Cabiria (1914) User Reviews

Fascinating early feature film epic worth a look

[arneblaze · 7/10 · 9 May 2002]

It is a little known fact that the feature film was born in Italy - that is, a film longer than the standard one or two reels in length -ten to twenty minutes. It is the crop of early Italian features, all epics, birthed in 1914, that influenced America's Griffith and DeMille. The length of CABIRIA is staggering - originally 2-1/2 hours in Italy and just over two hours here - considering most audiences were used to sitting and concentrating on a plot for only twenty minutes at most.

Were there Oscars then, the extraordinary art direction and special effects would have garnered noms - they are outstanding. The cinematography is unique in using early scanning and dollying techniques heretofore unknown in film. The plot becomes very hard to follow because the title cards are history lessons of alliances and battles that have little meaning for us and often we are aware of the cut 22 minutes in the surviving USA version as symbols and relationships which have great dramatic meaning for the players leave us baffled.

The print used by Kino and Grapevine video as well as Turner Classic Movies is impeccable - crystal clear and sharp.

For all fans of epic movies and for all film historians, this is a must see.

A different way to tell a story

[thisglimpse · 7/10 · 24 June 2007]

Everyone says the plot is convoluted, impossible to follow and boring, and that the only reason to watch this is for the costumes and set pieces. but I think they're missing something.

The plot moves forward on two levels - the personal and the political, so the real theme behind this movie is how the political affects the personal, and vice versa. Especially by the end of the film, shifting political alliances, military victories and defeats are clearly and dramatically affecting the fates of our heroes. And then, ultimately, Cabiria is freed because of the personal effect of a political move: Scipio takes Sophonisba away from Massinissa to eliminate the threat of rebellion, and in doing so, takes away the queen's reason to live.

Curiously, Cabiria, the center of the movie, is the most passive and perhaps least developed character in the film. She might as well be buried treasure. And yet she is the center of the movie, and sometimes we are reminded of her because the camera seems to forget her. Take the garden scene, when it is not at all clear what happens to her, and then we don't know for a good long time: she does not appear again literally for ten years, and then when she does reappear, it is with a different name, and we are not told it is her. She is there because she is not there; the fact that her fate is unresolved remains the central tension and dramatic force of the movie.

Ultimately, I think this form of storytelling - both the "big world/little world" plot development and the "unresolved character" issue work better in literature/theater than on film, and that's probably why, in retrospect, we watch this movie mostly for the costumes. But what I see is the developing language of cinema, and an experiment tried by a director and screenwriter in 1914 that would never be considered today.

Which adds up to a fascinating movie worth watching, in my book.

Tremendously influential over-the-top spectacle

[Wiebke · 7/10 · 25 November 2001]

Silent films don't have much of an audience these days. Be that as it may, I would like to recommend this film as a hugely influential costume epic that had great influence over the likes of D.W. Griffith (who did Intolerence right after!), Cecil B. DeMille, and even Fritz Lang (when he did Metropolis). Sure, it's long and it's got one of those convuluted plotlines typical of the period and historically it's crap, but the sets and costumes have to be seen to be believed! The scale of things is just fantastic, with giant temples and houses, all sorts of huge rooms and decoration all over anything, and hundreds and hundreds of extras with fabulous costumes, all done in pastiche of styles that range from Egyptian to Babylonian to this whole weird Indian look, although it's all set in North Africa. Then there's the melodramatic acting, which really can't be judged by today's standards, as there are few subtitles of dialogue, only very grand and wordy intertitles summarzing the plot and offering odes to gods and goddesses. This movie is a must-see if you're studying the history of epic films, early full-length movie, Griffith, etc., and even if you're not, it's a hoot (at least until half-way through, at which point you may decide you've had enough of the plot and can guess the rest.)

An Engrossing Historical Melodrama With All The Trimmings

[Snow Leopard · 17 December 2002]

An engrossing historical melodrama with all the trimmings, "Cabiria" would be rather impressive if it had been made in the mid- or late- 1920's, and the fact that it was made in 1914 is astounding. While it was widely known in its time, and apparently was once given full credit for its influence on other film-makers, it has been largely forgotten today, for no good reason. The story is involved and ambitious, the settings and scale are lavish and creative, and the historical scenario comes from the fascinating (if today little-known) period of the Punic Wars between Rome and Carthage. It's all very good in its own right, and it's even more of a success when you consider the new ground they had to break in bringing it all together so well.

The story blends together several fictional and several historical characters, centering on the adventures and misfortunes of the girl Cabiria. As in any melodrama, there are some implausible developments, yet it rarely seems overly forced. The historical setting is used creatively, both to drive the action and to provide interesting settings and characters. While it is clearly fiction, it takes fewer liberties with history than do many other movies with historical settings, since it is designed for entertainment rather than to promote a particular viewpoint.

