Filmowe igrzyska Sienkiewiczem podszyte, czyli „Quo Vadis” na dużym ekranie
The Cinematic Games Laced With Sienkiewicz, or “Quo Vadis” on the Silver Screen

Summary/Abstract: The paper concentrates on feature films based upon “Quo Vadis” by Henryk Sienkiewicz – a novel about ancient Rome which contributed to the writer’s Nobel Prize for literature and has been translated into more than forty languages. These star-studded movies (“Quo Vadis?” dir. E. Guazzoni /1913/, “Quo Vadis?” dir. G. D’Annunzio, G. Jacoby /1925/, “Quo Vadis”, dir. M. LeRoy /1951/, “Quo Vadis”, dir. J. Kawalerowicz /2001/) usually employed standard patterns of historical melodrama: the love story between Roman patrician and young Christian woman named Lygia is set against the broader historical background of early Christianity and its persecution by Nero. Regardless of time period and country of production, each of these films included the climax scene of bloody games – with Christian martyrs dying at the arena theater. The paper focuses on diverse cinematic designs of this bloodshed spectacle; furthermore, it tackles upon the multi-layered contexts of the representations of key historical figures (notably Nero and St. Peter).

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