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Cabiria

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This article is about Giovanni Pastrone's 1914 silent film; for the Federico Fellini film, see The Nights of Cabiria.
Cabiria
Cabiria 1914 poster restored.jpg
Directed by
Giovanni Pastrone
Produced by
Giovanni Pastrone
Written by
Gabriele d'Annunzio (portrayed as the "auteur" in this poster) and Giovanni Pastrone (from the works by Emilio Salgari, Gustave Flaubert and Titus Livius)
Starring
Bartolomeo Pagano

Release dates

18 April 1914
 

Running time
 200 min (original)
 137 min (1937 version)
 123 min (1990 restoration)
 190 min (2006 restoration)[1]
Country
Italy
Language
Silent film
 Italian intertitles
Budget
1 million Lira


File:Cabiria (1914).webm
Play media
 

Cabiria (full video)
Cabiria is a 1914 Italian epic silent film, directed by Giovanni Pastrone (1883–1959) and shot in Turin. The film is set in ancient Sicily, Carthage, and Cirta during the period of the Second Punic War (218–202 BC). It follows a melodramatic main plot about an abducted little girl, Cabiria, and features an eruption of Mt. Etna, heinous religious rituals in Carthage, the alpine trek of Hannibal, Archimedes' defeat of the Roman fleet at the Siege of Syracuse and Scipio maneuvering in North Africa. Apart from being a classic on its own terms, the film is also notable for being the first film in which the long-running film character Maciste makes his debut. According to Martin Scorsese, in this work Pastrone invented the epic movie and deserves credit for many of the innovations often attributed to D.W. Griffith and Cecil B. DeMille.[2] Among those were the first use of the moving camera, thus freeing the narrative film from "static gaze".
The historical background and characters in the story are taken from Livy's Ab Urbe Condita (written ca. 27–25 BC). In addition, the script of Cabiria was partially based on Gustave Flaubert's 1862 novel Salammbo and Emilio Salgari's 1908 novel Cartagine in fiamme (Carthage in Flames).


Contents  [hide]
1 Plot summary
2 Cast and characters
3 Production
4 Music
5 Distribution, remake and restorations
6 Controversy
7 See also
8 References
9 External links

Plot summary[edit]
Source:[3]
FIRST EPISODE
Batto and his little daughter Cabiria live in a lavish estate in the shadow of Mount Etna at Catana on the island of Sicily. Cabiria, plays with dolls with her nurse Croessa. When the volcanic Etna erupts violently, Batto prays to the god Pluto for deliverance, but receives only a brief respite before his home and gardens are destroyed. While attempting to escape, servants discover a secret stairway leading underground. Taking advantage of the chaos and plundering Batto’s hidden treasure, the servants, along with Croessa and Cabiria, flee to the countryside. Batto and his wife mourn the loss of Cabiria, as they believe her to be buried beneath the rubble.
SECOND EPISODE
The fugitive servants divide up the treasure (Croessa gets a ring) and make for the sea, but soon run afoul of Phoenician pirates who take Croessa and Cabiria to Carthage where the little girl is sold to Karthalo, the High Priest. He intends to sacrifice her to the great god Moloch. Also in Carthage are two Roman spies: Fulvius Axilla, a Roman patrician and Maciste, his huge, muscular slave. The innkeeper Bodastoret welcomes Fulvius and Maciste to his Inn of the Striped Monkey. Croessa tries to prevent the sacrifice of Cabiria by pretending she is ill, but is whipped for her deception. Later, she chances upon Fulvius and Maciste. Recognizing them as fellow countrymen, she implores them to assist her.
The entrance to the huge Temple of Moloch is a gigantic three-eyed head, with the mouth as portal. One hundred young children are to perish as offerings. Inside are frenzied devotees and the colossal seated statue of the winged god Moloch is a hollow bronze furnace. The great chest opens for each victim and when a youngster is slid into the inferno, the door closes and the open mouth belches flame. Croessa, Fulvius and Maciste sneak into the temple and the slave boldly snatches Cabiria away from the priest. Pursued by a frenzied mob, they make their way up to the roof, down the gargantuan façade, and back to the inn. All except Croessa, who pays a fatal price for the rescue.
THIRD EPISODE
Meanwhile, Hannibal and his troops make their way across the snow-laden Alps towards Rome. Soldiers, elephants and other animals pick their way through the passes. Learning of the military events at the inn, Fulvius resolves to flee back to Rome after further intimidating the innkeeper to ensure silence. The Numidian King Massinissa is visiting Carthage and Hasdrubal, brother of Hannibal, promises him his beautiful daughter Sophonisba, in marriage. In a great audience hall with two huge elephantine columns, Massinissa dispatches gifts and a message to meet secretly to Sophonisba, who on receiving them is giddy with anticipation.
Bodastoret, the innkeeper, sneaks into the Temple of Moloch and for a reward betrays the Romans’ whereabouts and intentions. Fulvius, Maciste and Cabiria are ambushed by the Priest’s henchmen as they attempt to flee the city the next morning, but Fulvius escapes by leaping spectacularly from a high precipice and swimming away. Maciste and Cabiria flee, henchmen hard on their heels, to the cedar garden of Hasdrubal and encounter Massinissa and Sophonisba just as their secret tryst is commencing. Maciste implores the aristocratic couple – who have both concealed their true identities—to rescue Cabiria. Amid the chaos, Sophonisba, Cabiria and a servant run away while Massinissa falsely denies to the Priest’s men that he has seen any little girl. Maciste, however, is captured, tortured and chained to a great millstone, which he must turn, but can still manage to intimidate everyone around him.
FOURTH EPISODE
The Roman navy has besieged Syracuse, a Greek ally of Carthage, and Fulvius is now participating in the fighting. The Romans, however, are frustrated by a giant array of mirrors, producing a heat ray, which is deployed by the great inventor Archimedes to set fire to the ships’ sails. The Roman fleet is spectacularly destroyed.
Fulvius, still bearing the ring Croessa had given him, is cast adrift and soon rescued. Although his rescuers rob the unconscious Fulvius, one of them recognizes the ring on his finger and he is carried to Batto’s house, which has been rebuilt. The parents are overjoyed to learn that Cabiria is still alive at least when he last saw her. As he takes his leave Fulvius vows to seek Cabiria if he should ever return to Carthage.
FIFTH EPISODE

 

