cabiria
made a slave: croessa and cabiria are sold into slavery. cabiria is briefly liberated but eventually becomes the long - term slave of sophonisba. croessa is executed for helping cabiria escape the priests of moloch .
living macguffin: the movie is called cabiria but cabiria does absolutely nothing over the movie, except occasionally cower in fear, and constantly need rescuing .
cabiria issue
of bianco e nero (rome), summer 1975 .
^
cabiria (1914) .
jahsonic, a vocabulary of culture .
anonymous
nights of cabiria characters
. gradesaver, 3 june 2017 web .
nights of cabiria essays are academic essays for citation. these papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of nights of cabiria directed by federico fellini .
severo, richard .
' cabiria' a 1914 epic silent, marks italian culture week .
finocchiaro - chimirri, giovanna, d' annunzio e il cinema
cabiria ,
catania, 1986 .
at the beginning of the movie cabiria is the 8 - year - old daughter of batto, a wealthy italian patrician with an estate in sicily. an eruption of mt. etna destroys batto' s mansion, and cabiria is thought to have been killed in the fires. however, cabiria is not dead; her nurse croessa joined the other servants in looting their master' s estate, and croessa took cabiria with her .
looking for movie tickets? enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing nights of cabiria near you .
they call her cabiria... no matter how many men she was with - she would always be alone !
^ usai ,
cabiria, an incomplete masterpiece: the quest for the original 1914 version ,
p. 155 .
the position of the family outside the house changes between when cabiria first opens the door and when she leaves the house .
catapult nightmare: they date back to 1914! sophonisba has one about being eaten alive by moloch, and cabiria being carthage' s doom. after waking up from her catapult nightmare she agrees to hand cabiria over to the priests of moloch for sacrifice .
, using the story of cabiria, a young girl from italy, as a frame. during the confusion surrounding an eruption of the volcano mount etna, cabiria and her nurse croessa become separated from the members of cabiria’s household and are subsequently kidnapped by pirates. taken to carthage, cabiria is sold as a future offering to the god moloch. meanwhile, the roman patrician fulvius axilla and his slave maciste act as spies for rome in carthage, its rival. upon running away after a failed attempt to save cabiria from the sacrificial cult, croessa meets fulvius and maciste and convinces them to help her save cabiria. after a dangerous escape from the sacrificial cult (during which croessa is killed) fulvius and maciste learn that hannibal has crossed the alps and is marching on rome; anxious to leave carthage and return to rome, fulvius and maciste attempt to flee carthage with cabiria. however, during the escape the two men are separated, with maciste recaptured and relegated to slavery after hurriedly entrusting cabiria to the safety of the princess sophonisba of cirta .
the question and answer section for nights of cabiria is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel .
in terms of its influence, cabiria capped the trend in america of the switch from short films to extended stories. with wwi, hollywood was about to dominate the worldwide film industry, and cabiria was one of its greatest teachers. in terms of technique, cabiria is most renowned for its tracking shots, known for a time as ‘cabiria’ shots, which create a sense of depth via movement rather than set design, with the camera usually penetrating diagonally into the action from a long shot to a little closer, thereby picking out something of importance .
gethmann, daniel, daten und fahrten: die geschichte der kamerafahrt ,
cabiria
und gabriele d' annunzios bilderstrategie, munich, 1996 .
eye scream: when maciste subdues karthalo who tried to rape cabiria he grabs his eyes, and he could have actually gouge out his eyes .
cabiria is a classic silent movie from the early years of italy' s movie industry, directed by giovanni pastrone. it was released in 1914 .
unfortunately for croessa and cabiria they are soon captured by phoenician pirates and sold into slavery in carthage. carthaginians are in the habit of sacrificing young children to the god moloch, and little cabiria is picked to be one of a hundred kids to be thrown into the fire. croessa makes her way to fulvius axilla, a roman businessman in carthage who is actually a spy. fulvius, and his hulking, enormously strong black slave maciste, arrive just in time to save cabiria from being sacrificed. eventually little cabiria is hidden with sophonisba, a carthaginian princess promised in marriage to the numidian king massinissa .
lane, j. f. ,
cabiria: and now pizzetti' s fire symphony ,
in sight and sound (london), autumn 1983 .
