Screening the Past : Film and the Representation of History

Film and television have been accepted as having a pervasive influence on how people understand the world. An important aspect of this is the relationship of history and film. The different views of the past created by film, television, and video are only now attracting closer attention from historians, cultural critics, and filmmakers. This volume seeks to advance the critical exploration scholars have recently begun. Barta begins by addressing the various ways the past is screened for our understanding and relates the art of film to other media. The essays that follow deal primarily with the changing perspectives of political and social developments—and changing concepts of ideology, gender, or culture—in films and television programs made for historically shaped reasons. Chapters by filmmakers explore issues of context and intent in their own projects. Scholars and general readers interested in film and cultural studies will find this an important volume. Preliminaries......Page 1 Contents......Page 7 1. Screening the Past: History Since the Cinema......Page 15 2. ‘‘Captain Bligh’’ as Mythic Cliche ́: The Films......Page 33 3. Re-screening the Past......Page 59 4. ‘‘Smart Jews’’......Page 77 5. ‘‘A Stab in the Back on a Sunday Morning’’......Page 97 6. Losing the Peace:......Page 107 7. The Scent of Distant Blood: Hammer Films and History......Page 123 8. Film Nazis: The Great Escape......Page 141 9. Marcel Ophu ̈ ls’ November Days......Page 163 10. Braveheart and the Scottish Aesthetic Dementia......Page 181 11. Borders and Boundaries:......Page 203 12. Television and Our Understanding of History......Page 219 13. Letatlin and Ern Malley......Page 235 14. Projected Lives......Page 245 15. Long Exposures: A Poetics of Film and History......Page 253 16. Enchanted Experience......Page 261 Further Reading......Page 275 Index......Page 277 Contributors......Page 291 Preliminaries; Contents; 1. Screening the Past: History Since the Cinema; 2. Captain Bligh as Mythic Cliche : The Films; 3. Re-screening the Past; 4. Smart Jews ; 5. A Stab in the Back on a Sunday Morning ; 6. Losing the Peace:; 7. The Scent of Distant Blood: Hammer Films and History; 8. Film Nazis: The Great Escape; 9. Marcel Ophu ls November Days; 10. Braveheart and the Scottish Aesthetic Dementia; 11. Borders and Boundaries:; 12. Television and Our Understanding of History; 13. Letatlin and Ern Malley; 14. Projected Lives; 15. Long Exposures: A Poetics of Film and History.16. Enchanted ExperienceFurther Reading; Index; Contributors.Electronic reproduction.Available via World Wide Web. Addressing the various ways the past is ""screened"" for our understanding and relating the art of film to other media, this collection of essays deals with the changing perspectives of political and social development in films and television programmes made for historically shaped reasons Topics include: Jews in film (including Schindler's list); Hammer Films; Nazis; television and history. Films examined include: November days (directed by Marcel Ophuls), Braveheart (Mel Gibson) Everyone, in the twentieth century past, has his or her first close encounter with the screen. Historians and filmmakers explore how and why history is portrayed on film.