 Cabiria poster portraying the human pyramid scene
An intertitle relates that Syphax, King of Cirta – a rival desert kingdom—has deposed Massinissa and caused him to disappear into the desert. Hasdrubal now gives Sophonisba to the victor instead, to shore up his new alliance against Rome. Sophonisba is distinctly unhappy and when she appears in her finery at the betrothal ceremony she swoons and breaks the ceremonial vessel.
Already in possession of much of North Africa, the Roman general and consul Scipio strategizes with his new ally, Massinissa. They dispatch the resourceful Fulvius again as a spy in Carthage to observe its defenses. Stealthily deploying an impressive human pyramid of Roman soldiers, Fulvius successfully breeches the city walls.
In the elephantine hall, Hasdrubal dispatches the High Priest Karthalo on a mission to persuade Syphax to attack the Romans directly. Karthalo’s camel caravan traverses the vast dunescape. Meanwhile, Fulvius finds time to look for Maciste and Cabiria—now prisoners for 10 years. With a combination of intimidation and bribery, he extracts information from Bodastoret. With Fulvius disguised as a freedman, they secretly observe Maciste still in chains and harnessed to his millstone. That night, Fulvius returns to wake the sleeping strongman who is overwhelmed with happiness at again seeing his beloved master. Back at their hideout at the inn, Bodastoret is overcome with shock at seeing Maciste and dies. Fulvius and Maciste make good their escape down the city walls.
In Cirta, before a palace with two huge feline columns, Syphax is given a formal sendoff by Sophonisba and Karthalo, the latter of whom has an eye for the former’s lovely slave “Elissa”. While the military maneuvers continue, Fulvius and Maciste have fallen into dire straits, exhausted and thirsty in the desert wilderness. Maciste catches sight of a fire in the distance—Syphax’s encampment has been torched by his enemies. The two Romans are soon captured by the mounted Cirtans.
While outside the city King Syphax has been captured, Maciste and Fulvius are swept up with other prisoners within Cirta’s city walls. “Elissa”, who is really Cabiria, takes pity on the imprisoned pair and passes water to them without recognizing who they are. Cirta is under siege by Massinissa’s forces. Soldiers scale ladders outside the walls while boulders, spears, arrows and boiling oil rain down on them.
Sophonisba dreams of triple-eyed Moloch. Unnerved, she interprets her dream as an omen that Cabiria/Elissa will somehow spell the doom of the city and confesses to Karthalo what happened in the cedar garden so many years ago. Maciste, who has forced the iron bars of his prison cell with his enormous strength, determines to exact a revenge upon Karthalo. He intrudes through a window just in time to save Elissa—whom he now recognizes as Cabiria—from a dire fate at the Priest's hands. Fulvius soon joins the fray, but in the chaos of flight, they lose control of Cabiria and are forced to barricade themselves in a store room. Fulvius is appalled to learn that the girl he just saw is none other than Cabiria.
Just outside the city walls is another appalling sight: King Syphax in chains taunted by the victorious King Massinissa, who is by now decked out in Roman military regalia. The Cirtans have had enough and surrender. In the hall of the gigantic feline columns, Sophonisba grandiloquently surrenders and abases herself before her former fiancé and present husband’s captor—Massinissa. He in turn demurs and, just as elaborately, pledges himself to her. In a ceremonial hall with indigenous deities, the pair further ritualize their solidarity. Sophonisba marries Massinissa and it is resolved that she will not be subjected to being paraded in a Roman triumph.
Fulvius and Maciste enjoy the ample provisions of the store room, until the besieging guards attempt to smoke them out. Massinissa learns of the circumstances of the two “heroes” and—apparently ambivalent about such former Roman comrades—determines to spare them. Fulvius takes the opportunity to implore Sophonisba on Cabiria’s behalf, but in a fit of pique she tells the distraught Roman that Cabiria is dead.
Scipio and his lieutenant Lelius camp near Cirta. Lelius, whose forces have preceded Scipio’s, tells his commander of the royals’ treachery. At first Massinissa arrogantly defies Scipio, dashing the Roman general’s message tablet to pieces, but later he wilts in the face of Rome’s majesty. He implores Scipio, however, to spare Sophonisba the humiliation of being paraded in Rome. Scipio will not relent.
In desperation, Massinissa persuades Fulvius—in reciprocation for having spared him earlier and in anticipation of an unspoken future favor—to lend him his slave Maciste. The slave receives a bracelet, inscribed with a message, and takes it to Queen Sophonisba. Receiving it, the Queen reads the message and understands that she is to poison herself with the powder in the hollow gift. Drinking the dissolved poison, Sophonisba divests herself of her jewelry with great flourishes. Flavius arrives and, too late, they realize the purpose of Massinissa's request. Sophonisba, writhing in agony, reveals that Cabiria still lives and, as repayment for the gift of death, she will be spared a second time from the fate of living sacrifice. Cabiria is retrieved from her prison cell and arrives in time to see the moribund Queen expire.
Fulvius and Cabiria are crossing the sea on the way to Rome. As Maciste plays the panpipes in the bowsprit, Fulvius pledges his love to Cabiria and festive sea sprites encircle the boat in a giant, diaphanous garland.
Cast and characters[edit]
Historical figures denoted by an asterisk (*).
Carolina Catena ... Cabiria, as a Child
Émile Vardannes ... Batto, father of Cabiria
Gina Marangoni ... Croessa, nurse of Cabiria
Lidia Quaranta ... Cabiria, as an adult
Dante Testa ... Karthalo, the High Priest of Carthage
Umberto Mozzato ... Fulvio (Fulvius) Axilla, Roman patrician and spy
Bartolomeo Pagano ... Maciste, slave of Axilla
Raffaele di Napoli ... Bodastoret, an Innkeeper
Émile Vardannes ... Hannibal*, Carthaginian general
 Edoardo Davesnes ... Hasdrubal*, Carthaginian general; brother of Hannibal
Italia Almirante-Manzini ... Sofonisba* (Sophonisba), daughter of Hasdrubal
Alessandro Bernard ... Siface* (Syphax), King of Cirta
Luigi Chellini ... Scipione* (Scipio), Roman consul and general
?????????? ... Lelius* (Gaius Laelius), friend and sub-commander of Scipio
Vitale Di Stefano ... Massinissa* (Masinissa), King of Numidia
Enrico Gemelli ... Archimede* (Archimedes), Greek engineer and philosopher
Ignazio Lupi ... Arbace
 
Production[edit]

 

 Gabriele D'Anunnzio
Italian author Gabriele d'Annunzio contributed to the screenplay writing all of the intertitles and naming all characters and the movie itself. The film was noted as being the first popular film to use the tracking shot – the camera is mounted on a dolly allowing it to both follow action and move within a film set or location. For years afterward a tracking shot was referred to by both cameramen and directors as a 'Cabiria' shot. However, in many cases Pastrone used these shots with no real purpose other than the novelty of camera movement within a location. In some instances the camera rolls toward and then right past what should be the focus of the shot. However, the movement was such an innovation at the time that other film makers quickly incorporated it. The film was a major influence on D.W. Griffith's Intolerance (1916). The famous crane shot moving down and into the festival in Babylon is in a sense a 'Cabiria' shot taken to the ultimate extent.
The elephants used in several scenes in the film are obviously Indian elephants, rather than the authentic North African elephant (which is long extinct) or the African elephant (which is undomesticable).
Film critic Roger Ebert has said that Griffith "moves the camera with greater freedom and has a headlong narrative and an exciting use of cross-cutting that Pastrone does not approach."[2] The film also marked the debut of the Maciste character, who went on to have a long career in Italian sword and sandal films. For many years, Cabiria and Griffith's Judith of Bethulia (1914) were considered the first feature films. However, several earlier examples have come to light in recent years, including the Australian film The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906).
Music[edit]
The pastiche film score was composed largely by Manlio Mazza, who reworked the music of several composers including Mozart, Mendelssohn, Spontini, Donizetti and Gluck. But the film also contained an original composition by Mazza's former teacher Ildebrando Pizzetti, which was composed on D’Annunzio’s recommendation: the ten-minute Sinfonia del fuoco. The piece was written to accompany the Invocation to Moloch, in the pivotal Second Episode of the film, when one hundred naked children are sacrificed to the god of Carthage. Scored for a large orchestra, including six first and six second violas, baritone, and a mixed chorus of more than five parts, the Sinfonia del fuoco was performed once only, on the evening of the film’s première, conducted by Mazza, at the Teatro Vittorio Emanuele in Turin, on 18 April 1914. Contemporary reviews indicate that on this occasion the work was performed as an Overture at the start of the film. The size of the forces involved, coupled with Pizzetti's refusal to allow others to conduct the work, and the fact that he himself never included it in his own concerts, meant that no further performances took place until 1988, when the 1914 version of the film was presented, with live orchestral accompaniment of the complete score, at the Orto Botanico, Rome. The Sinfonia del fuoco has since been recorded by Naxos Records, in 1997, and can now be heard on YouTube.
Distribution, remake and restorations[edit]
[icon] This section requires expansion. (November 2011)
In June 1914, Cabiria became the first motion picture to be screened on the grounds of the White House when a screening on the lawn was viewed by President Wilson and his family from a porch.[1][4]
Cabiria was remade in 1931, with Pastrone serving as producer.[1]
A restored version of Cabiria was screened on 27 May 2006 at the Cannes Film Festival, featuring a filmed introduction by director Martin Scorsese.
Controversy[edit]
Like Birth of a Nation, Cabiria has aroused its share of controversy because of the political nature of its subject matter. It was co-written by Italian ultra-nationalist Gabriele d'Annunzio and was released soon after the Italo-Turkish War, in which Italy conquered the North African Ottoman provinces of Cyrenaica and Tripolitania. The film highlights Italy's Roman past and the "monstrous" nature of Carthaginian society (with special focus on the temple of Moloch), which is contrasted with the "nobility" of Roman society.[5] Cabiria was therefore one of several films of the period that "helped resuscitate a distant history that legitimized Italy's past and inspired its dreams" and which "delivered the spirit for conquest that seemed to arrive from the distant past", thereby presaging the "political rituals of fascism" (wars of conquest, the Roman salute, parades and the fasces itself).[6]
See also[edit]
1914 in film
List of historical drama films
List of films based on military books (pre-1775)
References[edit]
1.^ Jump up to: a b c Drees, Rich (2006), “Italian Silent Classic Cabiria Restored” @ FilmBuffOnline.
2.^ Jump up to: a b Ebert, Roger (July 2, 2006). "Cabiria (1914)". rogerebert.suntimes.com.
3.Jump up ^ Summary of the 2 hour Kino restored version.
4.Jump up ^ Kennedy, Ross A. (2013). A Companion to Woodrow Wilson. John Wiley & Sons. p. 29. ISBN 1118445686
5.Jump up ^ Mary P. Wood, Italian cinema at p. 138
6.Jump up ^ Gian Piero Brunetta and Jeremy Parzen, The History of Italian Cinema at p.34
External links[edit]
 Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cabiria.
Cabiria at the Internet Movie Database
Cabiria at AllMovie
Roger Ebert review
Cabiria : Visione storica del terzo secolo A. C. at Project Gutenberg (Italian)
Cabiria is available for free download at the Internet Archive
Original Handbill for Cabiria (1914) available at the Internet Archive
  


