"An attempt at a critical edition" "Sole (1929) has been considered a lost film since 1943." "This reconstruction is an attempt, using all the surviving material, to reconstruct, albeit only partially, the structure of the work." "The difficulty of the work mostly stems from the shortness of the surviving film pieces, 253 meters out of 2042, and by the evident discrepancy between the script and the realized film." "In the latter, in fact, are missing many narrative blocks that are present in the script, and vice versa." "To bridge these gaps, some neutral cards have been inserted, whose text is taken from the synopsis and from a detailed story published in "cinematografo"." "The First Act" "Swamp:" "land where the sun reflects in the mud, field of the eternal conflict between civilization and regress." "A fragile barge of reclaimers goes to the "ford of the ugly house", to fathom the waters." "I fear that this time we'll fathom these waters with our heads!" "You really are the picture of gaiety!" "(actor Rolando Costantino)" "Herds of buffaloes cross the fords for the change of pasture, crashing and sweeping away everything." "Say, buttero, you have a dry cigarette by chance?" "Hey, buddy!" "Where did you hide?" "At the furthest outpost of progress on the march:" "the advanced camp of the land reclaimers." "The chief engineer of the reclamation works." "(actor Marcello Spada)" "Get a boat ready for me." "I must reach the two workers who are fathoming at the "ford of ugly house"." "In the center of the unexplored swamp area." "Within one month from the date of this notice the inhabitants of the right bank of the "straight channel" are required to clear out the shacks and the ruins occupied by them, leaving the zone free for the advancing reclamation operations." "From the same date shall be also forbidden for anyone to hunt, to gather firewood or to carry out other non authorized works in that area." "But, at least, we can still drink?" "The usurpers oust us from the last shelters, they forbid us hunting, fishing, housing, life." "Shall we yield even this last strip of our land?" "(Silvestro: the actor Vittorio Vaser)" "I'm going to call Marco." "We'll all meet all here shortly." "Marco's house." "Marco's daughter:" "Giovanna." "(the actress Dria Paola)" "Is there your father, Giovanna?" "Marco: coming as a foreigner to the swamp, he made it his land." "They all loved him and elected him leader." "(Silvestro) The order to evacuate the area has arrived." "We are waiting for you at the Tavern of the Tower to decide what is to be done." "(Marco) Go to the "ford of the ugly house" and tell the herdsmen that they too are to come to the Tavern of the Tower." "Meanwhile, also the engineer too was heading by boat toward the "ford of the ugly house"." "(Costantino) We were overwhelmed by the buffaloes." "My partner [Baldo] has disappeared." "(Engineer Rinaldi) What is that wound on your arm?" "(Costantino) A scratch... (Rinaldi) Go to the camp, get it medicated..." "I will continue searching." "At the Tavern of the Tower, the swamp people, incited by the most rowdies, awaits Marco." "They rob us of all sources of income, of life!" "They'll reduce us to beggars, without even a roof..." "(The evicted) We will be chased away like dogs!" "We must resist!" ""Suddenly, the engineer tends ear as if he heard a moan..." "He forwards a few yards into the tangle of bushes and scrub, up to frame the head and part of the bust of Baldo sprawled on the ground, unconscious." "Rinaldi, after a moment of perplexity, bends again toward the wounded man." "From the back, meanwhile, the figure of a woman approaches uncertainly." "The call alerted her and she is rushing. " (Scenes 200, 201, 207)" "The marsh had had an echo of piety." "On the way home, Giovanna had been attracted by the desperate call." ""The interior of the Tavern of the Tower." "The hunters, gathered around Marco, discuss the situation created by the new ordinance that affects the inhabitants of the swamp." (Scene 134)" ""The hunters, who are still around Marco, turn around abruptly toward the door." (Scene 142)" "This time