years pass, and cabiria lives as a slave in sophonisba’s court; the punic wars rage on, with carthage and rome trading blows in battle. during the burning of the roman naval fleet, fulvius is carried by sea to the shores of aretusa, where cabiria’s family still lives. after promising to search for cabiria if possible, fulvius returns to carthage as a spy for the roman army; during this reconnaissance, he frees maciste from slavery, and the two flee the city into the desert. as they travel they are captured by fugitives from the burning camp of syphax, who are fleeing from the destruction to their native city of cirta. cirta is overtaken by massinissa, a numidian king fighting for rome; certain that the destruction is caused by her rescue of the child cabiria from sacrifice to the god moloch, sophonisba orders cabiria’s death. maciste and fulvius, having again met and remembered cabiria, determine to escape their slavery and rescue her yet again. during this new attempt to save cabiria, maciste and fulvius become entrapped in a cellar in the palace, then are freed by sophonisba’s generosity .
cabiria is a 1914 italian epic film directed by giovanne pastrone. it is set in ancient rome during the punic wars of the third century b. c .
celli, carlo j. ,
cabiria as a d' annunzian document ,
in romance languages annual (west lafayette), vol. 9, 1997 .
nights of cabiria study guide contains a biography of director federico fellini, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis .
the character of cabiria can be read as a metaphor for the nation itself, and her melodramatic fate is an allegory for the fate of italy - as - rome .
during the punic wars in the third century b. c. the little girl cabiria, and her nurse croessa, are abducted during the confusion caused by an eruption of mount etna. cabiria is sold in carthage to be sacrificed in the temple of moloch. fulvio axilla, a roman spy, and his slave, maciste, rescue her and she ends up in the care of queen sophonisba. ten years later, after many wars and alliances, carthage falls to the romans and cabiria returns home with fulvio .
a taste of the lash: croessa is whipped for trying to prevent the priests of moloch from taking cabiria away for sacrifice. later maciste is whipped for the same offense .
the name cabiria is borrowed from the 1914 italian film cabiria, while the character of cabiria herself is taken from a brief scene in fellini' s earlier film, the white sheik. it was masina' s performance in that earlier film that inspired fellini to make nights of cabiria. [ 3 ] but no one in italy was willing to finance a film which featured prostitutes as heroines. finally, dino de laurentiis agreed to put up the money. fellini based some of the characters on a real prostitute whom he had met while filming il bidone. for authenticity, he had pier paolo pasolini, known for his familiarity with rome' s criminal underworld, help with the dialogue. [ 4 ]
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. maciste is captured just after having confided cabiria to sophinisbe' s safe keeping, while fulvio axilla manages to escape from carthage. ten years went away with punic wars before he is able to come back to carthage ...
nights of cabiria was filmed in many areas around italy, including acilia, castel gandolfo, cinecittà, santuario della madonna del divino amore, and the tiber river. [ 5 ]
yet in its particular way ,
cabiria
is beautiful and enthralling. in his novel the book of illusions, paul auster has a remarkable passage about the appeal of silent films :
cabiria has a unique sound that combines sensual trip - hop grooves driven by classical voice and harmony. the phrasing of their hauntingly melodic music borrows from classical works of composers such as rachmaninov and chopin, with a down - tempo groove inspired by portishead and many others who have shaped the trip - hop genre. cabiria’s melodic sound is captured through the powerful operatic vocals of rachel jane henry, who has been trained classically. part of the band' s characteristic sound is the interplay between rachel' s intense, high - register lyrical melodies, and meredith bogacz’s sullen and seductive violin playing. the main accompaniment is the nylon string guitar played by claudio morsella, adding hints of flamenco and spanish technique to the brooding quality of cabiria’s sound. the trip - hop influence manifests through the combination of live drum and bass, defining this genre for cabiria. originally from boston, cabiria came to life in 2004 and developed a following in new england by performing most venues in the city. in 2006 they released their debut lp “no time for dreaming” which has been described as a “hauntingly beautiful operatic trip - hop masterpiece”. now in new york city, cabiria has been performing with a new lineup and has just released their six song ep, “a product of humankind”. this album reflects the new qualities in cabiria’s sound, as the band tries to market their music to a bigger audience. cabiria is seeking interests from labels, film and other avenues for their music. please visit: urltoken
breakout character: maciste the slave. actor bartolomeo pagano played him in over two dozen more films after cabiria and the character has been featured in dozens of other italian films over the decades .
