''Cabiria'' is a 1914 Italian

epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film with heroic elements Epic or EPIC may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and medi ...

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...

, directed by

Giovanni Pastrone Giovanni Pastrone, also known by his artistic name Piero Fosco (13 September 1883 – 27 June 1959), was an Italian film pioneer, director, screenwriter, actor and technician. Pastrone was born in Montechiaro d'Asti. He worked during the era o ...

and shot in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. Th ...

. The film is set in ancient

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

Carthage Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the clas ...

, and

Cirta Cirta, also known by various other names in antiquity, was the ancient Berber and Roman settlement which later became Constantine, Algeria. Cirta was the capital city of the Berber kingdom of Numidia; its strategically important port city ...

during the period of the

Second Punic War The Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) was the second of three wars fought between Carthage and Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. For 17 years the two states struggled for supremacy, primarily in Ital ...

(218–202 BC). It follows a melodramatic main plot about an abducted little girl, Cabiria, and features an eruption of

Mount Etna Mount Etna, or simply Etna ( it, Etna or ; scn, Muncibbeḍḍu or ; la, Aetna; grc, Αἴτνα and ), is an active stratovolcano on the east coast of Sicily, Italy, in the Metropolitan City of Catania, between the cities of Messina a ...

, heinous religious rituals in

, the alpine trek of

Hannibal Hannibal (; xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋, ''Ḥannibaʿl''; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Pu ...

Archimedes Archimedes of Syracuse (;; ) was a Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, and inventor from the ancient city of Syracuse in Sicily. Although few details of his life are known, he is regarded as one of the leading scienti ...

' 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 Maciste () is one of the oldest recurring characters of cinema, created by Gabriele d'Annunzio and Giovanni Pastrone. He is featured throughout the history of the cinema of Italy from the 1910s to the mid-1960s. He is usually depicted as a Herc ...

makes his debut. According to

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, incl ...

, in this work Pastrone invented the epic movie and deserves credit for many of the innovations often attributed to

D.W. Griffith David Wark Griffith (January 22, 1875 – July 23, 1948) was an American film director. Considered one of the most influential figures in the history of the motion picture, he pioneered many aspects of film editing and expanded the art of the n ...

and

Cecil B. DeMille Cecil Blount DeMille (; August 12, 1881January 21, 1959) was an American film director, producer and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of the American cin ...

. 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 Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...

's ''

Ab Urbe Condita ''Ab urbe condita'' ( 'from the founding of the City'), or ''anno urbis conditae'' (; 'in the year since the city's founding'), abbreviated as AUC or AVC, expresses a date in years since 753 BC, the traditional founding of Rome. It is an ex ...

'' (written ''ca.'' 27–25 BC). In addition, the script of ''Cabiria'' was partially based on

Gustave Flaubert Gustave Flaubert ( , , ; 12 December 1821 – 8 May 1880) was a French novelist. Highly influential, he has been considered the leading exponent of literary realism in his country. According to the literary theorist Kornelije Kvas, "in Flaube ...

's 1862 novel '' Salammbo'' and

Emilio Salgari Emilio Salgari (, but often erroneously ; 21 August 1862 – 25 April 1911) was an Italian writer of action adventure swashbucklers and a pioneer of science fiction. In Italy, his extensive body of work was more widely read than that of Dante ...

's 1908 novel ''Cartagine in fiamme'' (''Carthage in Flames''). It was the first film shown at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington, D.C., NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. preside ...

, having been viewed on the

South Lawn The South Lawn at the White House in Washington, D.C., is directly south of the house and is bordered on the east by East Executive Drive and the Treasury Building, on the west by West Executive Drive and the Old Executive Office Building, ...

, by the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese f ...

, First Lady,

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is o ...

, his wife, members of the Cabinet and their wives, due to the summer heat in June 1914.

Plot summary

First episode

Batto and his young daughter, Cabiria, live in a lavish estate in the shadow of

, at

Catana Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also by ...

