Cabiria
by Giovanni Pastrone
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Bartolomeo Pagano, Carolina Catena, Gina Marangoni, Italia Almirante-Manzini, Lidia QuarantaDirector: Giovanni Pastrone
Brand: Kino International
Cinematographer: Augusto Battagliotti
Cinematographer: Carlo Franzeri
Producer: Giovanni Pastrone
Writer: Giovanni Pastrone
Writer: Emilio Salgari
Writer: Gabriele D'Annunzio
Writer: Titus Livus
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Black & White, DVD, NTSC, Silent
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 148 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2000-11-07
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Model: 1872
Studio: Kino Video
Product features:
- CABIRIA (DVD MOVIE)
Movie Reviews of Cabiria
Movie Review: Early Masterpiece: First Historical Epic-Blockbuster
Summary: 5 Stars
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 Chomón, 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.
Summary of Cabiria
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