And as entertainment, it delivers handsomely. This is well worth the trouble to find for anyone who enjoys watching silent movies. It is also worth seeing if you have even a passing interest in the development of cinema, because few movies have ever been so creative in using and improving upon the means available in their own era.

A Tremendous, Epic Accomplishment for Cinema

[carljessieson · 7/10 · 24 March 2015]

This was a confusing, yet highly important, one to watch. I have to say that I haven't watched a silent film in a long time so adjusting to the many, many differences was a struggle. I found the captions to be really lacking in clarity. I appreciate the beauty of their writing but I'm not really trying to decode poetry when watching a silent epic, you know? It's not even that, really, it was the constant introduction of new names without describing who they were or what the hell their problem was. I was under the impression that the captions would describe what was about to happen, but really they just introduced it, which meant that I understood a bit of what was happening before their mouths kept moving and their arms started flailing and fights started happening and I was lost again. I definitely wish I had a historian in my room just quietly explaining where these ancient cities were and why everyone was so upset all the time. I could Google it while watching but I have a strict rule against touching my phone while a movie is on. Try to read up on the context surrounding the story before watching if you can.

Anyway, the sets were grand even by today's standards and that impressed me a lot. Even the special effects they utilized were outstanding, because at that time in cinema, they weren't special effects as much as they were visual tricks that the filmmakers had to figure out and pioneer on their own essentially. I really liked the Maciste character and I wasn't surprised to find that he was extremely popular when this movie came out, too. The naked children everywhere and live birds flying around a set that is actively crumbling and in flames was bananas! It made me wonder how many people/animals died on sets back before there were regulations. The story had many complexities to it and that was cool. It definitely deserves it's title as an epic. It is not an easy watch, but it is a worthwhile one. No doubt it was piloted by a strong plot. I agree with the many others who have said that this is a must-see for people who truly love film. I definitely recommend it and am happy to have it in my movie collection.

Remarkable Silent Italian Epic

[Ron Oliver · 10/10 · 20 July 2002]

Kidnapped by Phoenician pirates from her Sicilian home, the infant CABIRIA grows to become involved in Rome's conflict with Carthage during the Second Punic War.

Vast, intricate in plot & completely fascinating, here is one of the great silent epics which, fortunately, lives up to its legend. Full of daring rescues & breathless escapes, the film also features innovative camerawork & lighting techniques which would greatly influence D. W. Griffith & Cecil B. DeMille. (Some viewers may also see a strong resemblance between CABIRIA and the gigantic sets & bravado action highlighted in the Douglas Fairbanks swashbucklers of the 1920's.)

Prolific director Giovanni Pastrone (1883-1959), using the pseudonym Piero Fosco, wrote the script and helped design the huge, elaborate sets, wanting to make his film the biggest, most thrilling epic ever produced. A million lira was budgeted for CABIRIA, a tremendous sum then, and location shooting was extended to Tunisia, Sicily & the Alps. The result was a tremendous success and ensured Pastrone's name would be enshrined in the history of world cinema. A true Renaissance Man, Pastrone left films in 1923 to devote himself to medical research.

The acting is often rather ripe & sensationalized, but that was the prevailing style in Italian epics, which were doubtless influenced by Grand Opera's florid stage mannerisms. Special mention should be made of Umberto Mozzato as a heroic Roman spy, Bartolomeo Pagano as the muscular Maciste & Italia Almirante-Manzini playing a wicked Carthaginian queen.

Sequences remain in the viewer's mind: the destructive eruption of Mount Etna; the truly terrifying scenes in the vile Temple of Moloch, with tiny naked children being thrown into the flames; and Hannibal's march - with elephants - over the mountains. Ancient Archimedes setting fire to the Roman fleet attacking Syracuse is unexpectedly amusing, while the movie climaxes with one of the most ostentatious suicides ever filmed.

******************************

There were three Punic Wars, which kept the ancient world embroiled from 264 BC until 146 BC while Rome & Carthage engaged in a death struggle to see who would emerge as the master of the Mediterranean. Battles raged in Europe & Africa, as well as on the Sea, but the last War ultimately ended with Rome's total victory and the complete & utter destruction of Carthage. The innocents sacrificed to the hideous Moloch were finally avenged.

A Mover and Shaker from Giovanni Pastrone

[wes-connors · 7/10 · 18 December 2010]

Three hundred years Before Christ, the volcanic Mount Etna erupts during an earthquake, destroying the Sicilian palace and estate where little "Cabiria" (Carolina Catena) lives. The young heiress manages to escape through a secret stairway leading underground, carried by nursemaid Gina Marangoni (as Croessa). When the dust clears, little "Cabiria" is believed to be dead and buried in the ruble. After escaping the devastation, she and Ms. Marangoni are sold as slaves, in Carthage.

Next, "Cabiria" is to be sacrificed as a burnt offering to "Moloch", a brazen God who likes to eat children.

