the classic horror trope of the Faustian bargain, the horror here is purely thematic and not something that we feel.
Adding to the film's power is the presence of one of the most important Italian divas of the early silent days, Lyda Borelli, known as "La divina Borelli," in one of her first leading roles. She became a real contessa in 1918, when she retired to marry a member of Italian royalty and ended her film career.
This was the last film directed by Nino Oxilia who died before his time, only in his 20s. Oxilia finished the film, went to fight in World War I and died on the battlefield. It is one of the finest achievements of the early Italian cinema. Oxilia spins a variation on the Faust myth, embodied here by the diva Lyda Borelli. Typical of extravagant D'Annunzian aestheticism at its height, this was one of the summits of what was later called the "tail coat film." Diametrically opposed to the "cinema of reality" practiced by Serena, Martoglio and others, "tail coat films" set their melodramatic stories in the salons and villas of the upper middle class and the aristocracy, deploying narrative structures contrived to showcase their actors and especially its actresses. This had the effect of accentuating their physical presence and turning them into the first stars in movie history. The success of the "diva" contributed to the development of motion picture grammar in its special use of the close-up.
This beautiful vestige of another era in cinema with delicate scenery and careful indoor settings belongs to those stylish melodramas made in Italy in the early silent days that gave prestige to the unique style of the film productions of that European country, featuring superb cinematography by Giorgio Ricci.
The influences of Italian aestheticism and German expressionism are harmoniously integrated, to offer a lavish melodrama, a beautiful example of the Italian cinema of great divas. It's tragic that this extraordinary variation of the Faust myth, as it exists, is no longer 100% complete.
