简介：Itopigrigi,aneight-partserialproducedbyTiberFilminRome,ispartofthecomplexsagaofZalaMort,anapacheandoutlawwhowastheprotagonistof12films,fourserials,threenovelsandvarioustheatricalshowscreatedbetween1914and1930byEmilioGhione(1879-1930). ThankstohisalteregoZa,Ghionewouldeventuallybecomeagenuinelypopularstar.Ononehandheincarnatedtheroleoffearlessheroandwastheemblemofmuscularmasculinity.Ontheotherhewasalsoanaturalperformerintheroleofadandyinseveralmelodramassetinthesalonsofthedecadent,contemporarynobility–asettingreflectingtheD’Annunzio-inspiredatmosphereoftheperiod. Theserialismadeupofdiversenarrativeingredients.Itcouldbedefinedasabroadpolyptych,presentingthepublicwithstoriesderivedfromcrimefiction;theexoticsettingsofEmilioSalgariandthefarandoleinwhichthefantasticalgoeshand-in-handwiththenaturalistic;andZalaMort’sdesireforaHoratianpeacefulretirementfollowingthetransformationsdemandedbyhisextraordinaryadventures.Sometimesdifferentgenrescoexistinthesameepisode,withGhioneinsertingstereotypicaldigressionsanddetailsfromdifferentliterarycurrents(feuilletons,adventurestories,children’sfiction,etc.)inordertodistractaudienceshungryfordramaticrevelationsfromtheslenderplot.Theserialtakesspectatorstothefourcornersoftheworld,revealingahithertounseen,Ulysses-likeZalaMort. ItopigrigiisstilltheonlyoneofZa’sserialstobeconservedmoreorlessintactinrelationtoitsoriginallength.IncompletebutstilllegibletracesofZaremaininthefeature-lengthAnimebuie(1916)andtheBerlin-shotL’incubodiZalaVie(DerTraumderZalavie,1924)whilefragmentsofIltriangologiallo(1917),DollariefracksandS.E.laMorte(both1919)areknowntoexistinpublicandprivatearchives.…