Nurse Marangoni tries to save the girl, but is whipped for her efforts. She enlists help from Roman patrician Umberto Mozzato (as Fulvius Axilla) and his loyal dark-skinned slave Bartolomeo Pagano (as Maciste). With the muscular Mr. Pagano leading the charge, they rescue "Cabiria" from the fiery jaws of death. Obviously, this makes the God and his minions angry. The trio hideout at an inn while the plot thickens. Shuttled once more, "Cabiria" grows into a beautiful young woman, Lidia Quaranta (as Elissa).

Written, produced, and directed by Giovanni Pastrone, "Cabiria" is a classic early spectacular.

Most famous was Mr. Pastrone's use of camera tracking shots; this movement of camera increased the scope, and excitement, of motion pictures. He likes screen movement, as you'll see. This film also features Mr. Pagano's star-making role as the long-running character "Maciste". In fact, Pagano and Mr. Mozzato are the real "stars" of this story; after they save "Cabiria" from sacrifice, you care more about seeing them - especially "Maciste" - than you do about the frequently disappearing "Cabiria".

******* Cabiria (4/18/14) Giovanni Pastrone ~ Umberto Mozzato, Bartolomeo Pagano, Lidia Quaranta, Italia Almirante-Manzini

Early epic's visuals makes up for the movie its flaws and weaker points.

[Boba_Fett1138 · 8/10 · 28 March 2008]

This is one grand looking and made movie, with plenty of mass sequences, impressive sets and costumes and a story that just screams epic.

It's pretty nice to see how some early film-makers got influenced by this movie. Film-makers such as Fritz Lang, D.W. Griffith, who were also all pioneers by themselves. They were obviously inspired by some of the sequences, its scale, sets and compositions, since this movie in some of its sequences show some definite similarities to some sequences in movies such as "Metropolis" and "Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages". Only in that regard you can already call this movie an innovative and important movie. Its sets, compositions and just overall way of story-telling were all quite new and innovating for its time. It's also the first ever movie to use a dolly-track system, which provides the movie with a couple of nice moments as well.

The movie its story is very epic, since it's set at many different locations, with also many different characters. It features historical well known figures such as Hannibal, Hasdrubal, Scipio, Archimede, Massinissa, which makes the movie real interesting but is also one of its weaker points, since it makes the movie and its story-telling a bit disjointed at parts.

It perhaps also makes the movie feel overlong in parts, even though the movie is only about 2 hours long (well, depending on which version you'll watch), which is actually quite short for an epic movie, especially for one that got made early in the 20th century. 4 hour epics from the same time period are no rarity. The movie just goes on for a bit too long with some of its sequences. After a while you get the point but the scene will just go on and on. It doesn't always makes this an easy but pleasant movie to watch.

But overall the movie of course is pleasant as well as impressive, not only because of its visuals but also because of its story that is actually quite adventurous, as long as it knows to focus on the movie its key players. It's adventurous in the same way as a movie like "Ben-Hur" for instance.

Also especially when you realize that this is an 1914 movie, it's a real excellent, innovative and interesting, fun movie to watch.

8/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

Cinema's First True Epic

[akash_sebastian · 7/10 · 26 August 2015]

Giovanni Pastrone's grand-scale storytelling of a lost princess, her journey from being kidnapped to almost being offered as a child sacrifice and then ending up as a slave, 'Cabiria' is cinema's first true epic. Pastrone made several films, and the scope and spectacle of his films inspired directors like Griffith and Fellini, but 'Cabiria' is the only one which has stood the test of time. And since the story is set almost 2000 years ago, the aged quality of this 100-year-old film only adds to the feel of the time.

Like Griffith's 'Birth of a Nation', 'Cabiria' too was shrouded in controversy for its biased depiction of races, places and cultures. Like 'Birth of a Nation' propagated Ku Klux Klan's nobility and agenda, 'Cabiria' tried to legitimize Italy's distant past, and tried to promote and inspire themes like 'wars of conquest', Roman salute, racial nobility and virtue, etc. I mean, all the non-Roman characters in the film are depicted in negative light.

Whatever the controversial history the movie might have, if one is ready to ignore those aspects and try to acknowledge the feat it tries to achieve in the medium of filmmaking, it's an enjoyable journey. The movie offers many fascinating sequences, like, the child offerings at Temple of Moloch, Princess Sophonisba's pet leopard and even her spectacular arrival for her almost wedding, soldiers and elephants crossing the Alps, the pyramid formed by soldiers and shields in one continuous shot, and few others.

The original version is said to have been three hours long. I saw the truncated 1993 restoration, which is two hours long. In this itself, the number of characters and events seem too many, a few of them almost unnecessary; I wonder what the extra 60 minutes had in store. Better editing (I mean, even shorter than two hours) could have made the story tighter, more interesting and compelling.