carthage, third century b. c. , during the second punic war. young cabiria is about to be sacrificed to the god moloch, but is saved by the roman fulvio ...
experiment with a mobile camera and tracking and panning shots - - the film is said to be the first popular film to use tracking shots, which were for many years referred to as the “cabiria shot. ”
cabiria, a prostitute living on the outskirts of rome, is thrown into the river by her lover giorgio who runs off with her money. she nearly drowns, but is fished out by some local boys. later, she witnesses a row between movie star alberto lazzari and his girlfriend. lazzari whisks cabiria off to a nightclub, then on to his apartment. when his girlfriend returns, alberto hides cabiria, eventually helping her slink out after the girlfriend falls asleep. dumped in the wasteland on the edge of town, cabiria meets a man giving out food to homeless people, among whom is the once - renowned prostitute la bomba. cabiria goes to church, but she is disillusioned by the shabby, market - like atmosphere. she visits a vaudeville club, where she is called up on stage by the hypnotist. under hypnosis, she reveals her dreams of romantic love. the audience ridicules her. outside the club, she meets oscar, an accountant, who claims to have been moved by her honesty. she agrees to a date with him. they begin courting .
handsomely recompensed, mr. d’annunzio agreed to rewrite the intertitles and evidently contributed the names of several characters, including the still resonant cabiria and maciste. his participation, evidently most distinctive in the flamboyant idiom of the italian titles, generated a fascination and cachet that translated into substantial social and commercial value. reputed to be the first $ 1 million production, “cabiria” demonstrated that it could pay off to budget a generous amount for literary celebrity .
carthage, third century b. c. , during the second punic war. young cabiria is about to be sacrificed to the god moloch, but is saved by the roman fulvio axilla and his faithful servant maciste. many years later, the two recognise her as the beautiful elissa, sofonisba’s (the king of carthage’s daughter) favourite and entrapped by the high priest kharthalo. the final defeat of carthage by the romans crowns the birth of love between axilla and cabiria .
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... see full summary »
alovisio, silvio ,
el poder de la puesta en escena: cabiria entre la atraccion y el relato ,
translated by isabel monzo - gandia, in archivos de la filmoteca, (valencia), vol. 20, june 1995 .
in outline, nights of cabiria sounds bleak and depressing. unlike the young narrator of i vitelloni (1953), who was finally able to escape his provincial home town, cabiria has no way out. she' s a sisyphean figure, destined always to land back where she started. given his acknowledged debt to chaplin, fellini might have been expected to play up the pathos in her plight. cabiria' s story is indeed heartrending, but neither director nor actress allow her time for self - pity. she may be robbed, betrayed and almost killed, but despair is never more than a passing emotion with her. fellini ends the film ambiguously. cabiria has lost her home. we don' t know whether she' ll suffer the same fate as la bomba or pick herself up yet again .
i myself have worried about her fate ever since ,
the director confessed to charlotte chandler. audiences are liable to leave the film feeling equally concerned .
massina plays cabiria as an eternal optimist, almost cartoonishly picking herself up every time she' s knocked down. she is nothing if not mercurial. one moment, she' ll be happily dancing a mambo in the street; the next, having a catfight with a fellow prostitute who has taunted her about her latest no - good boyfriend. (it is striking how closely massina resembles the equally close - cropped, equally volatile shirley maclaine, who played a character based on cabiria in sweet charity, 1968. )
a wave of innovative camera techniques moving films away from static action and into more movement - oriented shots; among the various techniques originating from the film, the “cabiria movement” in particular gained prestige and common usage. in addition to the novelty of its film techniques ,
characteristic of melodrama, the endangered female figure [ cabiria ] is the fulcrum of the narrative, highlighting the role of the woman as central to the social order of the nation, with her violation a sign of its dissolution. (landy 2000: 33 - 4
cabiria originally ran a whopping 200 minutes. it survives today in cuts running anywhere from 126 minutes to 190 minutes in a 2006 restoration. it was not the first feature film, as several films in the 60 - 90 minute range had already been produced, but it was unprecedented in its length and scope, with enormous sets and the proverbial cast of thousands. it made an obvious impact on dw griffith, who took a lot of inspiration from cabiria when filming the
fall of babylon
portion of his 1916 epic intolerance .