Categories: 1914 films
War drama films
Black-and-white films
Italian films
Italian historical films
Films based on works by Emilio Salgari
Films set in Carthage
Films set in Sicily
Italian epic films
Italian silent films
1910s historical films
Second Punic War films
Peplum films
Hannibal
Films based on Italian novels
Films based on French novels
Works by Gabriele D'Annunzio









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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabiria





 



Cabiria

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search
This article is about Giovanni Pastrone's 1914 silent film; for the Federico Fellini film, see The Nights of Cabiria.
Cabiria
Cabiria 1914 poster restored.jpg
Directed by
Giovanni Pastrone
Produced by
Giovanni Pastrone
Written by
Gabriele d'Annunzio (portrayed as the "auteur" in this poster) and Giovanni Pastrone (from the works by Emilio Salgari, Gustave Flaubert and Titus Livius)
Starring
Bartolomeo Pagano

Release dates

18 April 1914
 

Running time
 200 min (original)
 137 min (1937 version)
 123 min (1990 restoration)
 190 min (2006 restoration)[1]
Country
Italy
Language
Silent film
 Italian intertitles
Budget
1 million Lira


File:Cabiria (1914).webm
Play media
 

Cabiria (full video)
Cabiria is a 1914 Italian epic silent film, directed by Giovanni Pastrone (1883–1959) and shot in Turin. The film is set in ancient Sicily, Carthage, and Cirta during the period of the Second Punic War (218–202 BC). It follows a melodramatic main plot about an abducted little girl, Cabiria, and features an eruption of Mt. Etna, heinous religious rituals in Carthage, the alpine trek of Hannibal, Archimedes' defeat of the Roman fleet at the Siege of Syracuse and Scipio maneuvering in North Africa. Apart from being a classic on its own terms, the film is also notable for being the first film in which the long-running film character Maciste makes his debut. According to Martin Scorsese, in this work Pastrone invented the epic movie and deserves credit for many of the innovations often attributed to D.W. Griffith and Cecil B. DeMille.[2] Among those were the first use of the moving camera, thus freeing the narrative film from "static gaze".
The historical background and characters in the story are taken from Livy's Ab Urbe Condita (written ca. 27–25 BC). In addition, the script of Cabiria was partially based on Gustave Flaubert's 1862 novel Salammbo and Emilio Salgari's 1908 novel Cartagine in fiamme (Carthage in Flames).


Contents  [hide]
1 Plot summary
2 Cast and characters
3 Production
4 Music
5 Distribution, remake and restorations
6 Controversy
7 See also
8 References
9 External links

Plot summary[edit]
Source:[3]
FIRST EPISODE
Batto and his little daughter Cabiria live in a lavish estate in the shadow of Mount Etna at Catana on the island of Sicily. Cabiria, plays with dolls with her nurse Croessa. When the volcanic Etna erupts violently, Batto prays to the god Pluto for deliverance, but receives only a brief respite before his home and gardens are destroyed. While attempting to escape, servants discover a secret stairway leading underground. Taking advantage of the chaos and plundering Batto’s hidden treasure, the servants, along with Croessa and Cabiria, flee to the countryside. Batto and his wife mourn the loss of Cabiria, as they believe her to be buried beneath the rubble.
SECOND EPISODE
The fugitive servants divide up the treasure (Croessa gets a ring) and make for the sea, but soon run afoul of Phoenician pirates who take Croessa and Cabiria to Carthage where the little girl is sold to Karthalo, the High Priest. He intends to sacrifice her to the great god Moloch. Also in Carthage are two Roman spies: Fulvius Axilla, a Roman patrician and Maciste, his huge, muscular slave. The innkeeper Bodastoret welcomes Fulvius and Maciste to his Inn of the Striped Monkey. Croessa tries to prevent the sacrifice of Cabiria by pretending she is ill, but is whipped for her deception. Later, she chances upon Fulvius and Maciste. Recognizing them as fellow countrymen, she implores them to assist her.
The entrance to the huge Temple of Moloch is a gigantic three-eyed head, with the mouth as portal. One hundred young children are to perish as offerings. Inside are frenzied devotees and the colossal seated statue of the winged god Moloch is a hollow bronze furnace. The great chest opens for each victim and when a youngster is slid into the inferno, the door closes and the open mouth belches flame. Croessa, Fulvius and Maciste sneak into the temple and the slave boldly snatches Cabiria away from the priest. Pursued by a frenzied mob, they make their way up to the roof, down the gargantuan façade, and back to the inn. All except Croessa, who pays a fatal price for the rescue.
THIRD EPISODE
Meanwhile, Hannibal and his troops make their way across the snow-laden Alps towards Rome. Soldiers, elephants and other animals pick their way through the passes. Learning of the military events at the inn, Fulvius resolves to flee back to Rome after further intimidating the innkeeper to ensure silence. The Numidian King Massinissa is visiting Carthage and Hasdrubal, brother of Hannibal, promises him his beautiful daughter Sophonisba, in marriage. In a great audience hall with two huge elephantine columns, Massinissa dispatches gifts and a message to meet secretly to Sophonisba, who on receiving them is giddy with anticipation.
Bodastoret, the innkeeper, sneaks into the Temple of Moloch and for a reward betrays the Romans’ whereabouts and intentions. Fulvius, Maciste and Cabiria are ambushed by the Priest’s henchmen as they attempt to flee the city the next morning, but Fulvius escapes by leaping spectacularly from a high precipice and swimming away. Maciste and Cabiria flee, henchmen hard on their heels, to the cedar garden of Hasdrubal and encounter Massinissa and Sophonisba just as their secret tryst is commencing. Maciste implores the aristocratic couple – who have both concealed their true identities—to rescue Cabiria. Amid the chaos, Sophonisba, Cabiria and a servant run away while Massinissa falsely denies to the Priest’s men that he has seen any little girl. Maciste, however, is captured, tortured and chained to a great millstone, which he must turn, but can still manage to intimidate everyone around him.
FOURTH EPISODE
The Roman navy has besieged Syracuse, a Greek ally of Carthage, and Fulvius is now participating in the fighting. The Romans, however, are frustrated by a giant array of mirrors, producing a heat ray, which is deployed by the great inventor Archimedes to set fire to the ships’ sails. The Roman fleet is spectacularly destroyed.
Fulvius, still bearing the ring Croessa had given him, is cast adrift and soon rescued. Although his rescuers rob the unconscious Fulvius, one of them recognizes the ring on his finger and he is carried to Batto’s house, which has been rebuilt. The parents are overjoyed to learn that Cabiria is still alive at least when he last saw her. As he takes his leave Fulvius vows to seek Cabiria if he should ever return to Carthage.
FIFTH EPISODE

