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romantic art which, allowed to influence literature and painting, falsified both these arts.
Thanks to the cinema, we are witnessing the revival of the centuries — old mimic art — a primordial and universal perfect art which followed in the trail of civilization from the semi-barbarous expressions to the exquisite forms of Hellas, Latinity and the Rinascimento. We are thus able to enjoy again the spectacle of the eternal manifestations of civilization, condensed by culture and picturesque sensitiveness to which all the schools of art in Europe have contributed; we are witnessing the revival and staging of spiritual life as it appears to the eye.
Triviality would, however, be fatal; more than this, it must be stopped altogether. I would not be opposed to a strict State censorship with the object of preventing all works of doubtful taste; this danger, in fact exists and indeed is far greaetr than that represented by the exhibitions of plastic art which are necessarily open to all attempts. Arts of a public nature, such as the cinema, must be absolutely perfect and irreprehensibly moral; and the conviction must spread among the people that what they see on payment is above their capacity and that there is a limit to their right of criticism.
Some time ago I occupied myself with film-production and know by experience that a flawless film is not impossible. The natural enemy are the speculators and industrial managers, men with a second-rate intelligence, who, concerned merely with immediate profit-bearing possibilities, place themselves between the public and the creative mind of the artist on the strength of the following sentence, which is complete in its banality — « This is what the public wants ! ».
Then as now, the object of my profound hatred are those glasscovered hot-houses which are improperly called « studios ». I have good reason to believe that the profuseness of papier-mache and artificial light and the foul atmosphere at once and completely put in a false light the character of the individual actors, even of those in a secondary role.
I was then able to see for myself to what extent are the people
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