Console best movie i've ever seen.

Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Leoni Haney Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

Darin One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

wes-connors Three hundred years Before Christ, the volcanic Mount Etna erupts during an earthquake, destroying the Sicilian palace and estate where little "Cabiria" (Carolina Catena) lives. The young heiress manages to escape through a secret stairway leading underground, carried by nursemaid Gina Marangoni (as Croessa). When the dust clears, little "Cabiria" is believed to be dead and buried in the ruble. After escaping the devastation, she and Ms. Marangoni are sold as slaves, in Carthage.Next, "Cabiria" is to be sacrificed as a burnt offering to "Moloch", a brazen God who likes to eat children.Nurse Marangoni tries to save the girl, but is whipped for her efforts. She enlists help from Roman patrician Umberto Mozzato (as Fulvius Axilla) and his loyal dark-skinned slave Bartolomeo Pagano (as Maciste). With the muscular Mr. Pagano leading the charge, they rescue "Cabiria" from the fiery jaws of death. Obviously, this makes the God and his minions angry. The trio hideout at an inn while the plot thickens. Shuttled once more, "Cabiria" grows into a beautiful young woman, Lidia Quaranta (as Elissa).Written, produced, and directed by Giovanni Pastrone, "Cabiria" is a classic early spectacular.Most famous was Mr. Pastrone's use of camera tracking shots; this movement of camera increased the scope, and excitement, of motion pictures. He likes screen movement, as you'll see. This film also features Mr. Pagano's star-making role as the long-running character "Maciste". In fact, Pagano and Mr. Mozzato are the real "stars" of this story; after they save "Cabiria" from sacrifice, you care more about seeing them - especially "Maciste" - than you do about the frequently disappearing "Cabiria".******* Cabiria (4/18/14) Giovanni Pastrone ~ Umberto Mozzato, Bartolomeo Pagano, Lidia Quaranta, Italia Almirante-Manzini

barbb1953 Volcanoes, earthquakes, pirates, fire sacrifices, elephants in the Alps, camels in the deserts, ships all over the place, a heat ray, secret messages in poisoned jewelery, the first film appearance of Maciste/Hercules in a sword-and-sandal movie: what's not to enjoy? It's just unbelievable that this movie is almost a hundred years young.Well, there's a bit not to like. The first time I saw this, I spent most of the movie trying to figure out if Bartolomeo Pagano was really black. I don't think so, but am not really sure about that. If he wasn't, then it is off-putting to have a white star in black-face (in his case, 'black-body') with real black actors as extras. There's that plus some anti-Semitism, not to mention all the fascist salutes. These were the times during which the film was made.The first time around, the Moloch scene is horrifying on its own, and...***spoiler alert***...you're cheering on the heroes as they save the child. The second time around, after more thought, it's the invocation to Moloch that's so incredibly creepy against the perspective of all the young lives that would soon be offered up on battlefields throughout Europe (including Italy) in the upcoming 20th century wars.The storming of the city of Cirta near the end of the film is okay, but one can imagine D.W. Griffith sitting through it thinking, "I can do a battle-on-the-city-ramparts scene better." He did, too, with the storming of Babylon in "Intolerance." However, he didn't have Sophonisba. She makes a late appearance in "Cabiria," but...***spoiler coming up***...her death scene ends the film perfectly. And she makes another appearance at the very end. Yay!It's still an incredibly good movie, well worth watching.

thisglimpse Everyone says the plot is convoluted, impossible to follow and boring, and that the only reason to watch this is for the costumes and set pieces. but I think they're missing something.The plot moves forward on two levels - the personal and the political, so the real theme behind this movie is how the political affects the personal, and vice versa. Especially by the end of the film, shifting political alliances, military victories and defeats are clearly and dramatically affecting the fates of our heroes. And then, ultimately, Cabiria is freed because of the personal effect of a political move: Scipio takes Sophonisba away from Massinissa to eliminate the threat of rebellion, and in doing so, takes away the queen's reason to live.Curiously, Cabiria, the center of the movie, is the most passive and perhaps least developed character in the film. She might as well be buried treasure. And yet she is the center of the movie, and sometimes we are reminded of her because the camera seems to forget her. Take the garden scene, when it is not at all clear what happens to her, and then we don't know for a good long time: she does not appear again literally for ten years, and then when she does reappear, it is with a different name, and we are not told it is her. She is there because she is not there; the fact that her fate is unresolved remains the central tension and dramatic force of the movie.Ultimately, I think this form of storytelling - both the "big world/little world" plot development and the "unresolved character" issue work better in literature/theater than on film, and that's probably why, in retrospect, we watch this movie mostly for the costumes. But what I see is the developing language of cinema, and an experiment tried by a director and screenwriter in 1914 that would never be considered today.Which adds up to a fascinating movie worth watching, in my book.

Ron Oliver Kidnapped by Phoenician pirates from her Sicilian home, the infant CABIRIA grows to become involved in Rome's conflict with Carthage during the Second Punic War.Vast, intricate in plot & completely fascinating, here is one of the great silent epics which, fortunately, lives up to its legend. Full of daring rescues & breathless escapes, the film also features innovative camerawork & lighting techniques which would greatly influence D. W. Griffith & Cecil B. DeMille. (Some viewers may also see a strong resemblance between CABIRIA and the gigantic sets & bravado action highlighted in the Douglas Fairbanks swashbucklers of the 1920's.)Prolific director Giovanni Pastrone (1883-1959), using the pseudonym Piero Fosco, wrote the script and helped design the huge, elaborate sets, wanting to make his film the biggest, most thrilling epic ever produced. A million lira was budgeted for CABIRIA, a tremendous sum then, and location shooting was extended to Tunisia, Sicily & the Alps. The result was a tremendous success and ensured Pastrone's name would be enshrined in the history of world cinema. A true Renaissance Man, Pastrone left films in 1923 to devote himself to medical research.The acting is often rather ripe & sensationalized, but that was the prevailing style in Italian epics, which were doubtless influenced by Grand Opera's florid stage mannerisms. Special mention should be made of Umberto Mozzato as a heroic Roman spy, Bartolomeo Pagano as the muscular Maciste & Italia Almirante-Manzini playing a wicked Carthaginian queen.Sequences remain in the viewer's mind: the destructive eruption of Mount Etna; the truly terrifying scenes in the vile Temple of Moloch, with tiny naked children being thrown into the flames; and Hannibal's march - with elephants - over the mountains. Ancient Archimedes setting fire to the Roman fleet attacking Syracuse is unexpectedly amusing, while the movie climaxes with one of the most ostentatious suicides ever filmed.******************************There were three Punic Wars, which kept the ancient world embroiled from 264 BC until 146 BC while Rome & Carthage engaged in a death struggle to see who would emerge as the master of the Mediterranean. Battles raged in Europe & Africa, as well as on the Sea, but the last War ultimately ended with Rome's total victory and the complete & utter destruction of Carthage. The innocents sacrificed to the hideous Moloch were finally avenged.