Inspired by grand opera and Italy's imperialist victory in the Libyan War (1911-12), the Italian movie industry produced dozens of historical epics in the period just before World War I. The most influential and successful of these was Cabiria, the visually spectacular film which set the standard for the big-budget feature-length movies around the world and opened the way for D.W. Griffith and Cecil B. De Mille. The story concerns a girl-Cabiria-who is separated from her parents during the Punic Wars in the Third Century B.C. In her odyssey through the world of ancient Rome, she encounters the eruption of Mt. Etna, capture by pirates, the barbaric splendor of Carthage, human sacrifice and Hannibal crossing the Alps. With meticulous care given to costume and set design, Cabiria was shot in North Africa, Sicily and the Italian Alps.
"Early Masterpiece: First Historical Epic-Blockbuster"
Written By: Alberto M. Barral
I became interested in "Cabiria" as a ressult of watching Griffith's "intolerance" (Kino version) where an excerpt of the action on the temple of Moloch was included, and I knew then I needed to see the whole movie, which was most definitely an inspiration for the Griffith masterpiece. Cabiria is a little girl that lives with her family in the proximity of the Aetna volcano in Sicily. She undergoes a series of complex adventures as she is saved by her nurse, then kidnapped by pirates and then sold into slavery and bought by Moloch's priest with the purpose of sacrificing her in the fiery furnace at the statue of the god, which truly deserves the title of first really scary mechanical contraption in film. She is rescued by Romans Fulvio Axilla and his "Herculean" (as described by the NY Times review at the viewing at the Knickerbocker theater in NY) assistant-side kick, Maciste, both of whom her nurse encountered at the city walls. As Romans, they were spying on Carthage's defenses at this time of the Punic Wars, but it takes them no time to morph into heros willing to rescue Cabiria. However her story does not end there, and it goes through a lot more convolutions before she can return home for the happy ending. The complexity of the story can be attributed to Gabriele D'Anunzio who was the official script writer as well as the author of the typically flamboyant intertitles by Italy's "damned poet" , enfant terrible and celebrity of that time. There was also a political interest and D'Anunzio fully supported Italy's imperialist policies which were anexing territories during these years of war with the Ottoman Empire. So it was the right time to remind the Italian public, and the world at large of the brutality of ancient Carthage's religion, and the improvement that obviously came with Roman conquest. This movie is unbelievable for what it encompasses: A volcanic eruption, (where the tragedy of Cabiria begins as she is separated from her parents) a naval battle where we see Archemedes working at burning the Roman fleet with his mirrors, Hannibal crossing the alps, elephants included, and the elaborate battle scene during the siege of an ancient city. The most memorable scene is the gruesome ceremony at the temple of Moloch of the burning of the children as sacrifice for the god. The architecture influenced not only the Babylon of "Intolerance" but the principal machine in Fritz Lang's "Metropolis" which looks at one point in that film remarkably close to the facade of this temple. The attention to detail throughout the movie, whether in costumes, props or architecture is superb. However what really makes the movie memorable, aside from the camera work of Segundo de Chom³n, which is extraordinary for the time, is the starring of Itala Almirante-Manzini in the role of Princess, then queen, Sophonisba as the first Diva of the silver screen and Bartolomeo Pagano as the first muscle-man superhero on film as Maciste.
The first time we see Sophonisba she is in a terrace, and looks like a Symbolist painting in her exquisite 19th century art nouveau jewelry and exotic dress. She is in a couch, and all is luxury and splendor around her, including her pet leopard that she caresses is a suggestive manner that encapsulates the whole concept of 19th century decadence as she runs her fingers through his tail. From that scene forward she always appears in similar attire, surrounded by fan bearing slaves, musicians and attendants, and wether she is entertaining a victorious hero, dreaming an elaborate nightmare or just looking over her terrace, she gestures dramatically and appears ready to burst into an aria every other minute. She is all of Hollywood's glamour one generation earlier and went on to a very successful movie career, and died, most fittingly, bitten by a poisonous insect during a theatrical tour in 1941 that took her to Brazil. Her death scene in "Cabiria" is worth the price of the movie. She drinks poison hidden in a bracelet, which of course she dissolves in a golden cup worth a king's ransom, that is sent to her by her husband when it looks like she will be taken prisoner by the Romans. It is at this point that she decides to free Cabiria from her cell at Moloch's temple, where she was taken again, years after her rescue, to be sacrificied. Cabiria was her slave, but Sophonisba had a disturbing dream that decided her on that course of action, and they are reconciled before Sophonisba dies in a convoluted exercise of delicate contorsions and death spasms between her couch, a difficult standing posture and her final collapse in the rug that only she could have possibly pulled off. Maciste is just as fun to look at. From the first time we see him he is showing off a magnificent physique that looks perfect in Roman clothes. He flexes his muscles at any excuse and opens the iron bars of the prison window without much trouble in what is surely the first filmed instance of this classic superhero feat, another moment of glory occurs when he thows a Carthaginian into a fiery torch at the temple of Moloch. Wether he is throwing off enemies as if they were made of cardboard or climbing a tree to get through a window at the high priest's palace, there is never a dull moment in watching this action hero, who also has a comical side, aptly demonstrated when he is locked up with Fulvio in a basement full of succulent food supplies and good wine. It's no wonder he went on to a whole career in Maciste -muscle-hero movies, which must have been the ancestors of all the sandal and sword movies that came later. This epic is an absolue must for those who love quality in film, no matter where and when it was produced; but I must say it was a pleasant surprise to discover that the epic blockbuster, full motion picture was an Italian invention, a fitting continuation of their cultural achievement in Opera.
