Orson Welles once said that "sound is the first human sense of the theater" and while this may accurately refer to majority of movies, it is not the sound but image that appears to be the first sense of the epic.
When dealing with the history of cinema, sooner or later, one is bound to encounter the epic in the purest sense of the word, the mother of all spectacles, the inspiration that lies behind the greatest showmanship of D.W. Griffith and Cecil B DeMille. At the dawn of the medium, people were interested in showing antiquity but the thought was not born in Hollywood but where it actually has its historical roots, the Mediterranean. Yes, this time all roads lead to Italy. Apart from the greatest masterpieces of art throughout the centuries, it is also Italy that gave birth to the most stupendous, elaborate, stunning visuals that have awed the imagination of viewers for the last century.
CABIRIA by Giovanni Pastrone with the restored music piano score by Jacques Gauthiers was made at a very significant point of history: Italy had been victorious after the Lybian War and, similarly to the role greatest epics of Hollywood served, the film with the setting of its story appeared to be a manifestation of power centered again, after all these, in Rome ---not the Imperial Rome but the Rome the Republic, at a very interesting period: the Punic Wars in the 3rd century before Christ. The story of Cabiria is nicely incorporated into the motives of a marvelous visual display of powerful nature and army. Its mixture of attraction and repulsion, mighty volcanoes and delicate doves, well built giants and delicious women, cruel army leaders and clever inventors lead to all hallmarks of an epic/drama. It's all in CABIRIA starting with hatred destined to be conquered and concluding with love always destined to be the conqueror. AMOR VINCIT OMNIA But let me highlight a few points about the visuals now.
It is important to keep in mind that CABIRIA is heavily influenced by operatic feeling. All this grandeur is the pure essence of what we find in opera. Its strength lies in visuals. Naturally, however, we treat them absolutely differently from today's standpoint. It seems that only a very in-depth eye may capture certain details. The film is divided into 5 episodes which a little bit distract the holistic viewing of the story. Nevertheless, each one has something to offer, if not the costumes, then the great sets, marvelous for the time and still awe inspiring after a century. The eruption of Etna, Hannibal crossing the Italian Alps, the huge temple of Moloch sequence, the war with Carthage, the assault on Syracuse in Sicily (consider the mention of the 'sea of Aretusa'), the interiors of palaces and outstanding costumes. It is significant that the story begins in Sicily, the source of food in ancient Rome and, at the same time, the island that has for ages frightened people with Europe's biggest volcano. While the beginning of the movie is a pure spectacle of nature, it slowly turns to the spectacle of army in order to reach a rather poetic conclusion. American showmen used to say and still many keep saying: "It's all BIG!" We might say the roar of crater turns into roar of war and jealousy. And the characters?
The title Cabiria (Lidia Quaranta) is rather shadowed by other characters who either help her keeping in mind the motto: "Help you give, Help you will receive" or do not seem to have much in common with her but serve as emotional resonance of historical period. Although they are not much developed and seen as if through the curtain of spectacle, we get quite a variety: Croessa (Gina Maragnoni), Cabiria's nurse, Fulvius the Roman (Umberto Mozzato) who may draw parallels to plenty of noble Roman characters in various epics; Maciste (Bartolomeo Pagano) who bears resemblance with Hellenic Hercules, Sienkiewicz Ursus and biblical Samson; queen Sophonisba (Italia Almirante-Manzini) who reveals certain features of ancient femme fatale, Poppaea-like character with a pet leopard (not only Patricia Laffan echoes the image in 1951 QUO VADIS but also Claudette Colbert in 1932 THE SIGN OF THE CROSS) but appears to redeem herself ostentatiously, operatically and dramatically at the end; the elderly Carthaginian architect Archimede (Enrico Gernelli) who creates a terrific machine of war; the funny Bodastoret, the innkeeper; the villainous Massinissa (Vitale Di Stefano), the Numidian impostor of the throne; Syphax (Alessandro Bernard), the old, powerful man who marries a beauty as his loveless political toy; the High Priest Karthalo (Dante Testa), a devil-incarnate who demands human sacrifices to a god (consider the clever representation of a belief/religion that may be of some help but may also resort to most disgusting systematic cruelty). All of the characters contribute to the various strong points of CABIRIA.
Almost half a century later, Federico Fellini made a parallel to the character' name, Cabiria, in his 1957 Oscar winning achievement.
Strangely, I had a feeling that if the people of yore, the people of ancient times would have any link with modern times, CABIRIA would be one of those films which would occur to capture the gist within the recreation of antiquity. Perhaps, it is because of the test of time it has undeniably stood. No matter what emotions, feelings, imagination it evokes, this silent gem should be more known today. It might serve modern epic as an old tutor full of novelty what to change, what to get rid of in order to come back to the roots again.