the site also reports that a deal is closing to attach daniels to a remake of federico fellini ‘s 1957 classic “ night of cabiria. ” that’s right. lee daniels. doing fellini. let that settle in for a moment. try not to have an aneurysm .
the director of the film, giovanni pastrone (1883 - 1959), had been on the ground floor of the trend toward costume spectacles. evidently a skilled technician and one of the founders of itala, he had enjoyed career - altering success with “the fall of troy” in 1910. “cabiria” was such a hit that he made three sequels revolving around its strongman hero, maciste, a slave of north african origin who comes to the rescue of his master, a roman nobleman named fulvio, destined to wed a sicilian slave girl named cabiria .
this presentation begins the latest edition of the gallery’s annual retrospective series, “from vault to screen, ” which showcases preservation work from film archives around the world. the print of “cabiria” is on loan from the museo del cinema in turin, the most venerable archive in italy .
summary: a re - release of the fellini masterpiece which sunk into obscurity after it won the 1957 oscar for the best foreign film. giulietta masina (fellini' s wife) is cabiria, a waifish prostitute who wonders the streets dreaming of a wonderful life but always finding heartbreak .
unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on wikipedia article
cabiria
or another language wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the gnu free documentation license; or on original research by jahsonic and friends. see art and popular culture' s copyright notice .
meanwhile, sophonisba marries massinissa, and begins to turn his loyalties from rome to carthage. learning that massinissa is becoming distracted, the roman leader orders massinissa to give up sophonisba to him as a spoil of war. forced to give up his bride, massinissa secretly sends maciste to sophonisba with a vial of poison, with which she kills herself rather than become a commodity. before her death, sophonisba releases cabiria, who marries fulvius. the film ends with the victory of rome over its enemy carthage, and the happy return to rome of fulvius, maciste, and cabiria .
cabiria is a prostitute who wears a tough translucent exterior but nevertheless looks for meaning through romantic love. though she has deflating experiences like being pushed into the tiber river, and being led - on and used by an actor, she repeatedly opens her heart to the hope of finding stability and love .
the competition was nail - biting, and mother india, initially in the lead, eventually lost out to fellini’s nights of cabiria — by just a single vote. and to add to the drama, mehboob khan, shocked by his unexpected loss, had a heart attack and had to be rushed to hospital .
the national gallery of art will facilitate cinematic time - traveling this afternoon by hosting a rare screening of one of those productions, a 1914 historical spectacle titled “cabiria, ” which remains one of the most respected and durably impressive movie epics of its generation — the founding generation of movies as a popular art form .
cabiria ,
made in italy in 1914 by giovanni pastrone, had a huge impact on cinema, encouraging countless directors worldwide (among them america' s d. w. griffith) to take their craft more seriously and create longer, more artistically ambitious films. unfortunately, i found the film a bore. i couldn' t watch it for more than an hour. set during ancient roman times, it tells the story of a young girl named cabiria born at the foot of mount etna in sicily. after a volcano wipes out her home, she is sold to a carthaginian priest seeking children to sacrifice in his religious rituals. the only gripping scenes were those in the temple of moloch, where naked children are sacrificed one by one as frenzied dancers cheer the priest on. cabiria is rescued and ends up on the run under the protection of a fellow roman and his slave. that' s when the boredom really sets in .
although i have described the film as the story of cabiria, she is barely a character in herself but a token to be exchanged exchange, or fought over, by men (and in fact she disappears from great swathes of the narrative). let me overstate: in symbolic terms, she (female) is the unit of currency of the patriarchal order. (thus the marriage to the berlusconian fulvius at the end .) in a manner we can read as an ideological metaphor for italy’s relationship with its north african colonies, the child cabiria is an innocent threatened by barbaric forces, forces which must therefore be tamed by roman civilization .
driven to suicide: sophonisba is finally reunited with massimissa, the latter having fought for the romans and toppled syphax, but when the roman consul arrives he demands sophonisba as a prize of war. so massimissa has maciste smuggle her some poison, and she kills herself, but not before freeing cabiria and reuniting her with fulvius .
