Cabiria (1914)

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 »

Director:

Giovanni Pastrone

Writers:

Gabriele D'Annunzio (titles), Titus Livius (book),

Stars:

Carolina Catena, Lidia Quaranta, Bartolomeo Pagano

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Carolina Catena	...	Cabiria da piccola / as a Child (as Catena)
Lidia Quaranta	...	Cabiria, also called Elissa
Gina Marangoni	...	Croessa, Cabiria's Nurse
Dante Testa	...	Karthalo, the High Priest
Umberto Mozzato	...	Fulvio 'Fulvius' Axilla
Bartolomeo Pagano	...	Maciste, Axilla's Slave
Raffaele di Napoli	...	Bodastoret, the Innkeeper
Emilio Vardannes	...	Hannibal
Edoardo Davesnes	...	Hasdrubal
Italia Almirante-Manzini	...	Sophonisba, Hasdrubal's Daughter
Alessandro Bernard	...	Siface 'Syphax', King of Cirta
Luigi Chellini	...	Scipione 'Scipio', the Consul
Vitale Di Stefano	...	Massinissa, the Numidian King
Enrico Gemelli	...	Archimede
Ignazio Lupi	...	Arbace

Storyline

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...

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Plot Keywords:

carthage | slave | roman | moloch | punic wars | 

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Taglines:

D'ANNONZIO'S "CABIRIA" - A $250,000 Production - The Greatest Spectacular Play Even Seen in Motion Pictures ! (original poster - USA)

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | War

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

1 June 1914 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cabiria I: Cabirias ring

Filming Locations:

FERT Studios, Turin, Piedmont, Italy

Box Office

Budget:

$210,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Itala Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

148 min 125 min (1990 alternate) 123 min (Kino Restored Print) 162 min (1995 restoration) 181 min (2006 restoration)

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White (tinted)

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Was the first film to use a dolly-track system, the effects of which were pegged "Cabiria movements" in the industry.

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Connections

Referenced in Battleship Potemkin (1925)

User Reviews

Fascinating early feature film epic worth a look

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.