Overall, it's an interesting story and a well-made film, and personally, I liked it much more than the overrated 'Ben-Hur'.

Italian historical epic from director Giovanni Pastrone...

[AlsExGal · 8/10 · 3 May 2023]

...that was a huge worldwide hit and began more than one cinematic trend. Circa 300 B. C., Cabiria (Carolina Catena), the young daughter of a wealthy Roman family, is thought lost after an eruption of Mt. Etna. Instead she was rescued by servant Croessa (Gina Marangoni) who takes her to Carthage where they fall into the evil hands of the Temple of Moloch. Luckily two Roman spies, Fulvius (Umberto Mozzato) and his musclebound slave Maciste (Bartolomeo Pagano), in Carthage to keep an eye on the activities of Hannibal (Emilio Vardannes), learn of the child and attempt to rescue her.

This was said to have inspired Griffith to make Intolerance into the epic it became, and the sets here are truly awe inspiring, especially in comparison to other films of the time. The Temple of Moloch is one of the great screen images of the silent era. The supporting character of Maciste, played by Pagano, was a breakout hit, the first screen muscleman hero, and led to a series of over 20 movies with Pagano as the character, as well as dozens more in the 1960s with a variety of stars. The history on display is dubious, but how many movies have Romans, Carthaginians, Numidians, Phoenicians, and even a Greek running around in the same story? Recommended.

Splendid Set Design Worth Watching

[jazzest · 6/10 · 11 March 2004]

The splendid set design back in 1914, which would obviously influence Griffith's Intolerance a few years later, is worth watching. Other than that, as a work in the dawn of film history, Cabiria inevitably suffers several flaws. Comprising exclusively medium and long shots (with absolutely no close-ups), the film should have relied on engaging storytelling, but it just progresses tediously. As a title role, Cabiria should have appeared on the screen more, but she serves as a catalyst and stays behind the scene for most time.

Versatile solo piano on the soundtrack (which is, according to the credit of "1990 alternate version" I watched, "Piano Score recorded by Jacques Ganthier, based on the original 1914 score," which I assume is composed by Manlio Mazza) imitates Classical composers in various eras, from Bach to Beethoven to Schumann to Brahms to Debussy, and is quite enjoyable by itself.

The Template for the Historical Epic for the Next Half-Century

[richardchatten · 8/10 · 16 November 2016]

Without Gabriele D'Annunzio's florid commentary this film would have been substantially shorter, while the hammy "silent film" acting and melodramatic storytelling lags far behind Scandinavian cinema of this period. But technically this super-production from Italy otherwise blazes a colossal trail that plainly led the way for the silent spectacles of Griffith, DeMille and Lang; while the sense of fun of the action scenes (particularly a scene depicting the formation of a human pyramid to scale a wall) anticipates Fairbanks at his jauntiest.

Beginning with the eruption of Mount Etna (and a lot of toppling pillars) the pace never lets up. Next comes a truly hair-raising scene depicting infants cast into the flaming maw of a statue of Moloch (whose Temple - with three round windows that make it's façade resemble the face of an enormous spider - is one of the many deliriously stylised designs that obviously later inspired Lang and others during the early twenties); while later we see Archimedes gleefully incinerating the Roman fleet with history's first death ray during the Siege of Syracuse. Throw in the boisterous crowd scenes and graceful tracking shots director Pastrone innovatively employs throughout (far more elegant than Griffith's work of the same period) and we have the template for the historical epic as it existed for the next half-century.

'Cabiria' also displays a major advance in the use of special effects that marks a decisive break with the trick films of Georges Méliès. Skillful use is made throughout of double exposures to make the action and the locations look even grander in scale than they already are (such as Hannibal crossing the Alps). And there is an additional bonus in the form of an extraordinary dream sequence that anticipates by ten years Walter Ruttmann's 'Falkentraum' sequence in Lang's 'Die Nibelungen'.

An Italian Epic

[gavin6942 · 7/10 · 2 September 2016]

Three centuries before Christus. Young Cabiria is kidnapped by some pirates during one eruption of the Etna. She is sold as a slave in Carthage, and as she is just going to be sacrificed to god Moloch, Cabiria is rescued by both Fulvio Axilla, a Roman noble, and his giant slave Maciste.

According to Martin Scorsese, in this work Pastrone invented the epic movie and deserves credit for many of the innovations often attributed to D.W. Griffith and Cecil B. DeMille. Among those was the extensive use of a moving camera, thus freeing the feature-length narrative film from "static gaze". Now, I prefer to think of the "moving camera" as a German invention, but I would be more than happy to grant Pastrone the epic.

The film also marked the debut of the Maciste character, who went on to have a long career in Italian sword and sandal films. This is actually one of the most impressive cultural achievements, because the character Maciste became really has very little to do with this film. Whole studies could be done on how Maciste evolved.

