Hollywood, Rossellini et le syndrome de Griffith

Several versions exist of all the films that Roberto Rossellini made during the 1950s with Ingrid Bergman. There are in fact three versions of Stromboli, one of which was edited in the United States by RKO. Studying the differences between the American version and the other two versions sheds light on the editing approach used by Rossellini and the editing approach used by Hollywood. The latter reveals to be affected by what Elena Dagrada proposes to call the “Griffith Syndrome” and is based on a predilection for the fragmentation of space and the use of cross-cutting. We will observe how RKO’s editing steers Rossellini’s film into a melodramatic dimension, totally foreign to the mindset of the Italian director.