The return of the epic film : genre, aesthetics and history in the 21st century

With the success of __Gladiator__, both critics and scholars enthusiastically announced the return of a genre which had lain dormant for thirty years. However, this return raises important new questions which remain unanswered. Why did the epic come back, and why did it fall out of fashion? Are these the same __kinds__ of epics as the 1950s and 60s, or are there aesthetic differences? Can we treat __Kingdom of Heaven__, __300__ and __Thor__ indiscriminately as one genre? Are non-Western histories like __Hero__ and __Mongol__ epics, too? Finally, what precisely do we mean when we talk about the return of the epic film, and why are they back? The Return of the Epic Film offers a fresh way of thinking about a body of films which has dominated our screens for a decade. With contributions from top scholars in the field, the collection adopts a range of interdisciplinary perspectives to explore the epic film in the twenty-first century. Title Page Copyright Contents Figures Acknowledgements 1 Introduction Part I Epics and Ancient History 2 Sir Ridley Scott and the Rebirth of the Historical Epic 3 The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire and America since the Second World War: Some Cinematic Parallels 4 ‘There’s Nothing So Wrong with a Hollywood Script That a Bunch of Giant CGI Scorpions Can’t Solve’: Politics, Computer Generated Images and Camp in the Critical Reception of the Post-Gladiator Historical Epics 5 Popcorn and Circus: An Audience Expects Part II Epic Aesthetics and Genre 6 Colour in the Epic Film: Alexander and Hero 7 Defining the Epic: Medieval and Fantasy Epics 8 Special Effects, Reality and the New Epic Film Part III Epic Films and Challenging the Canon 9 Pass the Ammunition: A Short Etymology of ‘Blockbuster’ 10 Epic Stumbling Blocks 11 The Greatest Epic of the Twenty-First Century? 12 The Ramayana and Sita in Films and Popular Media: The Repositioning of a Globalised Version Notes on the Contributors Index This title offers a fresh way of thinking about a body of films which has dominated our screens for a decade. With contributions from top scholars in the field, the collection adopts a range of interdisciplinary perspectives to explore the epic film in the 21st century