Good film, better made than Cabiria and more watchable. Maciste is quite charismatic, and there are several fun, if silly, set pieces that keep the movie going.
I prefer this Maciste film to Cabiria quite a bit. Maciste Alpino is funny, silly and quite well made, definitely improved by the advances in storytelling technique between 1914 and 1916.
Maciste is the name of a secondary 'strongman/superman' character from Cabiria. He was so popular he was put into a ton of serials and films starring just his character. At the Breakout of World War I, this film was made to galvanize patriotic enthusiasm for the war. The film starts with Maciste and a company of filmmakers shooting a new Maciste film. Then they realize that war has broken out and they are arrested and sent to a concentration camp. It's not long before Maciste plans an escape and takes the camp with him. He joins up and they move into the mountains. There Maciste tracks down and captures a foreign commander and drags them down the mountain to much humorous effect. Then he leads his entire company over the mountain to rout the enemy. They come down the mountain into the backyard of a mansion where a damsel in distress is in danger of being ravished. Naturally, though Maciste doesn't know of her, Maciste leads the charge through defenses three times their numbers and just manages to save the girl at the last moment. Hurrah for Maciste, the end.
It's a pretty good film, slow in some parts but an enjoyable silent film. Maciste's character is quite charismatic to watch, in fact he looks quite a lot like the wrestler The Rock. The plot is thin and makes the whole war seem minor and silly, but it's an enjoyable film and more watchable than Cabiria because the technique is much more sophisticated.
I prefer this Maciste film to Cabiria quite a bit. Maciste Alpino is funny, silly and quite well made, definitely improved by the advances in storytelling technique between 1914 and 1916.
Maciste is the name of a secondary 'strongman/superman' character from Cabiria. He was so popular he was put into a ton of serials and films starring just his character. At the Breakout of World War I, this film was made to galvanize patriotic enthusiasm for the war. The film starts with Maciste and a company of filmmakers shooting a new Maciste film. Then they realize that war has broken out and they are arrested and sent to a concentration camp. It's not long before Maciste plans an escape and takes the camp with him. He joins up and they move into the mountains. There Maciste tracks down and captures a foreign commander and drags them down the mountain to much humorous effect. Then he leads his entire company over the mountain to rout the enemy. They come down the mountain into the backyard of a mansion where a damsel in distress is in danger of being ravished. Naturally, though Maciste doesn't know of her, Maciste leads the charge through defenses three times their numbers and just manages to save the girl at the last moment. Hurrah for Maciste, the end.
It's a pretty good film, slow in some parts but an enjoyable silent film. Maciste's character is quite charismatic to watch, in fact he looks quite a lot like the wrestler The Rock. The plot is thin and makes the whole war seem minor and silly, but it's an enjoyable film and more watchable than Cabiria because the technique is much more sophisticated.
