Cinema
Cabiria
Giovanni Pastrone · 1914
Synopsis
Sicily, in the third century before our era. During an eruption of Etna that ravages Catania, little Cabiria is carried off by her nurse and servants, then abducted by Phoenician pirates who take her to Carthage. There she is destined for sacrifice in the temple of the god Moloch. A Roman on a mission, Fulvius Axilla, and his slave, the colossus Maciste, happen to be in the city. Around them pass the Second Punic War and Hannibal's crossing of the Alps.
Context
The film was presented on 18 April 1914. Gabriele D'Annunzio wrote its intertitles and gave names to characters. Shot partly on location, as far afield as North Africa and the Alps, it uses camera movements on a dolly, and its special effects are by Segundo de Chomón. The music is by Ildebrando Pizzetti and Manlio Mazza. Maciste is played by Bartolomeo Pagano, a docker from the port of Genoa, who then reprised the character for fourteen years in a series of films.
Who it is for
A silent film of nearly three hours in its restored version, to be seen with its musical accompaniment.
Prizes and reception
D. W. Griffith drew inspiration from it for Intolérance; the Museo Nazionale del Cinema in Turin restored it in 2006.
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