Cabiria (1913 1914)

Drama In the third century BC, shortly before the outbreak of the second Punic war, Batto is a rich man from Catania, with a four / five year old daughter named Cabiria. One night, during an eruption of Mount Etna, his house is set on fire and collapses, but a group of servants, including the nurse Croessa who brings little Cabiria with her, finds escape through the secret cellars of the villa, where Batto keeps the his treasure. Due to the theft of part of the treasure, the escaped servants flee from Catania and head towards the sea, where they are taken prisoner by a group of Phoenician pirates, who sell them as slaves in Carthage. Archimedes designs the burning mirror, a scene from the film Croessa and Cabiria are bought by Karthalo, pontiff, who decides to sacrifice the child to the god Moloch. In Carthage lives the Roman Fulvio Axilla, with his faithful servant Maciste, who undercover spy on the rival city of Rome. In the meantime Cabiria is chosen as the next sacrificial victim, along with one hundred other children, and Croessa, who has tried to hide her as an infirm and therefore unsuitable for sacrifice, is punished with lashes. Temporarily freed, Croessa meets Fulvio Axilla and recognizing him as her Latin, she begs him to help her save Cabiria, giving him a ring with the symbol of the eagle, formerly of Batto, as a pledge... Country of production Italy Year 1914 Duration 168 min [1] 148 (theatrical version) 125 min (1990 version) 123 min (version mounted by Kino Print) 181 min (restored 2006 version) 187 min (original version) Technical data B / N silent film Epic, historical, dramatic, adventure genre Directed by Giovanni Pastrone Subject Gustave Flaubert, Emilio Salgari, Gabriele D’Annunzio, Tito Livio Screenplay Giovanni Pastrone (story) and Gabriele D’Annunzio (intertitles) Producer Giovanni Pastrone Itala Film production company Photography Augusto Battagliotti, Eugenio Bava, Natale Chiusano, Segundo de Chomón, Carlo Franzeri, Giovanni Tomatis Special Effects Eugenio Bava, Segundo de Chomón Music Joseph Carl Breil, Manlio Mazza, Ildebrando Pizzetti Set designer Luigi Romano Borgnetto, Camillo Innocenti Interpreters and characters Carolina Catena: Cabiria as a child Lidia Quaranta: Cabiria Gina Marangoni: Croessa Umberto Mozzato: Fulvio Axilla Italy Almirante Manzini: Sofonisba Bartolomeo Pagano: Maciste Alexandre Bernard: Siface Vitale De Stefano: Massinissa Raffaele Di Napoli: Bodastoret Emilio Vardannes: Annibale / Batto Edoardo Davesnes: Hasdrubal Enrico Gemelli: Archimede Dante Testa: Karthalo Didaco Chellini: Scipio the African