A dynamic piece, a testimony of its time, Cabiria delighted the moviegoers of the second half of the nineteen-tens. Cabiria, a film by Giovanni Pastrone, projects onto the silver screen the values and ideals of 1914 Italy. In its essence, it is a film set in Ancient Rome with the intent of persuading the Italian people, and eventually the world, of Italy's power and dominance. While Italy was not all-powerful at the making of the film, Cabiria shows the might of what Italy was and what it must become once more. Through its storytelling and angles, the movie promotes the Romans in the upmost way. Throughout the movie, the Romans are dominant and hold power despite being in another country. Cabiria, in its strengths, shows not only the old might of Italy but its might in movie making. Cabiria's goal is not only propaganda but to be a genuinely enjoyable movie to watch. The filmmakers accomplish that through their extraordinary sets that can rival even today's set designers. Their grand scale and detail transport the watcher to either Carthage or Sicily in upmost detail. Cabiria furthers the illusion of being in ancient times through its costumes. The costume designers' attention to detail is shown most prominently through the character of Sophonisba. In all of her scenes, she wears elaborate dresses with many patterns and added details that present the audience with an idea of the wealth and power of Carthage. Cabiria is able to keep up its fantastic illusion throughout the film, but loses it slightly due to the limits of its time. In 1914, movies were not only in black-and-white, but also silent. The watcher cannot fully emerge into Ancient Rome and Carthage due to these limitations. They cannot imagine the elaborate color of the palaces or the clothes, as most testaments of the color of Ancient Rome have lost their color, i.e. sculptures. Cabiria is a stunning film if you watch it in the mindset of someone from the late Edwardian Era. It is a piece that has withstood the test of time in its set design but lost the beautiful illusion with the modern watchers' knowledge of color and sound.
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Going into "Cabiria", I was concerned it was going to be dull. It was my first silent film, and it spanned a whopping 2 hours. How...
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Though dreading having to see this film due to its silent, black & white nature, I was pleasantly surprised that I found myself genuinel...
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Please introduce yourself briefly and talk about your background with film and/or interest in this class. What kind of movies do you like, w...
It is definitely a bit harder for modern viewers used to technicolor, THX high-fidelity sound, and CGI to immerse themselves into a black & white silent movie. It would be unfair, though, to hold a 1914 movie to these standards. For that reason, I am glad that you picked up on some of the features that entranced contemporary moviegoers in 1914, such as the magnificent sets and the lavish costumes. This is exactly the kind of detail that I hoped you would bring up to support your verdict on this movie.
ReplyDeleteI personally found the spy thriller cum double love plot (Cabiria + Fulvio Axilla and Sophonisba + Massinissa) also quite gripping. In addition, the film features, of course, impressive scenes with hundreds of extras (e.g., the siege of Cirta), special effects (the eruption of Mt. Aetna, the burning camp) and many humorous inserts like when Fulvio and Maciste entertain themselves while trapped in the cellar or the funny little innkeeper Bodastoret surprised by the Romans while counting his money. Finally, the movie was surprisingly advanced technologically for its time when you compare it with "Marcantonio e Cleopatra" from just one year earlier. The cinematography (shots, angles, cuts, moving camera) is so much more lively that "Cabiria" really seems like a quantum leap compared to what came before.