in an interview he gave to charlotte chandler, fellini cited chaplin' s city lights as a key influence on nights of cabiria. instead of the little man in the bowler hat, he offers us a prostitute (played by his wife, giulietta massina) ekeing out an existence in scrubland on the edge of rome. screaming abuse at boyfriends, haranguing other women on the street, cabiria is an infinitely more fiery character than chaplin' s tramp .
she' s got nine lives, like a cat ,
someone observes after she is saved from drowning. she needs to be resilient, if only because she is constantly betrayed by menfolk .
rome, 1957. a woman, cabiria, is robbed and left to drown by her boyfriend, giorgio. rescued, she resumes her life and tries her best to find happiness in a cynical world. even when she thinks her struggles are over and she has found happiness and contentment, things may not be what they seem .
cast: italia almirante manzini (sophonisba); vitale de stefano (massinissa); bartolomeo pagano (maciste); lidia quaranta (cabiria); umberto mozzato (fulvio axilla); enrico gemelli (archimedes); alex bernard (siface); raffaele di napoli (bodastoret); luigi chellini (scipione); ignazio lupi (arbace) .
at times, nights of cabiria seems like a picaresque folk tale. nino rota' s playful music, massina' s live - wire, clownlike performance and the cruel humour which runs throughout the film suggest fellini was no longer constrained by the tenets of neorealism. there are moments here - for instance the grotesque sequence in which the cripple is led into church in search of a miracle, attempts to walk unaided and promptly falls flat on his face - which wouldn' t look out of place in a buñuel film. the flights of fancy, such as cabiria' s evening with the handsome, world - weary movie star, anticipate equally magical and improbable happenings in the director' s later work. nevertheless, we' re left in little doubt about the practical difficulties which beset cabiria. she is a home owner ,
with water, electricity, everything ,
but she knows that if she slips up, she may end living rough like la bomba, the bedraggled ex - prostitute who now sleeps in a hole in the ground .
their encounter comes when cabiria accompanies a mysterious stranger who distributes food and blankets to the homeless.' the man with the sack' sequence, as it is known, has been missing from most prints since the film showed in cannes in 1957. there are different theories why. biographer john baxter suggests the church took exception to the fact that the benefactor was a layman, not a priest. but producer dino de laurentiis claimed the scene was cut simply to shorten the film. whatever the reasons, the restored sequence seems pivotal. it' s here that cabiria is given an intimation of what may happen to her. the benefactor is also the only truly trustworthy man she meets in the entire film .
although the other contenders had some good work, noted above, there really was nothing to compete with the grand scale and imagination of “cabiria. ” d. w. griffith himself was floored when he saw it, and would try building on that scale two years later when he made “ intolerance. ” but until then, nothing could hope to touch it .
mr. pastrone, whose film career faded at the end of the decade, enhanced the publicity allure of “cabiria” with a selfless brainstorm. his own identity was obscured behind the alias piero fosco. while remaining out of the limelight, he persuaded a national literary idol, the poet gabriele d’annunzio, to front as the screenwriter and presiding artistic eminence of the film .
there are no true closeups in
cabiria ,
although there are medium and medium - long shots. the typical shot stands back far enough to incorporate a great deal of architecture along with tableaux of characters. the sets for griffith' s
intolerance
possibly grew so large after he saw
cabiria ,
and demille was also fond of enormous sets. when a modern film like
troy
creates a vast greek city out of digital information, we aren' t fooled. we may be impressed by the visual effect, but we aren' t impressed by the achievement. watching these silent films, we feel a kind of awe, because we see that the sets are really there, and really that size .
turin also was the home city of the production company, itala, that backed “cabiria, ” which began filming in 1912. ultimately, it employed a cast of thousands while also shooting on locations in tunisia, sicily and the swiss alps. the principal standing sets were constructed in turin. circus elephants were recruited to help simulate carthaginian armies on the march during the second punic war .