 

 Cabiria poster portraying the human pyramid scene
An intertitle relates that Syphax, King of Cirta – a rival desert kingdom—has deposed Massinissa and caused him to disappear into the desert. Hasdrubal now gives Sophonisba to the victor instead, to shore up his new alliance against Rome. Sophonisba is distinctly unhappy and when she appears in her finery at the betrothal ceremony she swoons and breaks the ceremonial vessel.
Already in possession of much of North Africa, the Roman general and consul Scipio strategizes with his new ally, Massinissa. They dispatch the resourceful Fulvius again as a spy in Carthage to observe its defenses. Stealthily deploying an impressive human pyramid of Roman soldiers, Fulvius successfully breeches the city walls.
In the elephantine hall, Hasdrubal dispatches the High Priest Karthalo on a mission to persuade Syphax to attack the Romans directly. Karthalo’s camel caravan traverses the vast dunescape. Meanwhile, Fulvius finds time to look for Maciste and Cabiria—now prisoners for 10 years. With a combination of intimidation and bribery, he extracts information from Bodastoret. With Fulvius disguised as a freedman, they secretly observe Maciste still in chains and harnessed to his millstone. That night, Fulvius returns to wake the sleeping strongman who is overwhelmed with happiness at again seeing his beloved master. Back at their hideout at the inn, Bodastoret is overcome with shock at seeing Maciste and dies. Fulvius and Maciste make good their escape down the city walls.
In Cirta, before a palace with two huge feline columns, Syphax is given a formal sendoff by Sophonisba and Karthalo, the latter of whom has an eye for the former’s lovely slave “Elissa”. While the military maneuvers continue, Fulvius and Maciste have fallen into dire straits, exhausted and thirsty in the desert wilderness. Maciste catches sight of a fire in the distance—Syphax’s encampment has been torched by his enemies. The two Romans are soon captured by the mounted Cirtans.
While outside the city King Syphax has been captured, Maciste and Fulvius are swept up with other prisoners within Cirta’s city walls. “Elissa”, who is really Cabiria, takes pity on the imprisoned pair and passes water to them without recognizing who they are. Cirta is under siege by Massinissa’s forces. Soldiers scale ladders outside the walls while boulders, spears, arrows and boiling oil rain down on them.
Sophonisba dreams of triple-eyed Moloch. Unnerved, she interprets her dream as an omen that Cabiria/Elissa will somehow spell the doom of the city and confesses to Karthalo what happened in the cedar garden so many years ago. Maciste, who has forced the iron bars of his prison cell with his enormous strength, determines to exact a revenge upon Karthalo. He intrudes through a window just in time to save Elissa—whom he now recognizes as Cabiria—from a dire fate at the Priest's hands. Fulvius soon joins the fray, but in the chaos of flight, they lose control of Cabiria and are forced to barricade themselves in a store room. Fulvius is appalled to learn that the girl he just saw is none other than Cabiria.
Just outside the city walls is another appalling sight: King Syphax in chains taunted by the victorious King Massinissa, who is by now decked out in Roman military regalia. The Cirtans have had enough and surrender. In the hall of the gigantic feline columns, Sophonisba grandiloquently surrenders and abases herself before her former fiancé and present husband’s captor—Massinissa. He in turn demurs and, just as elaborately, pledges himself to her. In a ceremonial hall with indigenous deities, the pair further ritualize their solidarity. Sophonisba marries Massinissa and it is resolved that she will not be subjected to being paraded in a Roman triumph.
Fulvius and Maciste enjoy the ample provisions of the store room, until the besieging guards attempt to smoke them out. Massinissa learns of the circumstances of the two “heroes” and—apparently ambivalent about such former Roman comrades—determines to spare them. Fulvius takes the opportunity to implore Sophonisba on Cabiria’s behalf, but in a fit of pique she tells the distraught Roman that Cabiria is dead.
Scipio and his lieutenant Lelius camp near Cirta. Lelius, whose forces have preceded Scipio’s, tells his commander of the royals’ treachery. At first Massinissa arrogantly defies Scipio, dashing the Roman general’s message tablet to pieces, but later he wilts in the face of Rome’s majesty. He implores Scipio, however, to spare Sophonisba the humiliation of being paraded in Rome. Scipio will not relent.
In desperation, Massinissa persuades Fulvius—in reciprocation for having spared him earlier and in anticipation of an unspoken future favor—to lend him his slave Maciste. The slave receives a bracelet, inscribed with a message, and takes it to Queen Sophonisba. Receiving it, the Queen reads the message and understands that she is to poison herself with the powder in the hollow gift. Drinking the dissolved poison, Sophonisba divests herself of her jewelry with great flourishes. Flavius arrives and, too late, they realize the purpose of Massinissa's request. Sophonisba, writhing in agony, reveals that Cabiria still lives and, as repayment for the gift of death, she will be spared a second time from the fate of living sacrifice. Cabiria is retrieved from her prison cell and arrives in time to see the moribund Queen expire.
Fulvius and Cabiria are crossing the sea on the way to Rome. As Maciste plays the panpipes in the bowsprit, Fulvius pledges his love to Cabiria and festive sea sprites encircle the boat in a giant, diaphanous garland.
Cast and characters[edit]
Historical figures denoted by an asterisk (*).
Carolina Catena ... Cabiria, as a Child
Émile Vardannes ... Batto, father of Cabiria
Gina Marangoni ... Croessa, nurse of Cabiria
Lidia Quaranta ... Cabiria, as an adult
Dante Testa ... Karthalo, the High Priest of Carthage
Umberto Mozzato ... Fulvio (Fulvius) Axilla, Roman patrician and spy
Bartolomeo Pagano ... Maciste, slave of Axilla
Raffaele di Napoli ... Bodastoret, an Innkeeper
Émile Vardannes ... Hannibal*, Carthaginian general
 Edoardo Davesnes ... Hasdrubal*, Carthaginian general; brother of Hannibal
Italia Almirante-Manzini ... Sofonisba* (Sophonisba), daughter of Hasdrubal
Alessandro Bernard ... Siface* (Syphax), King of Cirta
Luigi Chellini ... Scipione* (Scipio), Roman consul and general
?????????? ... Lelius* (Gaius Laelius), friend and sub-commander of Scipio
Vitale Di Stefano ... Massinissa* (Masinissa), King of Numidia
Enrico Gemelli ... Archimede* (Archimedes), Greek engineer and philosopher
Ignazio Lupi ... Arbace
 
