Set in Carthage during the Second Punic Wars (III century B.C.E.), the production of Cabiria employed special effects that were exceptional for the time, hundreds of extras, imposing set designs and elephants. The screenplay was written by Gabriele D’Annunzio who, following the habits of the time, was credited as the author of the film, appearing on the poster instead of the director Giovanni Pastrone. The film is also renowned for its innovative use of tracking shots.
The interiors, including the Temple of Moloch, were mostly built in Turin, in the Itala Film studios on Dora Riparia. The film features many sumptuous visual inventions: the eruption of Mount Etna which destroys little Cabiria’s family home and sets off the chain of events; Sophonisba’s dream; and the use of Archimedes’ kindling mirrors to set the Roman ships on fire during the siege of Syracuse. The besieged city of Cirta, home to Sophonisba, was built on the Lakes of Avigliana, near Usseglio, in the Valli di Lanzo, and in the Sahara Desert, Algeria.
Set in Carthage during the Second Punic Wars (III century B.C.E.), the production of Cabiria employed special effects that were exceptional for the time, hundreds of extras, imposing set designs and elephants. The screenplay was written by Gabriele D’Annunzio who, following the habits of the time, was credited as the author of the film, appearing on the poster instead of the director Giovanni Pastrone. The film is also renowned for its innovative use of tracking shots.
The interiors, including the Temple of Moloch, were mostly built in Turin, in the Itala Film studios on Dora Riparia. The film features many sumptuous visual inventions: the eruption of Mount Etna which destroys little Cabiria’s family home and sets off the chain of events; Sophonisba’s dream; and the use of Archimedes’ kindling mirrors to set the Roman ships on fire during the siege of Syracuse. The besieged city of Cirta, home to Sophonisba, was built on the Lakes of Avigliana, near Usseglio, in the Valli di Lanzo, and in the Sahara Desert, Algeria.
Itala Film
III century B.C.E. Cabiria is just a child when the eruption of Mount Etna destroys her home, forcing her to flee with a group of servants. Captured and sold as a sacrifice, saved by Fulvius Axilla and his servant Maciste, she encounters many dangers as war rages between Rome and Carthage.