Entertaining, but Confusing

[alexanderhadams · 4/10 · 14 November 2019]

Not a great film. This movie was quite important in the history of cinema, and had quite good costumes and sets, but regarding plot and character... not great.

You should watch this if you want to see a historically biased view towards the Romans, and it is enjoyable if you can look past the massive plot holes and ignorance.

whole lotta lava

[lee_eisenberg · 1 August 2011]

1914 was quite a year. Charlie Chaplin made his film debut, WWI began -- and set the stage for a lot of what happened in the 20th century -- and my great-grandparents immigrated to the United States (sorry, I couldn't resist adding that last one).

But that year also saw the release of Giovanni Pastrone's "Cabiria". This epic depicts the kidnapping of a Sicilian girl following an eruption of Mt. Etna, her sale into slavery in Carthage, and a Roman nobleman's quest to rescue her. It's like nothing that you've ever seen before.

The movie has drawn controversy due to its depiction of the Romans as pure and the Carthaginians as monstrous (thereby glorifying the idea of Italian supremacy). To be certain, producer Gabriele d'Annunzio's ideology influenced Benito Mussolini, although d'Annunzio had no actual association with Il Duce.

Regardless of that, the movie is still a fun -- and visually breathtaking -- romp. Maciste got his own series of movies. The ones immediately after "Cabiria" starred Bartolomeo Pagano, and then there was a new series in the 1960s.

Anyway, really cool!

Cinema's First Worthwhile Outing

[Otoboke · 7/10 · 13 July 2016]

There's something magical and alluring about Cabiria that goes above and beyond the sum of its hit-and-miss elements. Beautifully sprawling sets depicting ancient times with stunning detail and imagination serve as the backdrop to characters that jump out from the screen in a way that had yet been achieved anywhere else. In more ways than one, Cabiria strikes many a resemblance to Dante's Inferno from a few years prior, but tops said film on just about every count. Perhaps the most vivid comparison between the two lies in its special effects. While Inferno's imagery strived for biblical grandeur, Cabiria instead delivers something that's more artistic and frail. Sure, there are scenes which focus mostly on disaster and action, but it's the movie's dabbling in dream-like effects and romantic imagery that gives it the upper hand. By no means is everything perfect, however. It has to be said that moments of banality and obtuse, incomprehensible plotting occur more frequently in between moments that either awe you with spectacle or woo you with charm. Nevertheless, the film still manages to make its mark well, standing out vividly from its early cinematic siblings thanks to its more straight-forward subplots which more often than not cease any yawns beginning to surface. Perhaps most staggering of all is the film's scope, not just in ambition and bravado, but in its ability to strike genuine pathos. Whether it's moments of comic relief, tragic despair or sheer thrill, Cabiria gripped me from time to time in ways that earlier features failed to do. Definitely worth at least one watch for curious cinephiles and in my opinion is the first truly worthwhile entry in cinema's awkward infancy years.

Happy Centenary!

[marcin_kukuczka · 8/10 · 20 July 2014]

Orson Welles once said that "sound is the first human sense of the theater" and while this may accurately refer to majority of movies, it is not the sound but image that appears to be the first sense of the epic.

When dealing with the history of cinema, sooner or later, one is bound to encounter the epic in the purest sense of the word, the mother of all spectacles, the inspiration that lies behind the greatest showmanship of D.W. Griffith and Cecil B DeMille. At the dawn of the medium, people were interested in showing antiquity but the thought was not born in Hollywood but where it actually has its historical roots, the Mediterranean. Yes, this time all roads lead to Italy. Apart from the greatest masterpieces of art throughout the centuries, it is also Italy that gave birth to the most stupendous, elaborate, stunning visuals that have awed the imagination of viewers for the last century.

CABIRIA by Giovanni Pastrone with the restored music piano score by Jacques Gauthiers was made at a very significant point of history: Italy had been victorious after the Lybian War and, similarly to the role greatest epics of Hollywood served, the film with the setting of its story appeared to be a manifestation of power centered again, after all these, in Rome ---not the Imperial Rome but the Rome the Republic, at a very interesting period: the Punic Wars in the 3rd century before Christ. The story of Cabiria is nicely incorporated into the motives of a marvelous visual display of powerful nature and army. Its mixture of attraction and repulsion, mighty volcanoes and delicate doves, well built giants and delicious women, cruel army leaders and clever inventors lead to all hallmarks of an epic/drama. It's all in CABIRIA starting with hatred destined to be conquered and concluding with love always destined to be the conqueror. AMOR VINCIT OMNIA But let me highlight a few points about the visuals now.