Production[edit]

 

 Gabriele D'Anunnzio
Italian author Gabriele d'Annunzio contributed to the screenplay writing all of the intertitles and naming all characters and the movie itself. The film was noted as being the first popular film to use the tracking shot – the camera is mounted on a dolly allowing it to both follow action and move within a film set or location. For years afterward a tracking shot was referred to by both cameramen and directors as a 'Cabiria' shot. However, in many cases Pastrone used these shots with no real purpose other than the novelty of camera movement within a location. In some instances the camera rolls toward and then right past what should be the focus of the shot. However, the movement was such an innovation at the time that other film makers quickly incorporated it. The film was a major influence on D.W. Griffith's Intolerance (1916). The famous crane shot moving down and into the festival in Babylon is in a sense a 'Cabiria' shot taken to the ultimate extent.
The elephants used in several scenes in the film are obviously Indian elephants, rather than the authentic North African elephant (which is long extinct) or the African elephant (which is undomesticable).
Film critic Roger Ebert has said that Griffith "moves the camera with greater freedom and has a headlong narrative and an exciting use of cross-cutting that Pastrone does not approach."[2] The film also marked the debut of the Maciste character, who went on to have a long career in Italian sword and sandal films. For many years, Cabiria and Griffith's Judith of Bethulia (1914) were considered the first feature films. However, several earlier examples have come to light in recent years, including the Australian film The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906).
Music[edit]
The pastiche film score was composed largely by Manlio Mazza, who reworked the music of several composers including Mozart, Mendelssohn, Spontini, Donizetti and Gluck. But the film also contained an original composition by Mazza's former teacher Ildebrando Pizzetti, which was composed on D’Annunzio’s recommendation: the ten-minute Sinfonia del fuoco. The piece was written to accompany the Invocation to Moloch, in the pivotal Second Episode of the film, when one hundred naked children are sacrificed to the god of Carthage. Scored for a large orchestra, including six first and six second violas, baritone, and a mixed chorus of more than five parts, the Sinfonia del fuoco was performed once only, on the evening of the film’s première, conducted by Mazza, at the Teatro Vittorio Emanuele in Turin, on 18 April 1914. Contemporary reviews indicate that on this occasion the work was performed as an Overture at the start of the film. The size of the forces involved, coupled with Pizzetti's refusal to allow others to conduct the work, and the fact that he himself never included it in his own concerts, meant that no further performances took place until 1988, when the 1914 version of the film was presented, with live orchestral accompaniment of the complete score, at the Orto Botanico, Rome. The Sinfonia del fuoco has since been recorded by Naxos Records, in 1997, and can now be heard on YouTube.
Distribution, remake and restorations[edit]
[icon] This section requires expansion. (November 2011)
In June 1914, Cabiria became the first motion picture to be screened on the grounds of the White House when a screening on the lawn was viewed by President Wilson and his family from a porch.[1][4]
Cabiria was remade in 1931, with Pastrone serving as producer.[1]
A restored version of Cabiria was screened on 27 May 2006 at the Cannes Film Festival, featuring a filmed introduction by director Martin Scorsese.
Controversy[edit]
Like Birth of a Nation, Cabiria has aroused its share of controversy because of the political nature of its subject matter. It was co-written by Italian ultra-nationalist Gabriele d'Annunzio and was released soon after the Italo-Turkish War, in which Italy conquered the North African Ottoman provinces of Cyrenaica and Tripolitania. The film highlights Italy's Roman past and the "monstrous" nature of Carthaginian society (with special focus on the temple of Moloch), which is contrasted with the "nobility" of Roman society.[5] Cabiria was therefore one of several films of the period that "helped resuscitate a distant history that legitimized Italy's past and inspired its dreams" and which "delivered the spirit for conquest that seemed to arrive from the distant past", thereby presaging the "political rituals of fascism" (wars of conquest, the Roman salute, parades and the fasces itself).[6]
See also[edit]
1914 in film
List of historical drama films
List of films based on military books (pre-1775)
References[edit]
1.^ Jump up to: a b c Drees, Rich (2006), “Italian Silent Classic Cabiria Restored” @ FilmBuffOnline.
2.^ Jump up to: a b Ebert, Roger (July 2, 2006). "Cabiria (1914)". rogerebert.suntimes.com.
3.Jump up ^ Summary of the 2 hour Kino restored version.
4.Jump up ^ Kennedy, Ross A. (2013). A Companion to Woodrow Wilson. John Wiley & Sons. p. 29. ISBN 1118445686
5.Jump up ^ Mary P. Wood, Italian cinema at p. 138
6.Jump up ^ Gian Piero Brunetta and Jeremy Parzen, The History of Italian Cinema at p.34
External links[edit]
 Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cabiria.
Cabiria at the Internet Movie Database
Cabiria at AllMovie
Roger Ebert review
Cabiria : Visione storica del terzo secolo A. C. at Project Gutenberg (Italian)
Cabiria is available for free download at the Internet Archive
Original Handbill for Cabiria (1914) available at the Internet Archive
  


Categories: 1914 films
War drama films
Black-and-white films
Italian films
Italian historical films
Films based on works by Emilio Salgari
Films set in Carthage
Films set in Sicily
Italian epic films
Italian silent films
1910s historical films
Second Punic War films
Peplum films
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Films based on Italian novels
Films based on French novels
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El Cid (film)

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Jump to: navigation, search


El Cid
El Cild film poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
 
Directed by
Anthony Mann
Produced by
Samuel Bronston
Written by
Story:
Fredric M. Frank
Screenplay:
Philip Yordan
Starring
Charlton Heston
Sophia Loren
Raf Vallone
Geneviève Page
John Fraser
Gary Raymond
Herbert Lom
Douglas Wilmer
 
Music by
Miklós Rózsa
Cinematography
Robert Krasker
Edited by
Robert Lawrence
Distributed by
Allied Artists (USA)
Rank Organization (UK)
 Dear Film (Italy)

Release dates
 UK:
 December 6th, 1961
United States:
 December 14, 1961

Running time
 184 minutes
Country
Italy
 United States
Language
English
Budget
$6,200,000[1][2]
Box office
$30,000,000 (Domestic)
El Cid is a 1961 historical epic film, a romanticized story of the life of the Christian Castilian knight Don Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, called "El Cid" (from the Arabic as-sidi, meaning "The Lord"), who, in the 11th century, fought the North African Almoravides and ultimately contributed to the unification of Spain. The film stars Charlton Heston in the title role and Sophia Loren as Doña Ximena.
Made by Samuel Bronston Productions in association with Dear Film Production and released in the United States by Allied Artists, the film was directed by Anthony Mann and produced by Samuel Bronston with Jaime Prades and Michal Waszynski as associate producers. The screenplay was by Philip Yordan, Ben Barzman and Fredric M. Frank from a story by Frank. The music score was by Miklós Rózsa, the cinematography by Robert Krasker and the editing by Robert Lawrence. The film had its World Premiere at the Metropole Theatre, Victoria, London on December 6, 1961.