"one of the most influential films of all time"
Written By: ginsu
HFS this film is sick. a mix of classic arabesque and fantasy from 1913. nice special effects of mt vesuvious erupting, the gianormous statue of moloch and feeding children into a giant oven. . hella text cards include elaborate invocations to pagan dieties.
the piano score sucks.
"Cabiria"
Written By: Steven Hellerstedt
One of the first sword-and-sandal Italian spectacles, and one of cinema's first epics of any kind, CABIRIA (1914) presents a fairly rare dilemma for the diligent reviewer. Usually the stars I give a product simply gauge my reaction on the `Love It-Hate It' scale. I love some bad movies and don't necessarily care for all the classics. My personal reaction to CABIRIA is a weak three stars. It was okay, but I can't say it had me on the edge of my chair, or that I didn't glance at the time on the dvd-player a time or two to see how much longer it had left.
On the other hand, there are some landmark films that deserve extra consideration. This movie was one of the first, my history book tells me, to take the camera out of its fixed seat in the audience and take the actors and action off the proscenium stage. Its sets were some of the most spectacular seen to date, and its special effects were state of the art. It contributed to the development of tracking shots and lighting against shadows to create dramatic effect. If it didn't quite invent the close-up, it certainly brought the camera closer to its restrained - for the day - actors. It helped prove that audiences would tolerate a two-hour film, as opposed to the then standard twelve to twenty-five minute ones. And, we're told, it so affected D.W. Griffith that immediately after viewing it he scrapped the two-reel melodrama he was then working on in favor of his first masterpiece, 1915's The Birth of a Nation, where he invented the close-up.
In other words, CABIRIA helped change things profoundly, and innovation deserves respect. Hence the strong four-stars to a movie I ain't all that crazy about. The story is certainly sprawling enough. A young girl, Cabiria, is separated from her parents in the confusion after earthquakes hit and Mount Etna explodes. Her governess takes her to Carthage, where the two are sold into bondage and the young girl is selected as an offering to the fire-god Moloch. Happily, a Roman officer, his slave, and a Carthagenian princess enter the story right about then.
While the film more or less stay with Cabiria, it does wrest itself away long enough to join Hannibal crossing the Alps, Archimedes devising a converging mirror weapon, and the Carthagenian Princess striking one of a countless variety of grand dame poses. The Princess's acting, as they say, plays to the bleacher and is evidence that the movie was hedging its bets by keeping at least some things late Victorian traditional. Traditional too, I imagine, is the healthy head of moss growing beneath her arms. You get more than one good look at her grunge sponges every time she lifts a worried wrist to her porcelain brow, and in a movie like this a character like her has a lot of worried lifting to attend to.
I'm not sure it matters all that much. You don't accidentally stumble upon movies like CABIRIA. You get them because you're curious about the history of cinema, and primitive tracking shots and special effects are as interesting as any actor or plot point. If you're like me and bring a dilettante's curiosity to films like this, you won't be disappointed.
"italian classic"
Written By:
what a brilliant film; sets;costumes;lighting;direction;all excellent.it just goes to show what an overinflated position d.w.griffith has been given by historians.when pastrone was using the same devices a year before 'birth of a nation'.it's a film of epic proportions and ambition and kino has done a admirable job in it's transfer.all in all it's five star's from me
"italian classic"
Written By:
what a brilliant film; sets;costumes;lighting;direction;all excellent.it just goes to show what an overinflated position d.w.griffith has been given by historians.when pastrone was using the same devices a year before 'birth of a nation'.it's a film of epic proportions and ambition and kino has done a admirable job in it's transfer.all in all it's five star's from me
"Cabiria"
