L’infinito intrattenimento. Dickens dalla pagina alle illustrazioni, agli schermi del “primo” cinema

Abstract

The knowledge and the fortune of Charles Dickens’s works are also due to the beautiful illustrations of his short and long novels. The illustrations – painted by Cruikshank, Phiz, Leech – were reproduced as slides for the Magic Lantern. But, since the beginning of the Twentieth Century, cinema was the main medium of Dickens’ s fortune all over the world. This study tries to connect the several passages from one form – for instance the book illustrations – to another – the slides for the Magic Lantern, up to the cinematographic frames. The analysis of some interesting films of the silent era and – especially – of the beginning of cinema and their relationships with the diversified ‘world’ of other images, is the focus of this study.