Contents  [hide]
1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Pre-production
4 Production
5 Reception
6 Awards and nominations
7 See also
8 References
9 External links

Plot[edit]
General Ibn (pronounced Ben) Yusuf (Herbert Lom) of the Almoravid dynasty has summoned all the Emirs of Al-Andalus to North Africa and chastises them for their complacency in dealing with the infidels and reveals his plan for Islamic world domination.
Later, while on the way to meet his bride-to-be Doña Ximena (Sophia Loren), Don Rodrigo, El Cid (Charlton Heston), becomes involved in a battle against a Moorish army. Two of the Emirs, Al-Mu'tamin (Douglas Wilmer) of Zaragoza and Al-Kadir (Frank Thring) of Valencia, are captured, but Rodrigo releases them on condition that they pledge never again to attack King Ferdinand of Castile's (Ralph Truman) lands. The Emirs proclaim him "El Cid" (the Castillian Spanish pronunciation of the Arabic for Lord: "Al Sidi") and swear allegiance to him.
For this act of mercy, Don Rodrigo is accused of treason against the King by Count Ordóñez (Raf Vallone), and later by Ximena's father, Count Gormaz (Andrew Cruickshank). Rodrigo's father, Don Diego (Michael Hordern), calls Count Ordóñez a liar. Ordóñez strikes Don Diego, effectivly challenging the old man to a duel.
Gormaz, who is the King's Champion, refuses to take back the challenge, and Rodrigo kills him in a duel. Ximena swears revenge upon her father's killer. Rodrigo then takes up the mantle of the King's Champion in single combat for control of the city of Calahorra, which he wins. Rodrigo is sent upon a mission to collect tribute from Moorish vassals of the Castillian crown, but Ximena, in league with Count Ordóñez, plots to have him killed. Rodrigo and his men are ambushed but are saved by Al-Mu'tamin, one of the pair to whom he showed mercy at the beginning of the story. Returning home, his reward is the hand of Ximena in marriage. But the marriage is not consummated — she removes herself to a convent.
On the death of King Ferdinand, his elder son, Prince Sancho (Gary Raymond), becomes king. The younger son, Prince Alfonso (John Fraser), also desires the throne; their sister, Princess Urraca (Geneviève Page) has Sancho assassinated. At Alfonso's coronation, El Cid has him swear upon the Bible that he had no part in the death of his brother. Since he had no part in it (as his sister was responsible), he swears, and has Rodrigo banished for his impudence. Ximena's love for El Cid is rekindled. She chooses banishment with him.
But Rodrigo is called into service by other exiled Spanish fighters — and eventually into the service of the king to protect Castille from Yusuf's North African army. Rodrigo does not join the king, but allies himself with the Emirs who fight at Valencia, where Rodrigo relieves the city from the wicked Emir Al-Kadir, who betrayed him.
Count Ordóñez brings Ximena from where the king had imprisoned her and her children after his defeat by the Moors. Valencia falls and Emir Al-Mu'tamin, Rodrigo's army and the Valencians offer the crown to Rodrigo, "The Cid", but he refuses and sends the crown to King Alfonso. Rodrigo then repels the invading army of Ben Yusuf, but is wounded in battle by an arrow before the final victory. If the arrow were removed, he would be unable to lead his fighters, but he would have a chance of recovery. El Cid obtains a promise from Ximena to leave the arrow, choosing to ride out, dying or dead. King Alfonso comes to his bedside and asks for his forgiveness.
Rodrigo, El Cid, dies, and so his body is secured upon his horse and sent out at the head of his army with King Alfonso and Emir Al-Mu'tamin riding on either side. When Yusuf's army see him with his eyes still open, they believe that El Cid's ghost has come back from the dead. Babieca, his horse, tramples on and kills Ben Yusuf, who is too terrified to fight. The invading North African army is smashed. King Alfonso leads Christians and Moors in a prayer "for the purest knight of all".
Cast[edit]
Charlton Heston as El Cid
Sophia Loren as Doña Ximena
Herbert Lom as Ben Yusuf
Raf Vallone as García Ordóñez
Geneviève Page as Doña Urraca (sister of Alfonso VI)
John Fraser as Alfonso VI (King of Castile)
Douglas Wilmer as Al-Mu'tamin (Emir of Zaragoza)
Frank Thring as Al-Kadir (Quadir) (Emir of Valencia)
Michael Hordern as Don Diego (father of Rodrigo)
Andrew Cruickshank as Count Gormaz (father of Jimena)
Gary Raymond as Prince Sancho, the 1st born of King Ferdinand
Ralph Truman as King Ferdinand
Massimo Serato as Fañez (nephew of Rodrigo)
Hurd Hatfield, as Arias
Tullio Carminati as Al-Jarifi
Fausto Tozzi as Dolfos
Christopher Rhodes as Don Martin
Carlo Giustini as Bermudez
Gerard Tichy as King Ramirez
Barbara Everest as Mother Superior
Katina Noble as Nun
Nerio Bernardi as Soldier (Credited on film as Nelio Bernardi)
Franco Fantasia as Soldier
Pre-production[edit]
Loren was paid $200,000 for ten weeks' work; producer Samuel Bronston also agreed to pay $200 a week for her hairdresser.[3]
Ramón Menéndez Pidal, a Spanish authority on El Cid and Spain in the Middle Ages, was the historical adviser for the film and for the interpretation of the hero as presented by Charlton Heston.[4]
Production[edit]

 

 The Old Town of Peñíscola
Time magazine provided some production details: "Inevitably, the picture is colossal — it runs three hours and 15 minutes (including intermission), cost $6,200,000, employs an extra-wide widescreen, a special color process, 7,000 extras, 10,000 costumes, 35 ships, 50 outsize engines of medieval war, and four of the noblest old castles in Spain: Ampudia, Belmonte, Peñíscola and Torrelobatón".[1]
Ampudia appears as the raided village at the beginning of the film, Torrelobatón as Cid's hometown Vivar, the Castle of Belmonte appears as Calahorra,[5] and Peniscola and Bamburgh Castle as Valencia.[5]
El Cid was shot mostly on location in Spain but a few studio scenes were shot in Rome, to achieve co-production status. An Iberia airplane is allegedly seen in the background during the Valencia battle scenes.
Reception[edit]
The movie earned $12 million in North American rentals.[6]
Upon the release of El Cid, Bosley Crowther wrote "it is hard to remember a picture — not excluding Henry V, Ivanhoe, Helen of Troy and, naturally, Ben-Hur — in which scenery and regal rites and warfare have been so magnificently assembled and photographed as they are in this dazzler… The pure graphic structure of the pictures, the imposing arrangement of the scenes, the dynamic flow of the action against strong backgrounds, all photographed with the 70mm color camera and projected on the Super-Technirama screen, give a grandeur and eloquence to this production that are worth seeing for themselves".[5] Crowther also pointed out that while "the spectacle is terrific the human drama is stiff and dull".
Sophia Loren had a major issue with Bronston's promotion of the film, an issue important enough to her that Loren sued Bronston for breach of contract in New York Supreme Court. As Time described it:[3]