, on the island of

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

. Cabiria plays with dolls with her nurse, Croessa. When the volcanic Etna erupts violently, Batto prays to the god

Pluto Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the Sun. It is the largest k ...

for deliverance but receives only a brief respite before his home and gardens are destroyed. While attempting to escape, servants discover a secret stairway leading underground. Taking advantage of the chaos and plundering Batto's hidden underground treasure, the servants, along with Croessa and Cabiria, flee to the countryside. Batto and his wife mourn the loss of Cabiria, as they believe her to be buried beneath the rubble.Summary of the two-hour Kino restored version.

Second episode

The fugitive servants divide up the treasure (Croessa gets a ring) and make for the sea but soon run afoul of

Phoenicia Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their his ...

n pirates who take Croessa and Cabiria to

, where the little girl is sold to Karthalo, the High Priest. He intends to sacrifice her to the great god

Moloch Moloch (; ''Mōleḵ'' or הַמֹּלֶךְ‎ ''hamMōleḵ''; grc, Μόλοχ, la, Moloch; also Molech or Molek) is a name or a term which appears in the Hebrew Bible several times, primarily in the book of Leviticus. The Bible strongly co ...

. Also in Carthage are two Roman spies: Fulvius Axilla, a Roman patrician, and Maciste, his huge, muscular slave. The innkeeper, Bodastoret, welcomes Fulvius and Maciste to his Inn of the Striped Monkey. Croessa tries to prevent the sacrifice of Cabiria by pretending that the child is ill, but Croessa is whipped for her deception. Later, she chances upon Fulvius and Maciste. Recognizing them as fellow countrymen, she implores them to assist her. Museo nazionale del Cinema - Cabiria (Turin)

Museo nazionale del Cinema - Cabiria (Turin)

The entrance to the huge Temple of Moloch is a gigantic three-eyed head, with the mouth as portal. One hundred young children are to perish as offerings. Inside the temple are frenzied devotees, and the colossal seated statue of the winged god Moloch is a hollow bronze furnace. The great chest opens for each victim, and when a youngster is slid into the inferno, the door closes and the open mouth belches flame. Croessa, Fulvius, and Maciste sneak into the temple, and the slave boldly snatches Cabiria away from the priest. Pursued by a frenzied mob, they make their way up to the roof, down the gargantuan façade, and back to the inn. However, Croessa pays a fatal price for the rescue.

Third episode

Meanwhile,

and his troops make their way across the snow-laden

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, ...

towards Rome. Soldiers, elephants and other animals pick their way through the passes. Learning of the military events, Fulvius resolves to flee back to Rome after further intimidating the innkeeper to ensure silence.

Numidian Numidia ( Berber: ''Inumiden''; 202–40 BC) was the ancient kingdom of the Numidians located in northwest Africa, initially comprising the territory that now makes up modern-day Algeria, but later expanding across what is today known as Tuni ...

King

Massinissa Masinissa ( nxm, , ''MSNSN''; ''c.'' 238 BC – 148 BC), also spelled Massinissa, Massena and Massan, was an ancient Numidian king best known for leading a federation of Massylii Berber tribes during the Second Punic War (218–201 BC), ulti ...

is visiting Carthage, and

Hasdrubal Hasdrubal ( grc-gre, Ἀσδρούβας, ''Hasdroúbas'') is the Latinized form of the Carthaginian name ʿAzrubaʿal ( xpu, 𐤏𐤆𐤓𐤁𐤏𐤋 , , "Help of Baal"). It may refer to: * Hasdrubal I of Carthage was the Magonid king of Ancien ...

, brother of Hannibal, promises him his beautiful daughter,

Sophonisba Sophonisba (in Punic, 𐤑𐤐𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋 Ṣap̄anbaʿal) (fl. 203 BC) was a Carthaginian noblewoman who lived during the Second Punic War, and the daughter of Hasdrubal Gisco. She held influence over the Numidian political landscape, co ...