I want to show Marco what it means to be men..." "Shut up you, you're a coward..." "And you know it!" "Barbara, she-wolf of the swamp." "She belongs to everyone and to none." "(actress Lia Bosco)" "Women, out!" "Of women, you take care at your own home." "Here, take care of us!" "I'll go this very evening to talk to the engineer." "We'll meet again here on my return." "Let him go!" "Tonight we will know from his mouth what is accomplished with chatter." "Sunset is approaching." "In the camp of the reclaimers, work has ceased." "In the cabins come on the first lights and the first songs are heard." "Jesus and Mary!" ""The Swamp." "Marco and Giovanna walk confidently along the paths that cross the bogs..." (Scene 250)" "(Marco) Hey, guys!" "Where is the recruitment office for workmen?" "(facsimile of a letter written with unsteady hand):" "...will no longer be hungry." "If, with God's help, you will a find job there, we will begin to live peacefully." "The blessing of your mom." "(A reclaimer to Costantino) The engineer wants you." "(Engineer Rinaldi) After tomorrow, at dawn, I want to return to the "ford of the ugly house"." "I need a boat and a guide to the sites." "(Engineer Rinaldi) Also the mines for clearing must be ready by the day after tomorrow." "Glad to accompany her father, Giovanna harbored a hope:" "to see again the young man of that morning!" ""Silvestro sees beyond the window the path on which" "Marco and Giovanna are passing." (Scene 232)" "(Barbara to Silvestro) You like the girl..." ""..." "Barbara's eyes flash with desire..." "Their two mouths join together in a desperate kiss..." "Barbara drags Silvestro along with her, he rolls with the woman by the fireplace." "Their bodies are floundering in the throes of desire..." "The scarlet reflections of the fireplace give the scene a wild and dramatic tone."" "Censored scenes (453-457)" "Not far from the camp of reclaimers, love acts as sentinel to civilization." "Anna, the daughter of the chief herdsman." "(actress Anna Vinci)" "What is that bandaged arm?" "Nothing serious." "A rude shove by certain young impolite buffaloes..." "Rather!" "..." "See if you can provide me a boat and a guide for the engineer." "Can I count on it?" "Brava!" "And now, look what a beautiful game!" ""Anna breaks free of the grip, and points out to Costantino the direction where Marco and Giovanna are coming..." (Scene 258)" "(Giovanna) True, Anna, that the Reclamation Management is on that side?" "On the first reclaimed fields." "The Angelus." "They were at least 5,000 buffaloes!" "Well, let's do ten less!" "(Engineer Rinaldi) Have you arranged for the boat?" "A woman young and pretty..." "It's my father." "I wish to talk about issues that can not be stated here, with this noise." "A guitar chord is enough to arouse visions of faraway things." "Even Marco is troubled by that singing you deprive us of roof and bread." "It is inhumane." "You've bought the area, maybe?" "...This is not an answer return to civilization and progress." "We bring you life, work, the Sun!" "Go to Anna's." "Wait there." "(Giovanna) As a kiss, it was not bad!" "..." "(Anna) Keep quiet... my father might hear." "(the chief herdsman) Usurpers!" "And that dandy who commands them must learn how to live!" "(Giovanna) The usurper is you, ugly raven!" "It will be the engineer who will teach you all how to live!" "He convinced even Dad!" "Imagine if he would ever learn from you!" "Ooh!" "How you get worked up!" "(the chief herdsman) Let's go warn the friends at the Tavern." "I wouldn't want the old man to trick us..." "The incitements to riot had exasperated the minds, in the enervating wait for Marco." "(Silvestro) We must resist!" "The old man let himself be convinced." "So said his daughter!" "The overt hostility of his men compels even Marco to attack." "(Marco) You believe that I am intimidated by you?" "(Marco) Miserable is your spirit, just as your minds ..." "Look!" "(Marco) And came to his lips the engineer's words:" ""Return to civilization and progress."" "(Barbara) When will you marry off your daughter to the engineer?" "(Barbara) I've seen