Surely worth seeking out! HAPPY CENTENARY, CABIRIA!
When dealing with the history of cinema, sooner or later, one is bound to encounter the epic in the purest sense of the word, the mother of all spectacles, the inspiration that lies behind the greatest showmanship of D.W. Griffith and Cecil B DeMille. At the dawn of the medium, people were interested in showing antiquity but the thought was not born in Hollywood but where it actually has its historical roots, the Mediterranean. Yes, this time all roads lead to Italy. Apart from the greatest masterpieces of art throughout the centuries, it is also Italy that gave birth to the most stupendous, elaborate, stunning visuals that have awed the imagination of viewers for the last century.
CABIRIA by Giovanni Pastrone with the restored music piano score by Jacques Gauthiers was made at a very significant point of history: Italy had been victorious after the Lybian War and, similarly to the role greatest epics of Hollywood served, the film with the setting of its story appeared to be a manifestation of power centered again, after all these, in Rome ---not the Imperial Rome but the Rome the Republic, at a very interesting period: the Punic Wars in the 3rd century before Christ. The story of Cabiria is nicely incorporated into the motives of a marvelous visual display of powerful nature and army. Its mixture of attraction and repulsion, mighty volcanoes and delicate doves, well built giants and delicious women, cruel army leaders and clever inventors lead to all hallmarks of an epic/drama. It's all in CABIRIA starting with hatred destined to be conquered and concluding with love always destined to be the conqueror. AMOR VINCIT OMNIA But let me highlight a few points about the visuals now.
It is important to keep in mind that CABIRIA is heavily influenced by operatic feeling. All this grandeur is the pure essence of what we find in opera. Its strength lies in visuals. Naturally, however, we treat them absolutely differently from today's standpoint. It seems that only a very in-depth eye may capture certain details. The film is divided into 5 episodes which a little bit distract the holistic viewing of the story. Nevertheless, each one has something to offer, if not the costumes, then the great sets, marvelous for the time and still awe inspiring after a century. The eruption of Etna, Hannibal crossing the Italian Alps, the huge temple of Moloch sequence, the war with Carthage, the assault on Syracuse in Sicily (consider the mention of the 'sea of Aretusa'), the interiors of palaces and outstanding costumes. It is significant that the story begins in Sicily, the source of food in ancient Rome and, at the same time, the island that has for ages frightened people with Europe's biggest volcano. While the beginning of the movie is a pure spectacle of nature, it slowly turns to the spectacle of army in order to reach a rather poetic conclusion. American showmen used to say and still many keep saying: "It's all BIG!" We might say the roar of crater turns into roar of war and jealousy. And the characters?
The title Cabiria (Lidia Quaranta) is rather shadowed by other characters who either help her keeping in mind the motto: "Help you give, Help you will receive" or do not seem to have much in common with her but serve as emotional resonance of historical period. Although they are not much developed and seen as if through the curtain of spectacle, we get quite a variety: Croessa (Gina Maragnoni), Cabiria's nurse, Fulvius the Roman (Umberto Mozzato) who may draw parallels to plenty of noble Roman characters in various epics; Maciste (Bartolomeo Pagano) who bears resemblance with Hellenic Hercules, Sienkiewicz Ursus and biblical Samson; queen Sophonisba (Italia Almirante-Manzini) who reveals certain features of ancient femme fatale, Poppaea-like character with a pet leopard (not only Patricia Laffan echoes the image in 1951 QUO VADIS but also Claudette Colbert in 1932 THE SIGN OF THE CROSS) but appears to redeem herself ostentatiously, operatically and dramatically at the end; the elderly Carthaginian architect Archimede (Enrico Gernelli) who creates a terrific machine of war; the funny Bodastoret, the innkeeper; the villainous Massinissa (Vitale Di Stefano), the Numidian impostor of the throne; Syphax (Alessandro Bernard), the old, powerful man who marries a beauty as his loveless political toy; the High Priest Karthalo (Dante Testa), a devil-incarnate who demands human sacrifices to a god (consider the clever representation of a belief/religion that may be of some help but may also resort to most disgusting systematic cruelty). All of the characters contribute to the various strong points of CABIRIA.
Almost half a century later, Federico Fellini made a parallel to the character' name, Cabiria, in his 1957 Oscar winning achievement.
Strangely, I had a feeling that if the people of yore, the people of ancient times would have any link with modern times, CABIRIA would be one of those films which would occur to capture the gist within the recreation of antiquity. Perhaps, it is because of the test of time it has undeniably stood. No matter what emotions, feelings, imagination it evokes, this silent gem should be more known today. It might serve modern epic as an old tutor full of novelty what to change, what to get rid of in order to come back to the roots again.
Surely worth seeking out! HAPPY CENTENARY, CABIRIA!