On a 600-sq.-ft. billboard facing south over Manhattan's Times Square, Sophia Loren's name appears in illuminated letters that could be read from an incoming liner, but—Mamma mia!—that name is below Charlton Heston's. In the language of the complaint: "If the defendants are permitted to place deponent's name below that of Charlton Heston, then it will appear that deponent's status is considered to be inferior to that of Charlton Heston… It is impossible to determine or even to estimate the extent of the damages which the plaintiff will suffer."
The film is a favorite of Martin Scorsese, who called it "one of the greatest epic films ever made."[7] Scorsese was one of the major forces behind a 1993 restoration and re-release of El Cid.[8]
Awards and nominations[edit]
 El Cid was nominated for three Academy Awards, for Best Art Direction (Veniero Colasanti, John Moore), Original Music Score for Miklós Rózsa and Best Song.[9]
It was also nominated for three Golden Globe Awards for Best Motion Picture - Drama, Best Motion Picture Director (Anthony Mann), and Best Motion Picture Score (Miklós Rózsa). Samuel Bronston won the 1962 Special Merit Award.
Robert Krasker won the 1961 Best Cinematography Award by the British Society of Cinematographers. Verna Fields won the 1962 "Golden Reel Award" of the Motion Picture Sound Editors.
See also[edit]
List of American films of 1961
List of historical drama films
References[edit]
Specific references:
1.^ Jump up to: a b "Cinema: A Round Table of One". Time. December 22, 1961. Retrieved 2009-12-11.
2.Jump up ^ MOVIE PRODUCER CITES STAR POWER: Pasternak Has 2 Scripts Prepared for Doris Day -- 3 New Films Today By EUGENE ARCHER. New York Times (1923-Current file) [New York, N.Y] 19 Oct 1960: 55.
3.^ Jump up to: a b "Egos: Watch My Line". Time. January 5, 1962. Retrieved 2009-12-11.
4.Jump up ^ Richard A. Fletcher (1990). "Chapter 1". The Quest for El Cid. ISBN 0-394-57447-8. Fletcher considers Pidal's work on El Cid somewhat idealized and "eccentric".
5.^ Jump up to: a b c Bosley Crowther (December 15, 1961). "Spectacle of El Cid Opens: Epic About a Spanish Hero at the Warner". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-12-11.
6.Jump up ^ "All-time top film grossers", Variety 8 January 1964 p 37. Please note this figure is rentals accruing to film distributors not total money earned at the box office.
7.Jump up ^ James Berardinelli (1993). "El Cid". ReelViews.net.
8.Jump up ^ "Miramax to rerelease a restored '61 'El Cid'". Variety. April 16, 1993. Retrieved 2009-12-11.
9.Jump up ^ "NY Times: El Cid". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-12-24.
General references:
Richard Burt (2008). Medieval and Early Modern Film and Media. Palgrave MacMillan. ISBN 0-230-60125-1.
External links[edit]
El Cid at the Internet Movie Database
El Cid at Rotten Tomatoes
El Cid at AllMovie
El Cid, reviewed by Dr Jonathan Phillips, senior lecturer in medieval history, Royal Holloway, University of London


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Films directed by Anthony Mann

 
Dr. Broadway (1942) ·
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 The Tall Target (1951) ·
 Bend of the River (1952) ·
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 Thunder Bay (1953) ·
 The Glenn Miller Story (1954) ·
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 The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964) ·
 The Heroes of Telemark (1965) ·
 A Dandy in Aspic (1968)
 
 


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Categories: English-language films
1961 films
1960s biographical films
1960s historical films
American films
American historical films
Italian films
Italian historical films
Films directed by Anthony Mann
Samuel Bronston Productions films
American epic films
War epic films
War romance films
American biographical films
Films set in Spain
Films shot in Madrid
Films shot in Spain
Films set in the 11th century
Films based upon European myths and legends
Films set in Africa
Films based on El Cid
Films set in the Middle Ages
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Italian biographical films
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Cid_(film)






 



El Cid (film)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search


El Cid
El Cild film poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
 
Directed by
Anthony Mann
Produced by
Samuel Bronston
Written by
Story:
Fredric M. Frank
Screenplay:
Philip Yordan
Starring
Charlton Heston
Sophia Loren
Raf Vallone
Geneviève Page
John Fraser
Gary Raymond
Herbert Lom
Douglas Wilmer
 
Music by
Miklós Rózsa
Cinematography
Robert Krasker
Edited by
Robert Lawrence
Distributed by
Allied Artists (USA)
Rank Organization (UK)
 Dear Film (Italy)

Release dates
 UK:
 December 6th, 1961
United States:
 December 14, 1961

Running time
 184 minutes
Country
Italy
 United States
Language
English
Budget
$6,200,000[1][2]
Box office
$30,000,000 (Domestic)
El Cid is a 1961 historical epic film, a romanticized story of the life of the Christian Castilian knight Don Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, called "El Cid" (from the Arabic as-sidi, meaning "The Lord"), who, in the 11th century, fought the North African Almoravides and ultimately contributed to the unification of Spain. The film stars Charlton Heston in the title role and Sophia Loren as Doña Ximena.
Made by Samuel Bronston Productions in association with Dear Film Production and released in the United States by Allied Artists, the film was directed by Anthony Mann and produced by Samuel Bronston with Jaime Prades and Michal Waszynski as associate producers. The screenplay was by Philip Yordan, Ben Barzman and Fredric M. Frank from a story by Frank. The music score was by Miklós Rózsa, the cinematography by Robert Krasker and the editing by Robert Lawrence. The film had its World Premiere at the Metropole Theatre, Victoria, London on December 6, 1961.


Contents  [hide]
1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Pre-production
4 Production
5 Reception
6 Awards and nominations
7 See also
8 References
9 External links

Plot[edit]
General Ibn (pronounced Ben) Yusuf (Herbert Lom) of the Almoravid dynasty has summoned all the Emirs of Al-Andalus to North Africa and chastises them for their complacency in dealing with the infidels and reveals his plan for Islamic world domination.
Later, while on the way to meet his bride-to-be Doña Ximena (Sophia Loren), Don Rodrigo, El Cid (Charlton Heston), becomes involved in a battle against a Moorish army. Two of the Emirs, Al-Mu'tamin (Douglas Wilmer) of Zaragoza and Al-Kadir (Frank Thring) of Valencia, are captured, but Rodrigo releases them on condition that they pledge never again to attack King Ferdinand of Castile's (Ralph Truman) lands. The Emirs proclaim him "El Cid" (the Castillian Spanish pronunciation of the Arabic for Lord: "Al Sidi") and swear allegiance to him.
For this act of mercy, Don Rodrigo is accused of treason against the King by Count Ordóñez (Raf Vallone), and later by Ximena's father, Count Gormaz (Andrew Cruickshank). Rodrigo's father, Don Diego (Michael Hordern), calls Count Ordóñez a liar. Ordóñez strikes Don Diego, effectivly challenging the old man to a duel.
Gormaz, who is the King's Champion, refuses to take back the challenge, and Rodrigo kills him in a duel. Ximena swears revenge upon her father's killer. Rodrigo then takes up the mantle of the King's Champion in single combat for control of the city of Calahorra, which he wins. Rodrigo is sent upon a mission to collect tribute from Moorish vassals of the Castillian crown, but Ximena, in league with Count Ordóñez, plots to have him killed. Rodrigo and his men are ambushed but are saved by Al-Mu'tamin, one of the pair to whom he showed mercy at the beginning of the story. Returning home, his reward is the hand of Ximena in marriage. But the marriage is not consummated — she removes herself to a convent.
On the death of King Ferdinand, his elder son, Prince Sancho (Gary Raymond), becomes king. The younger son, Prince Alfonso (John Fraser), also desires the throne; their sister, Princess Urraca (Geneviève Page) has Sancho assassinated. At Alfonso's coronation, El Cid has him swear upon the Bible that he had no part in the death of his brother. Since he had no part in it (as his sister was responsible), he swears, and has Rodrigo banished for his impudence. Ximena's love for El Cid is rekindled. She chooses banishment with him.
But Rodrigo is called into service by other exiled Spanish fighters — and eventually into the service of the king to protect Castille from Yusuf's North African army. Rodrigo does not join the king, but allies himself with the Emirs who fight at Valencia, where Rodrigo relieves the city from the wicked Emir Al-Kadir, who betrayed him.
Count Ordóñez brings Ximena from where the king had imprisoned her and her children after his defeat by the Moors. Valencia falls and Emir Al-Mu'tamin, Rodrigo's army and the Valencians offer the crown to Rodrigo, "The Cid", but he refuses and sends the crown to King Alfonso. Rodrigo then repels the invading army of Ben Yusuf, but is wounded in battle by an arrow before the final victory. If the arrow were removed, he would be unable to lead his fighters, but he would have a chance of recovery. El Cid obtains a promise from Ximena to leave the arrow, choosing to ride out, dying or dead. King Alfonso comes to his bedside and asks for his forgiveness.
Rodrigo, El Cid, dies, and so his body is secured upon his horse and sent out at the head of his army with King Alfonso and Emir Al-Mu'tamin riding on either side. When Yusuf's army see him with his eyes still open, they believe that El Cid's ghost has come back from the dead. Babieca, his horse, tramples on and kills Ben Yusuf, who is too terrified to fight. The invading North African army is smashed. King Alfonso leads Christians and Moors in a prayer "for the purest knight of all".
Cast[edit]
Charlton Heston as El Cid
Sophia Loren as Doña Ximena
Herbert Lom as Ben Yusuf
Raf Vallone as García Ordóñez
Geneviève Page as Doña Urraca (sister of Alfonso VI)
John Fraser as Alfonso VI (King of Castile)
Douglas Wilmer as Al-Mu'tamin (Emir of Zaragoza)
Frank Thring as Al-Kadir (Quadir) (Emir of Valencia)
Michael Hordern as Don Diego (father of Rodrigo)
Andrew Cruickshank as Count Gormaz (father of Jimena)
Gary Raymond as Prince Sancho, the 1st born of King Ferdinand
Ralph Truman as King Ferdinand
Massimo Serato as Fañez (nephew of Rodrigo)
Hurd Hatfield, as Arias
Tullio Carminati as Al-Jarifi
Fausto Tozzi as Dolfos
Christopher Rhodes as Don Martin
Carlo Giustini as Bermudez
Gerard Tichy as King Ramirez
Barbara Everest as Mother Superior
Katina Noble as Nun
Nerio Bernardi as Soldier (Credited on film as Nelio Bernardi)
Franco Fantasia as Soldier
Pre-production[edit]
Loren was paid $200,000 for ten weeks' work; producer Samuel Bronston also agreed to pay $200 a week for her hairdresser.[3]
Ramón Menéndez Pidal, a Spanish authority on El Cid and Spain in the Middle Ages, was the historical adviser for the film and for the interpretation of the hero as presented by Charlton Heston.[4]
Production[edit]