, in marriage. In a great audience hall with two huge elephantine columns, Massinissa dispatches gifts and a message to meet secretly to Sophonisba, who, on receiving them, is giddy with anticipation. Bodastoret, the innkeeper, sneaks into the Temple of Moloch and for a reward betrays the Romans' whereabouts and intentions. Fulvius, Maciste, and Cabiria are ambushed by the Priest's henchmen as they attempt to flee the city the next morning, but Fulvius escapes by leaping spectacularly from a high precipice and swimming away. Maciste and Cabiria flee with henchmen hard on their heels to the cedar garden of Hasdrubal and encounter Massinissa and Sophonisba just as their secret tryst is commencing. Maciste implores the aristocratic couple, who have both concealed their true identities, to rescue Cabiria. Amid the chaos, Sophonisba, Cabiria, and a servant run away while Massinissa falsely denies to the Priest's men that he has seen any little girl. Maciste, however, is captured, tortured and chained to a great millstone, which he must turn, but he can still manage to intimidate everyone around him.

Fourth episode

The Roman navy has besieged Syracuse, a Greek ally of Carthage, and Fulvius is now participating in the fighting. The Romans, however, are frustrated by a giant array of mirrors, producing a

heat ray The Martians, also known as the Invaders, are the fictional race of extraterrestrials from the H.G. Wells 1898 novel ''The War of the Worlds''. They are the main antagonists of the novel, and their efforts to exterminate the populace of the Ear ...

, which is deployed by the great inventor

to set fire to the ships' sails. The Roman fleet is spectacularly destroyed. Fulvius, still bearing the ring Croessa had given him, is cast adrift and soon rescued. Although his rescuers rob the unconscious Fulvius, one of them recognizes the ring on his finger, and he is carried to Batto's house, which has been rebuilt. The parents are overjoyed to learn that Cabiria is still alive, at least when he last saw her. As he takes his leave, Fulvius vows to seek Cabiria if he should ever return to Carthage.

Fifth episode

An intertitle relates that

Syphax Syphax (, ''Sýphax''; , ) was a king of the Masaesyli tribe of western Numidia (present-day Algeria) during the last quarter of the 3rd century BC. His story is told in Livy's ''Ab Urbe Condita'' (written c. 27–25 BC).

, King of

, a rival desert kingdom, has deposed Massinissa and caused him to disappear into the desert.

now gives Sophonisba to the victor instead to strengthen his new alliance against Rome. Sophonisba is distinctly unhappy, and when she appears in her finery at the betrothal ceremony, she swoons and breaks the ceremonial vessel. Already in possession of much of North Africa, the Roman general and

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states th ...

Scipio strategizes with his new ally, Massinissa. They dispatch the resourceful Fulvius again as a spy in Carthage to observe its defenses. Stealthily deploying an impressive

human pyramid A human pyramid is an acrobatic formation of three or more people in which two or more people support a tier of higher people, who in turn may support other, higher tiers of people. People above the bottom tier may kneel or stand on the shoulders ...

of Roman soldiers, Fulvius successfully breaches the city walls. In the elephantine hall, Hasdrubal dispatches the High Priest Karthalo on a mission to persuade Syphax to attack the Romans directly. Karthalo's camel caravan traverses the vast dunescape. Meanwhile, Fulvius finds time to look for Maciste and Cabiria, now prisoners for 10 years. With a combination of intimidation and bribery, he extracts information from Bodastoret. With Fulvius disguised as a

freedman A freedman or freedwoman is a formerly enslaved person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, enslaved people were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their captor-owners), emancipation (granted freedom ...