both “judith of bethulia” and “cabiria” built cities from the ancient world as settings for their stories, with gargantuan features that at times dominate the human actors – the walls of the city in “judith” and the temple of mammon for “cabiria” being standout examples. “the squaw man” deserves special notice for the innovation of building an indoor set right next to a railroad track, so that the actual trains rushing by would become part of the action without camera trickery. “magic cloak of oz” gave us not one, but two fairy castles, as well as the city of noland with its fanciful architectural style. finally, production - designer - turned - director evgeni bauer gave us a complex and believable bourgeois household, contrasting the beautifully decorated living quarters with the spartan look of the servants’ domains in “silent witnesses. ”
after the eruption of mt. etna, survivors / looters finds themselves lucky to find an abandoned boat after their escape. and then unlucky, once phoenician pirates return and kill most of them. croessa (gina marangoni) and cabiria (carolina catena) are taken to carthage where cabiria is set to be sacrificed to their gods. croessa goes off in search of axilla (umberto mozzato) and his slave maciste (bartolomeo pagano), who she recognizes as being romans living undercover there, in order to get their help. meanwhile, hannibal (emilio vardannes) is off on a skiing vacation in the alps .
cabiria
is a suitably epic movie done on a grand scale. like many other early silent movies, the pace if very fast. so much so, that the movie tries to squeeze the entire punic wars into a two hour running time. (by comparison, i was going to bring up
game of thrones
but in this case i almost think it could sort of work, especially if you cut out all the scenes in brothels .) a bigger problem lies in the film' s lack of focus, as not only does it forget the title character for long stretches, but so to do the other characters who are supposedly looking for her .
imagine pericles, shakespeare' s surreal drama, recast with a young female lead, and with the epic factor amped up to 11: elephants, volcanos, death cults and all the horrors of the punic wars, and you have cabiria. it takes a particular self - distancing aptitude to appreciate silent films in our age as more that curiosities. for the most part, they fall into two categories: flat filmed melodrama that predates the sound era, and visual extravaganza that takes full advantage of the form. metropolis and the nibelungen are examples of the latter. thankfully, so is cabiria. cabiria takes you - and let us not forget, the undoubtedly spellbound audience of 1914 - on a visual journey that would have been impossible on stage, showing a sophistication in its characterization, mise - en - scene, art direction and effects that is well ahead of its time. more importantly, it is a compelling tale of adventure. a silent film today' s audience could actually enjoy! a word about access: i love watching people' s reaction to the eureka blu - ray of fritz lang' s metropolis. people think silent films were meant to look all soft and scratched. it is truly a wondrous thing to see these films as they were meant to be seen. doing so for cabiria is a bit harder: the kino dvd transfer is far from ideal, and the imposed piano score does little justice to the scale of the film. an easy solution is to mute the audio on your dvd player or tv and patch in something grandiose, like wagner' s ring... in any case, if you love films and are curious about their history, try this one on for size .
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 .
contemporary audiences and filmmaking professionals were united in admiration of the scenic sweep and pictorial finesse of the italian epics. the producers didn’t seem to stint when constructing mock - ups of ancient edifices or staging mass spectacles. the principal set pieces in “cabiria” depict land and naval battles (the incineration of a roman fleet approaching syracuse by a system of high - powered mirrors invented by archimedes) and a barbaric sacrificial rite at the temple of moloch .
like birth of a nation cabiria has aroused its share of controversy because of the political nature of its subject matter. it was produced by italian ultra - nationalist gabriele d' annunzio and was released soon after the italo - turkish war, in which italy conquered the north african ottoman provinces of cyrenaica and tripolitania. the parallels in the film, about rome conquering an inferior north african carthage, can be seen as a celebration of italian imperialism .
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 princess in the foreground is an 8 - year - old sicilian named cabiria (carolina catena), who survives an eruption of aetna but is kidnapped, and after various adventures becomes a slave in carthage. she originally was rescued from the volcano and earthquake by a traveler from rome named fulvio (umberto mozzato) and his slave maciste (bartolomeo pagano), and they discover her again as a grown woman (lidia quaranta). together they plot to free her .
i find it tragic, enthralling, and mysterious that one of the most innovative films in the history of cinema is also one of the least known. in many ways, it was so far ahead of it' s time, and so evolved in terms of the grand vision the film possessed. simply put, every epic film in the pantheon of cinematic history owes something to cabiria. an appropriate and well - deserved nickname for this film would have to be the godfather of epics .
