Cabiria (1914)

Cabiria (1914). Cabiria: Directed by Giovanni Pastrone. With Carolina Catena, Lidia Quaranta, Teresa Marangoni, Dante Testa. Cabiria is a Roman child when her home is destroyed by a volcano. Sold in Carthage to be sacrificed in a temple, is saved by Fulvio, a Roman spy. But danger lurks, and hatred between Rome and Carthage can only lead to war.

“This was a confusing, yet highly important, one to watch. I have to say that I havenu0026#39;t watched a silent film in a long time so adjusting to the many, many differences was a struggle. I found the captions to be really lacking in clarity. I appreciate the beauty of their writing but Iu0026#39;m not really trying to decode poetry when watching a silent epic, you know? Itu0026#39;s not even that, really, it was the constant introduction of new names without describing who they were or what the hell their problem was. I was under the impression that the captions would describe what was about to happen, but really they just introduced it, which meant that I understood a bit of what was happening before their mouths kept moving and their arms started flailing and fights started happening and I was lost again. I definitely wish I had a historian in my room just quietly explaining where these ancient cities were and why everyone was so upset all the time. I could Google it while watching but I have a strict rule against touching my phone while a movie is on. Try to read up on the context surrounding the story before watching if you can.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAnyway, the sets were grand even by todayu0026#39;s standards and that impressed me a lot. Even the special effects they utilized were outstanding, because at that time in cinema, they werenu0026#39;t special effects as much as they were visual tricks that the filmmakers had to figure out and pioneer on their own essentially. I really liked the Maciste character and I wasnu0026#39;t surprised to find that he was extremely popular when this movie came out, too. The naked children everywhere and live birds flying around a set that is actively crumbling and in flames was bananas! It made me wonder how many people/animals died on sets back before there were regulations. The story had many complexities to it and that was cool. It definitely deserves itu0026#39;s title as an epic. It is not an easy watch, but it is a worthwhile one. No doubt it was piloted by a strong plot. I agree with the many others who have said that this is a must-see for people who truly love film. I definitely recommend it and am happy to have it in my movie collection.”