you myself going to him, you and your daughter." "(Marco) Cowards!" "Shaken by the emotion, Marco's fibre had ceded to the dangers of the swamp:" "the pernicious malaria." "(Giovanna) What have you done to my father?" "He's dying!" "In the elation and in the drunkenness, the swamp's men had sought the strength that they could not seek in the mind." "The last lights were going out at the camp of reclaimers." ""Giovanna, in the grip of the keenest anxiety, after asking in vain for help to the people of the swamp, rushed to the camp of reclaimers." "Engineer Rinaldi is still awake ... " (from "cinematografo")" "My father is dying!" "..." "Swamp..." "Rest assured, Giovanna." "Your father's condition is not serious." "(Barbara) This night the engineer came to the swamp together with Giovanna." "When everything has been said without speaking, then the moment of farewell is even more difficult." "The sinister herald of winter in the swamp: the pernicious." "(Barbara) I know why this man is dead." "Those damned have polluted the waters." "(Barbara) Tonight, the engineer has penetrated the swamp..." "No more words!" "We need to act." "That same evening, at the Tavern of the Tower..." "(Anna) The engineer wants a boat and a guide by tomorrow morning." "Must make a survey of the "ford of the ugly house"." "(Anna) So?" "Can I rest easy?" "(The chief herdsman to his daughter Anna) Why do you meddle, you?" "Go home!" "(Silvestro) You said a boat and a guide?" "(Silvestro) I'll go myself... (Silvestro to the chief herdsman) Tomorrow morning at seven o'clock, you'll bring your herd to cross the "ford of the ugly house"." "(Silvestro) You, at the same hour, shall gather the men and will lead them against the field of reclaimers." "(Silvestro) I'm going to summon the companions of the moors." "From hut to hut, Silvestro spreads the watchword everywhere: tomorrow, at dawn!" "Tomorrow, at dawn!" "Dawn." "(Silvestro) Soon as you see the boat at the bend of the ford, incite the buffaloes and push them into the water." "Memories of a faraway dawn in the trenches..." ""Silvestro for the first time looks at the face of the engineer he hates, realizes he's in front of his officer who saved his life in the war." "And now, it is he who must and wants to save him at any cost!" (from "cinematografo")" "In the dead canal." "They're saved!" ""The two men fraternally tend their hands in token of a renewed and indissoluble friendship." (from "cinematografo")" "Meanwhile..." "In the camp of the reclaimers," ""A danger still threatens!" "They must hasten to the camp of the reclaimers, where the men of the swamp must have unleashed the attack." "The two men do not hesitate to confront the dangerous situation." (from "cinematografo")" "(Silvestro) I am ready to respond in person..." "Go ahead, kill me!" ""Silvestro advances." "Boldly, he confronts the companions alone." "But a hothead fires a revolver shot against him, against the traitor." "Like a beast Barbara throws herself, and gets struck in the heart." "The victim's blood placates the rioters, and opens their eyes to the light." (from "cinematografo")" "Progress has accomplished its task." "And in the new team of reclaimers there are some familiar faces." "Look, Marco, they have called you, over there!" "The sun blazes over the regenerated countryside, and tans the pale flesh of the swamp people, now transformed into sturdy settlers." "Rinaldi and Giovanna watch over, while a mighty plow, guided by the firm hand of Silvestro, with his glittering ploughshare offers to the kiss of the sun the virgin soil, not plowed since centuries." "(from "cinematografo")" "This edition was compiled starting from the following materials: the opening excerpt (249 meters) and the fragment of the censored scene (4 meters) stored at the Cineteca Nazionale." "Then, 70 original frames were inserted, 19 scene photographs, some of which taken from the magazine "cinematografo", and finally, some sketches by Gastone Medin that are part of the Blasetti fund (Cineteca di Bologna). 101 original intertitles have been reconstructed and inserted." "English subs by edam17@KG"