The Epic Film: Myth and History (Cinema & Society)

As Charlton Heston put it: 'There's a temptingly simple definition of the epic film: it's the easiest kind of picture to make badly.' This book goes beyond that definition to show how the film epic has taken up one of the most ancient art-forms and propelled it into the modern world, covered in twentieth-century ambitions, anxieties, hopes and fantasies. This survey of historical epic films dealing with periods up to the end of the Dark Ages looks at epic form and discusses the films by historical period, showing how the cinema reworks history for the changing needs of its audience, much as the ancient mythographers did. The form's main aim has always been to entertain, and Derek Elley reminds us of the glee with which many epic films have worn their label, and of the sheer fun of the genre. He shows the many levels on which these films can work, from the most popular to the specialist, each providing a considerable source of enjoyment. For instance, spectacle, the genre's most characteristic trademark, is merely the cinema's own transformation of the literary epic's taste for the grandiose. Dramatically it can serve many purposes: as a resolution of personal tensions (the chariot race in Ben-Hur ), of monotheism vs idolatry ( Solomon and Sheba ), or of the triumph of a religious code ( The Ten Commandments ). Although to many people Epic equals Hollywood, throughout the book Elley stresses debt to the Italian epics, which often explored areas of history with which Hollywood could never have found sympathy. Originally published 1984. Derek Elley shows how the film epic has take up one of the most ancient art-forms and propelled it into the present day, covered in 20th century ambitions, anxieties, hopes and fantasies. He reminds us of the glee with which many epic films have worn their label, and of the sheer fun of the genre. His entertaining survey of historical epic films, dealing with periods up to the end of the Dark Ages, looks at epic form in the cinema as reinterpreted from literary epic form. He discusses the films by historical period, showing how the cinema re-works history for the changing needs of its audience, much as the ancient mythographers did. He reveals that its outward face is just as ambiguous as that of the literary epic, because different cultures, changing social patterns, various types of audience, all mould the style. This book includes a detailed filmography with titles, director, release date and leading players listed for more than 600 films Content: 1. An epic by any other name -- 2. Epic into film -- 3. Biblical : the Old Testament -- 4. Biblical : the New Testament -- 5. Greece : gods and heroes -- 6. Greece : from marathon to Alexander -- 7. Rome : from myth to republic -- 8. Imperial Rome : crisis and civil war -- 9. Imperial Rome : slaves and barbarians -- 10. Imperial Rome : Christian conflicts -- 11. Early medieval : Norseman, Saxons, and the Cid -- 12. Epic aftertastes : misnomers and modern myth. Discusses American and Italian movies based on stories from the Bible and history and mythology of ancient Greece, Rome, and medieval Europe.