Theodora, Slave Empress

Theodora, Slave Empress
American poster for Theodora, Slave Empress
Directed by	Riccardo Freda
Screenplay by	René Wheller Claude Accursi Raniero Cochetti Riccardo Freda
Story by	André-Paul Antoine Riccardo Freda
Starring	Gianna Maria Canale
Cinematography	Rodolfo Lombardi
Music by	Renzo Rossellini
Running time	88 minutes
Countries	Italy France

Theodora, Slave Empress (Italian: Teodora, imperatrice di Bisanzio) is a 1954 film about Theodora, a former slave who married Justinian I, emperor of Byzantium in AD 527–565. It was directed by Riccardo Freda.

Cast

• Gianna Maria Canale as "Theodora"
• Georges Marchal as "Justinian I"
• Renato Baldini as "Arcal"
• Henri Guisol as "John of Cappadocia"
• Irene Papas as "Faida"
• Olga Solbelli as "Egina"
• Roger Pigaut as "Andres"
• Nerio Bernardi as "Belisarius"
• Carletto Sposito as "Scarpios"
• Alessandro Fersen as "Metropolita"

Release

Theodora, Slave Empress was the first of director Riccardo Freda's film to obtain a wide distribution outside Italy.

Reception

In a contemporary review, The Monthly Film Bulletin gave the film a negative review referring to the film as a "dispiriting experience." The review referred to Freda as direction as "laboured" and that he "brings neither gusto nor honest vulgarity to the narrative" The review also referred to the action scenes, stating that only the chariot race is staged with "any suggestion of real flamboyancy or flair" and the Canale's erotic dance before Justinian is "painfully unexciting".

See also

• List of historical drama films
• Late Antiquity

References

• Quinlan, David (1999). Quinlan's Film Directors. B.T. Batsford. ISBN 0713477539. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

External links

• Theodora, Slave Empress at IMDb