CABIRIA is perhaps the first huge spectacular movie epic and the title of the film is derived from the name of a small girl. The film begins with her miraculous survival from a very realistic eruption of a volcano and takes her on a boat ride to Carthage--Rome's arch-rival during the years of the Republic. Here, she is sold into slavery and is slated to be sacrificed to the evil god, Moloch. The scene of Moloch's temple and the baby-eating idol is truly amazing and horrifying. It must have cost a small fortune to construct. Cabiria is rescued by a Roman spy. However, while she is not killed, she remained a slave for a decade. Eventually, when Rome gained the upper hand in the Punic Wars (with Carthage), Cabiria was saved and everyone lived happily ever after.
Now as to why the movie was made in Italy at that particular time, this film came just after Italy successfully attacked North Africa and seized colonies. This film, then, is a sort of justification for this action--as it paints the Carthaginians as baby-sacrificing and evil. Only after the good Romans conquer them is peace and justice restored! This means that this film was one of the earlier propaganda pieces ever put on film and it came out just before the First World War.
When you watch CABIRIA, you need to understand the context of when it was made to truly appreciate the film. While the acting might seem over-the-top at times, for 1914 it was a truly amazing film. Never before had a film been so dramatic or had sets to equal this. In fact, the spectacular nature of this Italian film had a strong impact on the films of D. W. Griffith, as it wasn't until 1915 that his huge epic BIRTH OF A NATION and 1916 when INTOLERANCE were released---and they were obviously strongly inspired by CABIRIA. While INTOLERANCE is quite similar to CABIRIA in spots, INTOLERANCE has even grander sets and special effects though the story itself was neither as involving nor as interesting--being muddled quite a bit by having four stories overlapping and the over-the-top moralizing Griffith was known for in many of his films. Instead, CABIRIA is much more straight-forward and interesting storytelling and compares very well to later epics--even some of the sound epics. Sure, by later standards it might seem hokey in spots, but for 1914 it was a huge leap forward in entertainment and is a must-see for all serious film historians.
By the way, this review is based on the recent Kino Video restoration. Shorter versions do exist and the Kino version is apparently the closest to the original you can find.
Now as to why the movie was made in Italy at that particular time, this film came just after Italy successfully attacked North Africa and seized colonies. This film, then, is a sort of justification for this action--as it paints the Carthaginians as baby-sacrificing and evil. Only after the good Romans conquer them is peace and justice restored! This means that this film was one of the earlier propaganda pieces ever put on film and it came out just before the First World War.
When you watch CABIRIA, you need to understand the context of when it was made to truly appreciate the film. While the acting might seem over-the-top at times, for 1914 it was a truly amazing film. Never before had a film been so dramatic or had sets to equal this. In fact, the spectacular nature of this Italian film had a strong impact on the films of D. W. Griffith, as it wasn't until 1915 that his huge epic BIRTH OF A NATION and 1916 when INTOLERANCE were released---and they were obviously strongly inspired by CABIRIA. While INTOLERANCE is quite similar to CABIRIA in spots, INTOLERANCE has even grander sets and special effects though the story itself was neither as involving nor as interesting--being muddled quite a bit by having four stories overlapping and the over-the-top moralizing Griffith was known for in many of his films. Instead, CABIRIA is much more straight-forward and interesting storytelling and compares very well to later epics--even some of the sound epics. Sure, by later standards it might seem hokey in spots, but for 1914 it was a huge leap forward in entertainment and is a must-see for all serious film historians.
By the way, this review is based on the recent Kino Video restoration. Shorter versions do exist and the Kino version is apparently the closest to the original you can find.