It is important to keep in mind that CABIRIA is heavily influenced by operatic feeling. All this grandeur is the pure essence of what we find in opera. Its strength lies in visuals. Naturally, however, we treat them absolutely differently from today's standpoint. It seems that only a very in-depth eye may capture certain details. The film is divided into 5 episodes which a little bit distract the holistic viewing of the story. Nevertheless, each one has something to offer, if not the costumes, then the great sets, marvelous for the time and still awe inspiring after a century. The eruption of Etna, Hannibal crossing the Italian Alps, the huge temple of Moloch sequence, the war with Carthage, the assault on Syracuse in Sicily (consider the mention of the 'sea of Aretusa'), the interiors of palaces and outstanding costumes. It is significant that the story begins in Sicily, the source of food in ancient Rome and, at the same time, the island that has for ages frightened people with Europe's biggest volcano. While the beginning of the movie is a pure spectacle of nature, it slowly turns to the spectacle of army in order to reach a rather poetic conclusion. American showmen used to say and still many keep saying: "It's all BIG!" We might say the roar of crater turns into roar of war and jealousy. And the characters?

The title Cabiria (Lidia Quaranta) is rather shadowed by other characters who either help her keeping in mind the motto: "Help you give, Help you will receive" or do not seem to have much in common with her but serve as emotional resonance of historical period. Although they are not much developed and seen as if through the curtain of spectacle, we get quite a variety: Croessa (Gina Maragnoni), Cabiria's nurse, Fulvius the Roman (Umberto Mozzato) who may draw parallels to plenty of noble Roman characters in various epics; Maciste (Bartolomeo Pagano) who bears resemblance with Hellenic Hercules, Sienkiewicz Ursus and biblical Samson; queen Sophonisba (Italia Almirante-Manzini) who reveals certain features of ancient femme fatale, Poppaea-like character with a pet leopard (not only Patricia Laffan echoes the image in 1951 QUO VADIS but also Claudette Colbert in 1932 THE SIGN OF THE CROSS) but appears to redeem herself ostentatiously, operatically and dramatically at the end; the elderly Carthaginian architect Archimede (Enrico Gernelli) who creates a terrific machine of war; the funny Bodastoret, the innkeeper; the villainous Massinissa (Vitale Di Stefano), the Numidian impostor of the throne; Syphax (Alessandro Bernard), the old, powerful man who marries a beauty as his loveless political toy; the High Priest Karthalo (Dante Testa), a devil-incarnate who demands human sacrifices to a god (consider the clever representation of a belief/religion that may be of some help but may also resort to most disgusting systematic cruelty). All of the characters contribute to the various strong points of CABIRIA.

Almost half a century later, Federico Fellini made a parallel to the character' name, Cabiria, in his 1957 Oscar winning achievement.

Strangely, I had a feeling that if the people of yore, the people of ancient times would have any link with modern times, CABIRIA would be one of those films which would occur to capture the gist within the recreation of antiquity. Perhaps, it is because of the test of time it has undeniably stood. No matter what emotions, feelings, imagination it evokes, this silent gem should be more known today. It might serve modern epic as an old tutor full of novelty what to change, what to get rid of in order to come back to the roots again.

Surely worth seeking out! HAPPY CENTENARY, CABIRIA!

Visually astonishing early film

[krispig0 · 7/10 · 31 October 2013]

The film that is said to inspire G.W. Griffith to make his Intolerance is a very visually beautiful film.

The costume work, the atmosphere and the locations are very impressive. Since the lack of innovative movie techniques that, thought was invented, but not quite used here makes the angels very static.

The lack of close-ups gives us a hard time to feel strongly for the characters or even give them the characteristic symbols we are so used of today. It also is extremely story-based and rely heavily on inter-titles. I like the story, thought it do have some flaws.

The epic storytelling ain't good enough to keep us engaged throughout the whole movie and I think the lack of sympathy or the boiling feeling of tragedy is a big loss in a movie which focus on realism.

I love the placement of the camera angels that match the background aesthetics. It's things like that, which make the feature enjoyable with the very basics of film technique.

Considering when this was made, the film is amazing

[planktonrules · 10/10 · 4 August 2007]

CABIRIA is perhaps the first huge spectacular movie epic and the title of the film is derived from the name of a small girl. The film begins with her miraculous survival from a very realistic eruption of a volcano and takes her on a boat ride to Carthage--Rome's arch-rival during the years of the Republic. Here, she is sold into slavery and is slated to be sacrificed to the evil god, Moloch. The scene of Moloch's temple and the baby-eating idol is truly amazing and horrifying. It must have cost a small fortune to construct. Cabiria is rescued by a Roman spy. However, while she is not killed, she remained a slave for a decade. Eventually, when Rome gained the upper hand in the Punic Wars (with Carthage), Cabiria was saved and everyone lived happily ever after.

Now as to why the movie was made in Italy at that particular time, this film came just after Italy successfully attacked North Africa and seized colonies. This film, then, is a sort of justification for this action--as it paints the Carthaginians as baby-sacrificing and evil. Only after the good Romans conquer them is peace and justice restored! This means that this film was one of the earlier propaganda pieces ever put on film and it came out just before the First World War.