, they secretly observe Maciste still in chains and harnessed to his millstone. That night, Fulvius returns to wake the sleeping strongman who is overwhelmed with happiness at again seeing his beloved master. Back at their hideout at the inn, Bodastoret is overcome with shock at seeing Maciste and dies. Fulvius and Maciste escape down the city walls. In Cirta, before a palace with two huge feline columns, Syphax is given a formal sendoff by Sophonisba and Karthalo, the latter of whom has an eye for the former's lovely slave, "Elissa". While the military maneuvers continue, Fulvius and Maciste have fallen into dire straits, exhausted and thirsty in the desert wilderness. Maciste catches sight of a fire in the distance, as Syphax's encampment has been torched by his enemies. The two Romans are soon captured by the mounted Cirtans. While outside the city, King Syphax has been captured, Maciste and Fulvius are swept up with other prisoners within Cirta's city walls. "Elissa", who is really Cabiria, takes pity on the imprisoned pair and passes water to them without recognizing who they are. Cirta is under siege by Massinissa's forces. Soldiers scale ladders outside the walls while boulders, spears, arrows, and boiling oil rain down on them. Sophonisba dreams of triple-eyed Moloch. Unnerved, she interprets her dream as an omen that Cabiria/Elissa will somehow spell the doom of the city and confesses to Karthalo what happened in the cedar garden so many years ago. Maciste, who has forced open the iron bars of his prison cell with his enormous strength, determines to exact revenge upon Karthalo. He intrudes through a window just in time to save Elissa, whom he now recognizes as Cabiria, from being raped by the priest. Fulvius soon joins the fray, but in the chaos of flight, they lose control of Cabiria and are forced to barricade themselves in a store room. Fulvius is appalled to learn that the girl is none other than Cabiria. Just outside the city walls is another appalling sight: King Syphax is in chains taunted by the victorious King Massinissa, who is now dressed in Roman military regalia. The Cirtans have had enough and surrender. In the hall of the gigantic feline columns, Sophonisba grandiloquently surrenders and abases herself before her former fiancé and present husband's captor, Massinissa. He, in turn, demurs and, just as elaborately, pledges himself to her. In a ceremonial hall with indigenous deities, the pair further ritualize their solidarity. Sophonisba marries Massinissa, and it is resolved that she will not be subjected to being paraded in a

Roman triumph The Roman triumph (') was a civil ceremony and religious rite of ancient Rome, held to publicly celebrate and sanctify the success of a military commander who had led Roman forces to victory in the service of the state or in some historical tra ...

. Fulvius and Maciste enjoy the ample provisions of the store room until the besieging guards attempt to smoke them out. Massinissa learns of the circumstances of the two "heroes" and, apparently ambivalent about such former Roman comrades, determines to spare them. Fulvius takes the opportunity to implore Sophonisba on Cabiria's behalf, but in a fit of pique, she tells the distraught Roman that Cabiria is dead. Scipio and his lieutenant, Lelius, camp near Cirta. Lelius, whose forces have preceded Scipio's, tells his commander of the royals' treachery. At first, Massinissa arrogantly defies Scipio, dashing the Roman general's message tablet to pieces but later wilts in the face of Rome's majesty. He implores Scipio, however, to spare Sophonisba the humiliation of being paraded in Rome. Scipio will not relent. In desperation, Massinissa persuades Fulvius, in reciprocation for having spared him earlier and in anticipation of an unspoken future favor, to lend him his slave Maciste. The slave receives a bracelet, inscribed with a message, and takes it to Queen Sophonisba. Receiving it, the Queen reads the message and understands that she is to poison herself with the powder in the hollow gift. Drinking the dissolved poison, Sophonisba divests herself of her jewelry with great flourishes. Fulvius arrives and, too late, they realize the purpose of Massinissa's request. Sophonisba, writhing in agony, reveals that Cabiria still lives and, as repayment for the gift of death, she will be spared a second time from the fate of living sacrifice. Cabiria is retrieved from her prison cell and arrives in time to see the moribund Queen expire. Fulvius and Cabiria cross the sea on the way to Rome. As Maciste plays the

panpipe A pan flute (also known as panpipes or syrinx) is a musical instrument based on the principle of the closed tube, consisting of multiple pipes of gradually increasing length (and occasionally girth). Multiple varieties of pan flutes have been ...

s in the bowsprit, Fulvius pledges his love to Cabiria and festive sea sprites encircle the boat in a giant, diaphanous garland.

