Ancient Epic in Film and Television

Ancient Epic in Film and Television PDF Author: Amanda Potter
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781399509008
Category : Civilization, Ancient, in motion pictures
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
How do epic tropes shape representations of the ancient world and determine contemporary understandings of historical events? What features of ancient epic persistently emerge in science fiction and fantasy narratives adapted to the screen, and why? How does the different scope of televisual versus cinematic media impact the representation of conventions derived from ancient epic? The international range of contributors to this volume respond to these questions by looking for features of epic outside the traditional realm of Greco-Roman antiquity, including historical films and series, fantasy, science fiction and documentary. By identifying epic conventions on the large and small screen, as well as within a range of speculative fictions in fantastical and futuristic settings, they consider the function of such conventions within their 21st-century production contexts.

Ancient Epic in Film and Television

Ancient Epic in Film and Television PDF Author: Amanda Potter
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781399509008
Category : Civilization, Ancient, in motion pictures
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book

Book Description
How do epic tropes shape representations of the ancient world and determine contemporary understandings of historical events? What features of ancient epic persistently emerge in science fiction and fantasy narratives adapted to the screen, and why? How does the different scope of televisual versus cinematic media impact the representation of conventions derived from ancient epic? The international range of contributors to this volume respond to these questions by looking for features of epic outside the traditional realm of Greco-Roman antiquity, including historical films and series, fantasy, science fiction and documentary. By identifying epic conventions on the large and small screen, as well as within a range of speculative fictions in fantastical and futuristic settings, they consider the function of such conventions within their 21st-century production contexts.

Ancient Epic in Film and Television

Ancient Epic in Film and Television PDF Author: Amanda Potter
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781474473750
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description


Designs on the Past

Designs on the Past PDF Author: Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
ISBN: 0748675655
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 440

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Book Description


The Epic in Film

The Epic in Film PDF Author: Constantine Santas
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 9780742555297
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 258

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Book Description
In The Epic in Film, Constantine Santas argues that "blockbuster" and "artistic" are not mutually exclusive terms and, perhaps more importantly, that epic film is an inherently profound genre in its ability to tap into the dreams and fears of a nation, and sometimes those of the human race. Why do we see dozens and dozens of films based on the King Arthur legend? Why would a presidential hopeful borrow the phrase "Read my lips" from Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry? Why do war epics proliferate in times of war or national crisis? Why are epics as a whole the most popular movie genre? Whether you love Gone with the Wind and hate Troy, find Akira Kurosawa's films brilliant or marvel over the depth of the Matrix trilogy, if you're a film buff, you will want to read this first book-length treatment of the epic-a wildly popular, infinitely fascinating, and critically underappreciated genre.

The Encyclopedia of Epic Films

The Encyclopedia of Epic Films PDF Author: Constantine Santas
Publisher: Scarecrow Press
ISBN: 0810882485
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 713

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Book Description
Soon after film came into existence, the term epic was used to describe productions that were lengthy, spectacular, live with action, and often filmed in exotic locales with large casts and staggering budgets. The effort and extravagance needed to mount an epic film paid off handsomely at the box office, for the genre became an immediate favorite with audiences. Epic films survived the tribulations of two world wars and the Depression and have retained the basic characteristics of size and glamour for more than a hundred years. Length was, and still is, one of the traits of the epic, though monolithic three- to four-hour spectacles like Gone with the Wind (1939) and Lawrence of Arabia (1962) have been replaced today by such franchises as the Harry Potter films and the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Although the form has evolved during many decades of existence, its central elements have been retained, refined, and modernized to suit the tastes of every new generation. The Encyclopedia of Epic Films identifies, describes, and analyzes those films that meet the criteria of the epic—sweeping drama, panoramic landscapes, lengthy adventure sequences, and, in many cases, casts of thousands. This volume looks at the wide variety of epics produced over the last century—from the silent spectacles of D. W. Griffith and biblical melodramas of Cecil B. DeMille to the historical dramas of David Lean and rollercoaster thrillers of Steven Spielberg. Each entry contains: Major personnel behind the camera, including directors and screenwriters Cast and character listings Plot summary Analysis Academy Award wins and nominations DVD and Blu-ray availability Resources for further study This volume also includes appendixes of foreign epics, superhero spectaculars, and epics produced for television, along with a list of all the directors in the book. Despite a lack of overall critical recognition and respect as a genre, the epic remains a favorite of audiences, and this book pays homage to a form of mass entertainment that continues to fill movie theaters. The Encyclopedia of Epic Films will be of interest to academics and scholars, as well as any fan of films made on a grand scale.

Brill's Companion to Ancient Greek and Roman Warfare on Film

Brill's Companion to Ancient Greek and Roman Warfare on Film PDF Author:
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004686827
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 612

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Book Description
Brill’s Companion to Ancient Greek and Roman Warfare on Film is the first volume exclusively dedicated to the study of a theme that informs virtually every reimagining of the classical world on the big screen: armed conflict. Through a vast array of case studies, from the silent era to recent years, the collection traces cinema’s enduring fascination with battles and violence in antiquity and explores the reasons, both synchronic and diachronic, for the central place that war occupies in celluloid Greece and Rome. Situating films in their artistic, economic, and sociopolitical context, the essays cast light on the industrial mechanisms through which the ancient battlefield is refashioned in cinema and investigate why the medium adopts a revisionist approach to textual and visual sources.

The Ancient World in the Cinema

The Ancient World in the Cinema PDF Author: Jon Solomon
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 9780300083378
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 390

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Book Description
This entertaining and useful book provides a comprehensive survey of films about the ancient world, from The Last Days of Pompeii to Gladiator. Jon Solomon catalogues, describes, and evaluates films set in ancient Greece and Rome, films about Greek and Roman history and mythology, films of the Old and New Testaments, films set in ancient Egypt, Babylon, and Persia, films of ancient tragedies, comic films set in the ancient world, and more. The book has been updated to include feature films and made-for-television movies produced in the past two decades. More than two hundred photographs illustrate both the films themselves and the ancient sources from which their imagery derives.

Return of the Epic Film

Return of the Epic Film PDF Author: Andrew Elliot
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
ISBN: 1474402852
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
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.

The Oxford encyclopedia of ancient Greece and Rome. - Vol. 1 - 7

The Oxford encyclopedia of ancient Greece and Rome. - Vol. 1 - 7 PDF Author: Michael Gagarin
Publisher:
ISBN: 0195170725
Category : Civilization, Classical
Languages : en
Pages : 3369

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Book Description


Ancient Greece and Rome in Videogames

Ancient Greece and Rome in Videogames PDF Author: Ross Clare
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 135015721X
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 241

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Book Description
This volume presents an original framework for the study of video games that use visual materials and narrative conventions from ancient Greece and Rome. It focuses on the culturally rich continuum of ancient Greek and Roman games, treating them not just as representations, but as functional interactive products that require the player to interpret, communicate with and alter them. Tracking the movement of such concepts across different media, the study builds an interconnected picture of antiquity in video games within a wider transmedial environment. Ancient Greece and Rome in Videogames presents a wide array of games from several different genres, ranging from the blood-spilling violence of god-killing and gladiatorial combat to meticulous strategizing over virtual Roman Empires and often bizarre adventures in pseudo-ancient places. Readers encounter instances in which players become intimately engaged with the “epic mode” of spectacle in God of War, moments of negotiation with colonised lands in Rome: Total War and Imperium Romanum, and multi-layered narratives rich with ancient traditions in games such as Eleusis and Salammbo. The case study approach draws on close analysis of outstanding examples of the genre to uncover how both representation and gameplay function in such “ancient games”.