When you watch CABIRIA, you need to understand the context of when it was made to truly appreciate the film. While the acting might seem over-the-top at times, for 1914 it was a truly amazing film. Never before had a film been so dramatic or had sets to equal this. In fact, the spectacular nature of this Italian film had a strong impact on the films of D. W. Griffith, as it wasn't until 1915 that his huge epic BIRTH OF A NATION and 1916 when INTOLERANCE were released---and they were obviously strongly inspired by CABIRIA. While INTOLERANCE is quite similar to CABIRIA in spots, INTOLERANCE has even grander sets and special effects though the story itself was neither as involving nor as interesting--being muddled quite a bit by having four stories overlapping and the over-the-top moralizing Griffith was known for in many of his films. Instead, CABIRIA is much more straight-forward and interesting storytelling and compares very well to later epics--even some of the sound epics. Sure, by later standards it might seem hokey in spots, but for 1914 it was a huge leap forward in entertainment and is a must-see for all serious film historians.

By the way, this review is based on the recent Kino Video restoration. Shorter versions do exist and the Kino version is apparently the closest to the original you can find.

The first epic

[Groverdox · 7/10 · 22 November 2022]

Martin Scorsese has called "Cabiria" the first epic, and has said that the achievements in epic filmmaking attributed to D. W. Griffith and Cecil B. DeMille instead belong at "Cabiria" filmmaker Giovanni Pastrone's feet.

As often with silent films, I found myself wondering how contemporary audiences must have reacted to it. Its spectacle is, after all, amazing even now. There are extraordinary moments to go with the awe-inspiring sets and sense of grand scale. Take for instance the scene in which we witness the Carthaginians sacrificing children to their god, Moloch, "the god of copper". We see a giant metal statue whose chest is opened to reveal a fire. A child is actually stuffed in there, and the chest is shut again, making the statue belch fire as if the child was swallowed whole!

What would people in 1914 have made of this? Some of them, I imagine, must have thought they'd just witnessed infanticide.

Cabiria, our protagonist, narrowly escapes this hideous and paganistic fate, when Bartolomeo Pagano, one of the first ever movie stars, comes to her rescue.

Pagano is in blackface, a fact we observe to our shame, understandably. But his character is also a hero. Is this the first black hero ever presented on screen?

Seeing a child die before her means that Cabiria is in real danger. Modern audiences know that heroes of stories don't die in the opening scenes. Were 1914 audiences so sure? The tension must have been nail-biting.

Alas, this might have been the last time I really felt something watching "Cabiria". Its grand spectacle keeps us at a distance, emotionally and physically, from its characters, and I lost the titular Cabiria after this. I just sat back and admired the sights.

A Remarkable Achievement

[HAL-57 · 9/10 · 26 May 1999]

This film must have taken a big pile of lire to produce. Check out those huge sets with people walking on them and within them. The Temple of Moloch is a good example, being able to accommodate large crowds and plenty of action. Watch Batto's house (another towering set) collapse on the hapless people inside. See Mount Etna erupt very realistically, ultimately bringing down Batto's home. This plus the other special effects are brilliant. Even the props (notably the pottery) are designed and made very creatively. The acting, however, is a bit overdone, but that was the norm in film and on stage in 1913-1914. It doesn't detract from the film at all. (Sophonisba is about the worst offender, but I still love her!) The direction of the picture, with crowds and all types of terrain and sets is extremely good. The story is very well paced. I highly recommend this remarkable achievement. It is a guarantee that you will enjoy it.

The historical epic that inspired D.W. Griffith

[frankde-jong · 7/10 · 23 August 2021]

"Cabiria" is from the first Italian wave that lasted until around the beginning of the First World War. After that the Italian cinema became prominent again only with the Neo realist movement after the Second World War.

In the first Italian wave films became what we call now feature length. Before that films were much shorter (half an hour max). In the films of Georges Méliès the story served the special effects. In the Italian films of this time special effects served the story for the first time.

The Italian films of this period were mostly spectacles about the Roman Empire. Apart from "Cabiria", which plays during the Second Punic War, we can also mention "Quo Vadis?" (1913, Enrico Guazzoni). The reason for this was that at that time Italy had became a unified nation state only relatively recently and one was in search for some nationalistic pride. What suited this purpise better than the glorious past of the former empire? The intertitles of "Cabiria" for example are written by Gabriele d'Annunzio, a fierce nationalistic writer and politician.

"Cabiria" was an inspiration for D. W Grifith ("The birth of a nation" (1915) and "Intolerance" (1916)). In the first film we clearly see the nationalistic tendency, in the second the special effects (especially in the Babylonian story).