Cast and characters

:''Historical figures denoted by an asterisk (*).'' *

Carolina Catena Carolina may refer to: Geography * The Carolinas, the U.S. states of North and South Carolina ** North Carolina, a U.S. state ** South Carolina, a U.S. state * Province of Carolina, a British province until 1712 * Carolina, Alabama, a town in th ...

... ''Cabiria'', as a Child * Émile Vardannes ... ''Batto'', father of Cabiria *

Gina Marangoni Gina or GINA or ''variation'' may refer to: Gina Gina may refer to: * Gina (given name), multiple individuals * Gina (Canaan), a town in ancient Canaan * Arihant (Jainism), also called gina, a term for a human who has conquered his or her inne ...

... ''Croessa'', nurse of Cabiria *

Lidia Quaranta Lidia Quaranta (6 March 1891 – 5 March 1928) was an Italian stage and film actress of the early 20th century. Early career Lidia Gemma Mattia Quaranta was born in Turin, Italy, the older sister of twins Isabella and Letizia Quaranta. She be ...

... ''Cabiria'', as an adult * Dante Testa ... ''Karthalo'', the High Priest of Carthage *

Umberto Mozzato Umberto is a masculine Italian given name. It is the Italian form of Humbert. People with the name include: * King Umberto I of Italy (1844–1900) * King Umberto II of Italy (1904–1983) * Prince Umberto, Count of Salemi (1889–1918) * Umberto ...

... ''Fulvio'' (Fulvius) Axilla, Roman patrician and spy *

Bartolomeo Pagano Bartolomeo Pagano (27 September 1878 – 24 June 1947) was an Italian motion picture actor. Before his cinema career, Pagano was a stevedore who worked at the port of Genoa. There, he was discovered and selected to play the role of Maciste, a m ...

...

, slave of Axilla *

Raffaele di Napoli Raffaele () is an Italian given name and surname, variant of the English Raphael. Notable people with the name include: Given name *Raffaele Amato, Italian mobster *Raffaele Cutolo, Italian mobster *Raffaele Ganci, Italian mobster *Raffaele Canton ...

... ''Bodastoret'', an Innkeeper * Émile Vardannes ...

*, Carthaginian general Lidia Quaranta

Edoardo Davesnes Edoardo is the Italian form of the English male given name Edward. Notable people named Edoardo include: * Edoardo Agnelli (industrialist) (1892–1935), Italian industrialist * Edoardo Alfieri (1913–1998), Italian sculptor * Edoardo Amaldi (19 ...

...

*, Carthaginian general; brother of Hannibal *

Italia Almirante-Manzini Italia Almirante Manzini (3 June 1890 – 15 September 1941) was an Italian actress of the silent film era. She appeared in more than fifty films from 1911 to 1934. Biography She was born to Michele and actress Urania Dell'Este. Her paternal un ...

... Sofonisba* (

), daughter of Hasdrubal *

Alessandro Bernard Alessandro is both a given name and a surname, the Italian form of the name Alexander. Notable people with the name include: People with the given name Alessandro * Alessandro Allori (1535–1607), Italian portrait painter * Alessandro Baricco ...

... Siface* (

), King of Cirta *

Luigi Chellini is a fictional character featured in video games and related media released by Nintendo. Created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, Luigi is portrayed as the younger fraternal twin brother and sidekick of Mario, Nintendo's masc ...

... Scipione* ( Scipio), Roman consul and general * ?????????? ... Lelius* (

Gaius Laelius Gaius Laelius was a Roman general and statesman, and a friend of Scipio Africanus, whom he accompanied on his Iberian campaign (210–206 BC; the Roman Hispania, comprising modern Spain and Portugal) and his African campaign (204–202 BC). His c ...

), friend and sub-commander of Scipio *

Vitale Di Stefano Vitale De Stefano (1889–1959) was an Italian actor and film director of the silent era. He played the role of Masinissa in Giovanni Pastrone's epic ''Cabiria'' in 1914.Reich p.285 Selected filmography * ''The Last Days of Pompeii'' (1913) * ''C ...