 

 The Old Town of Peñíscola
Time magazine provided some production details: "Inevitably, the picture is colossal — it runs three hours and 15 minutes (including intermission), cost $6,200,000, employs an extra-wide widescreen, a special color process, 7,000 extras, 10,000 costumes, 35 ships, 50 outsize engines of medieval war, and four of the noblest old castles in Spain: Ampudia, Belmonte, Peñíscola and Torrelobatón".[1]
Ampudia appears as the raided village at the beginning of the film, Torrelobatón as Cid's hometown Vivar, the Castle of Belmonte appears as Calahorra,[5] and Peniscola and Bamburgh Castle as Valencia.[5]
El Cid was shot mostly on location in Spain but a few studio scenes were shot in Rome, to achieve co-production status. An Iberia airplane is allegedly seen in the background during the Valencia battle scenes.
Reception[edit]
The movie earned $12 million in North American rentals.[6]
Upon the release of El Cid, Bosley Crowther wrote "it is hard to remember a picture — not excluding Henry V, Ivanhoe, Helen of Troy and, naturally, Ben-Hur — in which scenery and regal rites and warfare have been so magnificently assembled and photographed as they are in this dazzler… The pure graphic structure of the pictures, the imposing arrangement of the scenes, the dynamic flow of the action against strong backgrounds, all photographed with the 70mm color camera and projected on the Super-Technirama screen, give a grandeur and eloquence to this production that are worth seeing for themselves".[5] Crowther also pointed out that while "the spectacle is terrific the human drama is stiff and dull".
Sophia Loren had a major issue with Bronston's promotion of the film, an issue important enough to her that Loren sued Bronston for breach of contract in New York Supreme Court. As Time described it:[3]

On a 600-sq.-ft. billboard facing south over Manhattan's Times Square, Sophia Loren's name appears in illuminated letters that could be read from an incoming liner, but—Mamma mia!—that name is below Charlton Heston's. In the language of the complaint: "If the defendants are permitted to place deponent's name below that of Charlton Heston, then it will appear that deponent's status is considered to be inferior to that of Charlton Heston… It is impossible to determine or even to estimate the extent of the damages which the plaintiff will suffer."
The film is a favorite of Martin Scorsese, who called it "one of the greatest epic films ever made."[7] Scorsese was one of the major forces behind a 1993 restoration and re-release of El Cid.[8]
Awards and nominations[edit]
 El Cid was nominated for three Academy Awards, for Best Art Direction (Veniero Colasanti, John Moore), Original Music Score for Miklós Rózsa and Best Song.[9]
It was also nominated for three Golden Globe Awards for Best Motion Picture - Drama, Best Motion Picture Director (Anthony Mann), and Best Motion Picture Score (Miklós Rózsa). Samuel Bronston won the 1962 Special Merit Award.
Robert Krasker won the 1961 Best Cinematography Award by the British Society of Cinematographers. Verna Fields won the 1962 "Golden Reel Award" of the Motion Picture Sound Editors.
See also[edit]
List of American films of 1961
List of historical drama films
References[edit]
Specific references:
1.^ Jump up to: a b "Cinema: A Round Table of One". Time. December 22, 1961. Retrieved 2009-12-11.
2.Jump up ^ MOVIE PRODUCER CITES STAR POWER: Pasternak Has 2 Scripts Prepared for Doris Day -- 3 New Films Today By EUGENE ARCHER. New York Times (1923-Current file) [New York, N.Y] 19 Oct 1960: 55.
3.^ Jump up to: a b "Egos: Watch My Line". Time. January 5, 1962. Retrieved 2009-12-11.
4.Jump up ^ Richard A. Fletcher (1990). "Chapter 1". The Quest for El Cid. ISBN 0-394-57447-8. Fletcher considers Pidal's work on El Cid somewhat idealized and "eccentric".
5.^ Jump up to: a b c Bosley Crowther (December 15, 1961). "Spectacle of El Cid Opens: Epic About a Spanish Hero at the Warner". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-12-11.
6.Jump up ^ "All-time top film grossers", Variety 8 January 1964 p 37. Please note this figure is rentals accruing to film distributors not total money earned at the box office.
7.Jump up ^ James Berardinelli (1993). "El Cid". ReelViews.net.
8.Jump up ^ "Miramax to rerelease a restored '61 'El Cid'". Variety. April 16, 1993. Retrieved 2009-12-11.
9.Jump up ^ "NY Times: El Cid". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-12-24.
General references:
Richard Burt (2008). Medieval and Early Modern Film and Media. Palgrave MacMillan. ISBN 0-230-60125-1.
External links[edit]
El Cid at the Internet Movie Database
El Cid at Rotten Tomatoes
El Cid at AllMovie
El Cid, reviewed by Dr Jonathan Phillips, senior lecturer in medieval history, Royal Holloway, University of London


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Categories: English-language films
1961 films
1960s biographical films
1960s historical films
American films
American historical films
Italian films
Italian historical films
Films directed by Anthony Mann
Samuel Bronston Productions films
American epic films
War epic films
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Films set in Spain
Films shot in Madrid
Films shot in Spain
Films set in the 11th century
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Films based on El Cid
Films set in the Middle Ages
Film scores by Miklós Rózsa
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