The widely recognized influence on Griffith (also acknowledged by him) is however not the only influence of "Cabiria" on later filmclassics. See for example the Carthaginian god of Moloch that we will meet again in "Metropolis" (1927, Fritz Lang). In Metropolis Moloch is no longer a God but a Machine (i.e. Industrialisation). In "Cabiria" Moloch illustrates the backwardness of the Carthaginian civilsation versus the Roman one. In "Metropolis" Moloch illustrates the mercilessness and exploitation in Western indutrialized countries. In this machine form we see Moloch again (without explicitly mentioning his name) in "Modern times" (1936, Charlie Chaplin).

Film Turns Into Art

[Screen_O_Genic · 8/10 · 2 October 2018]

One of silent films best epics, still watchable after more than a century.

Good early epic movie with some weak points

[gachmian86 · 6/10 · 22 March 2024]

It's an interesting old movie. This is a very early epic movie with big sets, which influenced later American epics like David Griffitt's Intolerance. It is a shame that there is not a high-quality restoration available. I saw the movie on YouTube, based on an old DVD restoration, and the quality was barely good enough to make it watchable. A better restoration was supposed to be presented at Cannes a few years ago, but it has yet to be made into DVD or BlueRay. There is a version on YouTube with colour tinting and higher quality that may be this Cannes restoration, but unfortunately, the intertitles are in Italian with no English translation. But if you have seen the movie, I suggest this version for a rewatch.

As for the movie itself, it's okay. I do think Intolerance is a much better movie, and the set pieces in Intolerance are much better as well. Cabiria gets points for being less preachy and for having more daring scenes like child sacrifices. The Mount Etna scene is very well done and has the most impressive special effects in the movie.

The story is all over the place; it looks like the creators tried to mash in as many unrelated historical events as possible to create the set pieces: an eruption of Mount Etna, Hannibal crossing the Alps with elephants, Archimedes destroying the rival navy with spherical mirrors, and the siege of Carthage. As a result, the story jumps too much and does not feel cohesive. It's roughly a story about a girl kidnapped as a child and all the misadventures she suffered until being rescued and marrying a Roman consul. There are too many characters; sometimes, it takes effort to keep track of them or figure out who is who. There is little acting; the actors spend most of their time making exaggerated hand gestures. Since the movie went for a happy ending, I would have loved to see a scene of Cabiria reencountering with her father. Some aspects of the film are inappropriate for modern standards. The role of the slave Maciste is played by a white man in blackface, and Flavius, the Roman consul, who is viewed as a hero in the movie, marries Cabiria whom he met when he was an adult and she was eight years old.

Overall, it is an interesting watch if you are into early cinema history, but skippable if you aren't.

Great Sets but it's not Cinematic

[Cineanalyst · 5/10 · 15 April 2004]

"Cabiria" is the pinnacle of the early Italian spectacle, which helped push cinema into the age of feature-length pictures and introduced the epic to film. Reportedly, it cost some 1 million lire (or $100,000) to make and was financially successful, although due to the war, perhaps, not as successful as was "Quo Vadis?" (1913). It had a direct influence on D.W. Griffith's production of "Intolerance." According to Griffith biographer Richard Schickel, Griffith insisted on including large elephant statues in the courtyard setting, even though his researchers could find no evidence that pachyderms were ever a significant part of Babylonian iconography, because Pastrone used them in "Cabiria."

Pastrone's film begins with grandeur; the explosion of Etna is the most impressive sequence. Nurse Croessa (played by Gina Marangoni) kidnaps little Cabiria (played by Carolina Catena); then, Phoenician pirates abduct Croessa, Cabiria and the other runaway slaves. In Carthage, High Priest Karthalo (played by Dante Testa) buys the child and wants to sacrifice her at The Temple of Moloch. Magnificent sets and the horror of child sacrifice make it the second best sequence in the movie. Roman patrician Fulvius Axilla (played by Umberto Mozzato) and his loyal slave Maciste (played by Bartolomeo Pagano) enter the scene, and we mostly follow them through the rest of the proceedings.

"Cabiria" gets rather boring after The Temple of Moloch escapade, as the film relies less on grand set design and special effects and more on a dull and confused plot and bad acting--historical facsimiles, such as Hannibal climbing the Alps, a crazed Archimedes raving his large magnifying glass invention on as it sets fire to the Roman fleet and other moments withstanding. The performances are overacted, histrionic--even Pagano, who would become something of a star from his performance here. I can see why: he's muscular, and it's somewhat interesting to watch him do various acrobatics. Italia Almirante-Manzini, who plays Sophonisba, is the hammiest of all. Besides the sets and special effects by Eugenio Bava and Sergundo de Chomón, there is some nice nighttime tinting and Pastrone's dolly shots help pass some of the time. Nevertheless, the film lacks much cinematic innovation and remains largely theatrical and slowly paced; there is only one close-up, a point-of-view shot of a ring.