... Massinissa* (

Masinissa Masinissa ( nxm, , ''MSNSN''; ''c.'' 238 BC – 148 BC), also spelled Massinissa, Massena and Massan, was an ancient Numidian king best known for leading a federation of Massylii Berber tribes during the Second Punic War (218–201 BC), ulti ...

), King of Numidia *

Enrico Gemelli Enrico is both an Italian masculine given name and a surname, Enrico means homeowner, or king, derived from '' Heinrich'' of Germanic origin. It is also a given name in Ladino. Equivalents in other languages are Henry (English), Henri (French), E ...

... Archimede* (

), Greek engineer and philosopher *

Ignazio Lupi Ignazio Lupi (1867–1942) was an Italian actor and film director. Lupi appeared in more than eighty films including several historical epics such as ''Cabiria'' (1914).Cowie p.38 Selected filmography * ''Quo Vadis'' (1913) * ''Antony and Cleopa ...

... Arbace

Production

Italian author Gabriele d'Annunzio contributed to the screenplay, writing all of the

intertitle In films, an intertitle, also known as a title card, is a piece of filmed, printed text edited into the midst of (i.e., ''inter-'') the photographed action at various points. Intertitles used to convey character dialogue are referred to as "dial ...

s, naming the characters and the movie itself. The film was noted as being the first popular film to use the tracking shot – the camera is mounted on a

dolly Dolly may refer to: Tools *Dolly (tool), a portable anvil * A posser, also known as a dolly, used for laundering * A variety of wheeled tools, including: **Dolly (trailer), for towing behind a vehicle **Boat dolly or launching dolly, a device f ...

allowing it to both follow action and move within a film set or location. The tracking shot in itself was nothing new. "Panorama" effects (lateral and vertical) had been used frequently in film since 1896, but ''Cabiria'', with the new freedom provided by the dolly, is innovative in introducing "

zoom Zoom may refer to: Technology Computing * Zoom (software), videoconferencing application * Page zooming, the ability to magnify or shrink a portion of a page on a computer display * Zooming user interface, a graphical interface allowing for imag ...

" movement, towards and away from the scene, which for years afterwards was referred to by both cameramen and directors as a "Cabiria" shot. This movement was such an innovation at the time that other film makers quickly incorporated it. The film was a major influence on

's ''

Intolerance Intolerance may refer to: * Hypersensitivity or intolerance, undesirable reactions produced by the immune system * ''Intolerance'' (film), a 1916 film by D. W. Griffith * ''Intolerance'' (album), the first solo album from Grant Hart, formerly o ...

'' (1916) but he never uses 'Cabiria' shots; the famous crane shot moving down and into the festival in Babylon is a "panorama" effect. The elephants used in several scenes in the film are

Indian elephant The Indian elephant (''Elephas maximus indicus'') is one of four extant recognised subspecies of the Asian elephant and native to mainland Asia. Since 1986, the Asian elephant has been listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List as the wild po ...

s, rather than the much smaller and less intimidating

North African elephant The North African elephant (''Loxodonta africana pharaohensis'') is an extinct possible subspecies of the African bush elephant (''Loxodonta africana''), or possibly a separate elephant species, that existed in North Africa, north of the Sahara ...

(which, though used in Hannibal's invasion, was long extinct at time of filming) or the African elephant (which is undomesticable). Film critic

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

has said that Griffith "moves the camera with greater freedom and has a headlong narrative and an exciting use of cross-cutting that Pastrone does not approach". but never seeks to exploit possibilities of the genuinely mobile camera created by the 'Cabiria' shot, although such camera movement can very occasionally be seen used to dramatic effect in other US films at this time, notably Allan Dwan's ''

David Harum ''David Harum; A Story of American Life'' is a best-selling novel of 1898 by Edward Noyes Westcott, whose principal legacy is the colloquial use of the term ''horse trading''. Literary significance and criticism Written by retired Syracuse, ...

