"Cabiria" is from the first Italian wave that lasted until around the beginning of the First World War. After that the Italian cinema became prominent again only with the Neo realist movement after the Second World War.
In the first Italian wave films became what we call now feature length. Before that films were much shorter (half an hour max). In the films of Georges Méliès the story served the special effects. In the Italian films of this time special effects served the story for the first time.
The Italian films of this period were mostly spectacles about the Roman Empire. Apart from "Cabiria", which plays during the Second Punic War, we can also mention "Quo Vadis?" (1913, Enrico Guazzoni). The reason for this was that at that time Italy had became a unified nation state only relatively recently and one was in search for some nationalistic pride. What suited this purpise better than the glorious past of the former empire? The intertitles of "Cabiria" for example are written by Gabriele d'Annunzio, a fierce nationalistic writer and politician.
"Cabiria" was an inspiration for D. W Grifith ("The birth of a nation" (1915) and "Intolerance" (1916)). In the first film we clearly see the nationalistic tendency, in the second the special effects (especially in the Babylonian story).
The widely recognized influence on Griffith (also acknowledged by him) is however not the only influence of "Cabiria" on later filmclassics. See for example the Carthaginian god of Moloch that we will meet again in "Metropolis" (1927, Fritz Lang). In Metropolis Moloch is no longer a God but a Machine (i.e. Industrialisation). In "Cabiria" Moloch illustrates the backwardness of the Carthaginian civilsation versus the Roman one. In "Metropolis" Moloch illustrates the mercilessness and exploitation in Western indutrialized countries. In this machine form we see Moloch again (without explicitly mentioning his name) in "Modern times" (1936, Charlie Chaplin).
In the first Italian wave films became what we call now feature length. Before that films were much shorter (half an hour max). In the films of Georges Méliès the story served the special effects. In the Italian films of this time special effects served the story for the first time.
The Italian films of this period were mostly spectacles about the Roman Empire. Apart from "Cabiria", which plays during the Second Punic War, we can also mention "Quo Vadis?" (1913, Enrico Guazzoni). The reason for this was that at that time Italy had became a unified nation state only relatively recently and one was in search for some nationalistic pride. What suited this purpise better than the glorious past of the former empire? The intertitles of "Cabiria" for example are written by Gabriele d'Annunzio, a fierce nationalistic writer and politician.
"Cabiria" was an inspiration for D. W Grifith ("The birth of a nation" (1915) and "Intolerance" (1916)). In the first film we clearly see the nationalistic tendency, in the second the special effects (especially in the Babylonian story).
The widely recognized influence on Griffith (also acknowledged by him) is however not the only influence of "Cabiria" on later filmclassics. See for example the Carthaginian god of Moloch that we will meet again in "Metropolis" (1927, Fritz Lang). In Metropolis Moloch is no longer a God but a Machine (i.e. Industrialisation). In "Cabiria" Moloch illustrates the backwardness of the Carthaginian civilsation versus the Roman one. In "Metropolis" Moloch illustrates the mercilessness and exploitation in Western indutrialized countries. In this machine form we see Moloch again (without explicitly mentioning his name) in "Modern times" (1936, Charlie Chaplin).