it’s not that we’re against the idea of a remake in principle — fellini’s film was, after all the basis for bob fosse ‘s classic musical “ sweet charity, ” which took a very different approach, but still worked out. the problem here is that whoever’s involved seems to have worked and long and hard to find the worst possible director that they could have hired for the material: “ nights of cabiria ” would seem to play to daniels’ worst excesses, if “precious” is any indication .
eventually, oscar offers to marry her. radiantly happy, cabiria sells up her house, withdraws her life savings and prepares to set up home with him. he leads her through the woods to a cliff top. she realises he intends to kill her. he spares her life but takes her savings. distraught, she stumbles back to the road. serenaded by a procession of young dancers and singers, she wipes away her tears and smiles. in spite of everything, her optimism has returned .
the glory of this restoration of
cabiria
is that almost all of it is sharp and clear. my laserdisc version is so murky you can' t see and appreciate the beauty of the sets and costumes. because the film' s story moves in a stately fashion, because intertitles introduce more characters and plotlines than are probably necessary, because the acting is broad and the gestures large, we don' t get involved emotionally. but there are benefits as well as drawbacks to pastrone' s epic style .
the same reality is true of some of the stunts in
cabiria .
there is a scene where a city' s walls are besieged by warriors on ladders, and others in a wicker basket are raised high up at the end of a crane. the city defenders push the ladders off the walls, and use lances to overturn the basket. yes, there are probably piles of straw down below to cushion the warriors as they land, but look how far they fall while they are still onscreen. the risks they are taking are chilling .
italy was a colonial power in libya at the time when cabiria was made. imperial ambition is associated with mussolini but it was already in place before wwi. when we talk of history in the film we can do so in terms of the representation of the other. all nations define themselves against an other (geographically, culturally, linguistically), but could one function of the film have been to legitimate italy’s imperial ambitions? hence the representation of africa as barbaric, uncivilized, needing control (the same representation survives in contemporary italian political culture) .
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' .
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 .
although pastrone pointed the way, certainly griffith was a greater filmmaker than the italian, and his
birth of a nation
( 1915) moves the camera with greater freedom and has a headlong narrative and an exciting use of cross - cutting that pastrone does not approach .
cabiria
moves at a stately pace, depends on title cards of perplexing complexity, and introduces so many characters, cities and plot lines that we are grateful for a princess who becomes a slave and a giant who becomes a hero, because we can follow their stories all the way through .
to provide a safetly valve whereby italian [ … ] feminity can be seen in the traditional context of the national imagination, tied to images (as at the end of the film) of the glorification of romanità – a conception of the italian nation identified with its glorious roman past that the fascist regime was to exalt. in this way, the character of cabiria, presented though images of her childhood and of her childlikeness, is identified with the notion of woman as innocent but potentially endangered figure, to be redeemed like the nation itself. (landy 2000: 239 )
fellini' s cinema classics are memorable not only for their lasting images and heartbreak, but also for the enchanting music score by nino rota, a master at his own craft. with fellini' s visual magic and rota' s dreamy music, how could any of these films end up as anything less than master pieces .
nights of cabiria
not only has the benefit of these two geniuses, but also features the incomparable giulietta masina in the most beautiful final scene of any film i' ve ever seen... and i' ve seen a lot of films !
is the story of a young roman girl of noble stock who is kidnapped and taken to carthage where she evades sacrifice to the local gods and grows to young womanhood as a slave. the film is set during one of the punic wars, when rome confronted rival carthage across the mediterranean in north africa. full of impressive sets and amazing special effects, cabiria tends to be discussed as the foundational text of the anti - realistic, the spectacular, the fantastic, and the epic strains in italian cinema. these are seen to reach from this film up to the ‘sword and sandal’ epics of the fifties (the ‘peplum’ films), but also to other genres, and even to auteurist films (fellini’s satyricon, much of bertolucci) that make an ‘excessive’ use of visuals. the later peplum films were highly successful on the export market – and so was cabiria, which was both financially successful and artistically influential abroad. in italy itself it had the particular effect of spawning a series of films with the maciste strongman character – fifteen in the pre - sound period alone, featuring the same actor, former dock worker bartolomeo pagano. (indeed, maciste is seen by some as a model for benito mussolini’s public image. )
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 !