'' (1915). The film also marked the debut of the

character, who went on to have a long career in Italian

sword and sandal Sword-and-sandal, also known as peplum (pepla plural), is a subgenre of largely Italian-made historical, mythological, or Biblical epics mostly set in the Greco-Roman antiquity or the Middle Ages. These films attempted to emulate the big-budget ...

films.

Music

The pastiche film score was composed largely by

Manlio Mazza Manlio is a given name. Notable people with the given name include: *Manlio Argueta (born 1935), Salvadoran writer, critic and novelist *Manlio Bacigalupo (1908–1977), Italian football player and manager *Manlio De Angelis (1935–2017), Italian ...

, who reworked the music of several composers including Mozart, Mendelssohn, Spontini, Donizetti and Gluck. But the film also contained an original composition by Mazza's former teacher

Ildebrando Pizzetti Ildebrando Pizzetti (20 September 1880 – 13 February 1968) was an Italian composer of classical music, musicologist, and music critic. Biography Pizzetti was born in Parma in 1880. He was part of the "Generation of 1880" along with Ottor ...

, which was composed on D'Annunzio's recommendation: the ten-minute ''Sinfonia del fuoco''. The piece was written to accompany the Invocation to Moloch, in the pivotal Second Episode of the film, when one hundred naked children are sacrificed to the god of Carthage. Scored for a large orchestra, including six first and six second violas, baritone, and a mixed chorus of more than five parts, the ''Sinfonia del fuoco'' was performed once only, on the evening of the film's première, conducted by Mazza, at the Teatro Vittorio Emanuele in Turin, on 18 April 1914. Contemporary reviews indicate that on this occasion the work was performed as an Overture at the start of the film. The size of the forces involved, coupled with Pizzetti's refusal to allow others to conduct the work, and the fact that he himself never included it in his own concerts, meant that no further performances took place until 1988, when the 1914 version of the film was presented, with live orchestral accompaniment of the complete score, at the Orto Botanico, Rome. The ''Sinfonia del fuoco'' has since been recorded by

Naxos Records Naxos comprises numerous companies, divisions, imprints, and labels specializing in classical music but also audiobooks and other genres. The premier label is Naxos Records which focuses on classical music. Naxos Musical Group encompasses about ...

in 1997.

Distribution, remake and restorations

''Cabiria'' was released in Italy on April 18, 1914. In June 1914, ''Cabiria'' became the first motion picture to be screened at the

, when a screening on the lawn was viewed by President Wilson and his family from the porch and lawn chairs.Drees, Rich (2006)
“Italian Silent Classic Cabiria Restored”
@ FilmBuffOnline. (''

The Birth of a Nation ''The Birth of a Nation'', originally called ''The Clansman'', is a 1915 American silent epic drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Lillian Gish. The screenplay is adapted from Thomas Dixon Jr.'s 1905 novel and play '' The Clansm ...

'' was the first movie shown ''in'' the White House, in the

East Room The East Room is an event and reception room in the Executive Residence, which is a building of the White House complex, the home of the president of the United States. The East Room is the largest room in the Executive Residence; it is used f ...

.) A restored version of ''Cabiria'' was screened on 27 May 2006 at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films ...

, featuring a filmed introduction by director

References

Footnotes

Sources

External links

* *
Roger Ebert review
* * *
Original Handbill for Cabiria (1914)
available at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cabiria 1914 films Italian war drama films Italian black-and-white films Italian historical films Films based on works by Emilio Salgari Films directed by Giovanni Pastrone Films scored by Ildebrando Pizzetti Films set in Carthage Films set in Sicily Italian epic films Italian silent feature films 1910s historical films Maciste films Second Punic War films Peplum films Cultural depictions of Hannibal Cultural depictions of Archimedes Cultural depictions of Scipio Africanus Films based on Italian novels Films based on French novels Works by Gabriele D'Annunzio Articles containing video clips Sword and sorcery films Sword and sandal films Sword and sandal Cultural depictions of Sophonisba Films based on works by Gustave Flaubert Works based on Salammbô 1910s Italian-language films Silent drama films Silent adventure films Silent war films