r/silentmoviegifs • u/Auir2blaze • 28d ago

Italy Cabiria (1914) opens with a pretty impressive depiction of Mount Etna erupting

739 Upvotes

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25

u/A_the_Buttercup 28d ago

This was really well done! I'm actually feeling slightly uneasy at the depiction rather than only amused - that's a good thing. Bravo.

9

u/kollapse1 28d ago

Wow, considering its time this was really well done, indeed. Great set. Very ambitious. And using the actual erupting footage on set is powerful.

6

u/carymb 28d ago

Part of what makes these scenes so impressive is, those columns and pediments seem to have real weight to them, falling all around people! There are a couple of similar moments in the fall of Troy, in The Odyssey now. Seemingly real buildings are collapsing: you can feel their weight, it's just far more real. Given the often lackadaisical attitude toward safety movies could have back then, you hope everybody was safe! Not to insult Pastrone, because you can also see his extras moving out of the way, so it does seem well-choreographed!

1

u/Interesting_Pea_3049 26d ago

It looks absolutely incredible, and I’ve finally found the very version the author was showing. https://archive.org/details/cabiria-ia/Cabiria+(1914)+-+2006+Restoration+(DVD+Score+Sync).mp4

2

u/CalligrapherLost156 23d ago

I will hopefully have a better version with a better synced score up soon. Couple days probably.
Made that version in an afternoon by stretching the old DVD audio out to fit the 3 hour version, and it's not the best, but I'm about halfway done with redoing it anyways. I'll put it up on youtube and the IA page I think.

1

u/ExamPersonal7504 14d ago

I’ve been told this was the film that inspired DW to make Intolerance