Cabiria (1914)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Giovanni Pastrone

Writers:

Gabriele D'Annunzio (titles)
Titus Livus (book)

Release Date:

1 June 1914 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | War

Tagline:

1200 - Scenes - 1200 (original ad)

Plot:

Three centuries before Christus. Young Cabiria is kidnapped by some pirates during one eruption of the Etna...

Plot Keywords:

Carthage | Roman | Slave | Moloch | Punic Wars

Cast

Carolina Catena	...	Cabiria, 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

Also Known As:

Cabiria, Visione Storica del Terzo Secolo A.C. (Italy) (long title)

Runtime:

148 min | 125 min (1990 alternate version) | USA:123 min (Kino Restored Print) | 162 min (1995 restoration) | 181 min (16 fps) (2006 restoration)

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Black and White (tinted)

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Filming Locations:

FERT Studios, Turin, Piedmont, Italy

Company:

Itala Film

Trivia:

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

Movie Connections:

Featured in "MythBusters: Archimedes Death Ray Revisited (#4.3)" (2006)

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.