as the story progressed, i thought swanson’s jenny began to look more and more like characters played by giulietta masina in the films of federico fellini. especially intriguing was the film’s end — when swanson jumps over the side of the boat, the scene provokes an uncanny visual prefiguration of the climax of fellini’s nights of cabiria. one wonders if a young fellini saw the film in italy and used this memory years later to create his oscar - winning classic. stage struck was my favorite film at the festival, i hope it gets more exposure so that more people can discover a delightful film and appreciate gloria swanson’s comic talents .
the movie is based on emilio salgari' s cartagine in fiamme (carthage in flames) and gustave flaubert' s exotic novel salammbo. set in ancient carthage during the period of the second punic war, it treats the conflict between rome and carthage through the eyes of cabiria, the title character, who is kidnapped by pirates, sold as a slave in carthage, and rescued from being sacrificed to the god moloch by a roman nobleman and his muscular slave maciste (who would later become the protagonist in a whole successful series of films on his own). hannibal and his war elephants fit into the convoluted plot of this epic film .
there is so much richness in this film: the great scenes of hannibal crossing the alps with his army and elephants; the eruption of etna, and the destruction of the roman fleet at syracuse by means of the sun - reflectors of archimedes. most of these effects were achieved by multiple exposure. the acting is fairly theatrical, but the performances of italia almirante manzini as sophonisba and vitale de stefano as massinissa are moving and impressive, while bartolomeo pagano, as maciste the strong man, adds a new figure to the mythology of the movies. cabiria therefore stands as a major filmic achievement at a time when the cinema was fighting for its place among the other arts.
cabiria is a 1914 italian epic silent film , directed by giovanni pastrone and shot in turin . the film is set in ancient sicily , carthage , and cirta during the period of the second punic war ( 218 – 202 bc ) . it follows a melodramatic main plot about an abducted little girl , cabiria , and features an eruption of mt. etna , heinous religious rituals in carthage , the alpine trek of hannibal , archimedes ' defeat of the roman fleet at the siege of syracuse and scipio maneuvering in north africa . apart from being a classic on its own terms , the film is also notable for being the first film in which the long-running film character maciste makes his debut . 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 " . the historical background and characters in the story are taken from livy 's ab urbe condita ( written ca. 27 – 25 bc ) . in addition , the script of cabiria was partially based on gustave flaubert 's 1862 novel salammbo and emilio salgari 's 1908 novel cartagine in fiamme ( carthage in flames ) . 
cabiria is a 1914 italian epic silent film, directed by giovanni pastrone and shot in turin. the film is set in ancient sicily, carthage, and cirta during the period of the second punic war (218 – 202 bc). it follows a melodramatic main plot about an abducted little girl, cabiria, and features an eruption of mt. etna, heinous religious rituals in carthage, the alpine trek of hannibal, archimedes' defeat of the roman fleet at the siege of syracuse and scipio maneuvering in north africa. apart from being a classic on its own terms, the film is also notable for being the first film in which the long-running film character maciste makes his debut. 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 ". the historical background and characters in the story are taken from livy's ab urbe condita (written ca. 27 – 25 bc). in addition, the script of cabiria was partially based on gustave flaubert's 1862 novel salammbo and emilio salgari's 1908 novel cartagine in fiamme (carthage in flames).
cabiria is a 1914 italian epic silent film, directed by giovanni pastrone and shot in turin. the film is set in ancient sicily, carthage, and cirta during the period of the second punic war (218 – 202 bc). it follows a melodramatic main plot about an abducted little girl, cabiria, and features an eruption of mt. etna, heinous religious rituals in carthage, the alpine trek of hannibal, archimedes' defeat of the roman fleet at the siege of syracuse and scipio maneuvering in north africa. apart from being a classic on its own terms, the film is also notable for being the first film in which the long-running film character maciste makes his debut. 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 ". the historical background and characters in the story are taken from livy's ab urbe condita (written ca. 27 – 25 bc). in addition, the script of cabiria was partially based on gustave flaubert's 1862 novel salammbo and emilio salgari's 1908 novel cartagine in fiamme (carthage in flames).