One of the top ten gem movies of the eighties ! Two films of the Tavianni brothers are to my mind part of this legendary choice . This one and the night of the shooting stars .
This poignant story deals with the efforts of two poor young italians who make this long journey from Italy to the promised land in serach of a better future .
This long and pianful road will lead them by several stages till D.W. Griffith will seal their lives for ever .
But Cabiria ,this masterpiece of Giovanni Pastrone, indicates us we are in 1914 , just in the dawn of the WW1 .
And once more the cruel twist of fate will appear with all the merciless you can imagine and still more .
This is a superior , singular , artistic and original film.
Italian immigrants find Hollywood, hope, and tragedy This film places two young Italian immigrants in a true historical setting of moviemaking in the early1900s. The two handsome young architects leave Italy to find work in America because their father's architect business had been failing, and they promised him they would make money in America and then bring him over. When the young men arrive, no one will hire them for the type of skilled work they are capable of, and end up with humiliating jobs that keep them stuck in poverty.
Eventually, the Italians come across the great film producer, D.W. Griffith, who has just viewed the Italian film, "Cabiria" (produced in about 1914). Griffith declares it the greatest movie he's ever seen, and inspired by it, starts a new film, "Intolerance". The Italians, trying to win a job, create an impressive elephant statue for the backdrop of the movie, but alas, jealous production crew members destroy it. Again, the young men confront despair and hopelessness, as well as prejudice. The only thing that seems to keep their spirits up is the romantic involvement with two lovely American women and their own drive for success.
At last, their lives take a turn for the better, and happiness comes to them, but again tragedy strikes and a wall of dissension divides the brothers until bringing them together in the battlefield where they are fighting on opposing sides in WWI.
This is a very poignant movie, and although I didn't like the young men for their hot-headedness and for occasions in which they took their anger out on animals in the movie, their struggles were moving and emotionally involving. The fascinating part of this movie is the true history concerning D.W. Griffith and the progression of the movies from "Cabiria" to "Intolerance" to "Good Morning Babylon". It's fun to watch all three and see the connection between them.
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