Hollywood's Ancient Worlds

Hollywood's Ancient Worlds PDF Author: Jeffrey Richards
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 1847250076
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 238

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Book Description
A new, full analysis of the Ancient World epic and how this film genre continues to comment on modern-day issues.

Hollywood's Ancient Worlds

Hollywood's Ancient Worlds PDF Author: Jeffrey Richards
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 1847250076
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 238

Get Book Here

Book Description
A new, full analysis of the Ancient World epic and how this film genre continues to comment on modern-day issues.

Hollywood's Ancient Worlds

Hollywood's Ancient Worlds PDF Author: Jeffrey Richards
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 0826435386
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 238

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Book Description
Jeffrey Richards examines the cultural, social, economic and technological circumstances that dictated the rise and decline of each successive cycle of Ancient World epics, from the silent film era, to the "golden age" of the 1950s, right up to the present day (Gladiator, 300, Rome). Analysis reveals that historical films are always as much about the time in which they are made as they are about the time in which they are set. The ancient world is often used to deliver messages to the contemporary audience about the present: hostility to totalitarian regimes both Fascist and Communist, concern at the decline of Christianity, support for the new state of Israel, celebrations of equality and democracy, and concern about changing gender roles. The whole adds up to a fresh look at a body of films that people think they know, but about which they will learn a good deal more.

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 : 449

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Book Description
The epic glitter and glamour of Hollywood's Golden AgeIn the period 1916-1966, during its so-called Golden Age, Hollywood developed a passion for the ancient world and produced many epic movie blockbusters. The studios used every device they could find to wow audiences with the spectacle of antiquity.In this unique study, Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones shows how Hollywood carefully and skilfully created the popular modern perception of the ancient world. He analyses how producers, art directors, costumiers, publicity agents, movie stars, and inevitably, 'a cast of thousands' literally designed and crafted the ancient world from scratch.This lively book offers a technical as well as a theoretical guide to a much-neglected area of film studies and reception studies that will appeal to anyone working in these disciplines.Key FeaturesLavishly illustrated with film stills and examples of rare and fascinating marketing material Broad coverage of films including The King of Kings, The Sign of the Cross, Samson and Delilah, Land of the Pharoahs, The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur, Spartacus and Cleopatra Considers different aspects of film production: the Hollywood set, costume design, the role of the movie star, dialogue, narration and musicSets a new agenda for exploring the relationship between history and film and between history and visual cultureExplores the archaeology of stardom examining the onscreen/offscreen images of Elizabeth Taylor, Charlton Heston and Rita HayworthIncludes a filmography, chronological outline and study aids.

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.

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 Ancient World in Silent Cinema

The Ancient World in Silent Cinema PDF Author: Pantelis Michelakis
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 110701610X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 403

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Book Description
The first systematic attempt to focus on the instrumental role of silent cinema in early twentieth-century conceptualizations of the ancient Mediterranean and Middle East. It is located at the intersection of film studies, classics, Bible studies and cultural studies.

A Companion to Ancient Greece and Rome on Screen

A Companion to Ancient Greece and Rome on Screen PDF Author: Arthur J. Pomeroy
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1118741358
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 564

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Book Description
A comprehensive treatment of the Classical World in film and television, A Companion to Ancient Greece and Rome on Screen closely examines the films and TV shows centered on Greek and Roman cultures and explores the tension between pagan and Christian worlds. Written by a team of experts in their fields, this work considers productions that discuss social settings as reflections of their times and as indicative of the technical advances in production and the economics of film and television. Productions included are a mix of Hollywood and European spanning from the silent film era though modern day television series, and topics discussed include Hollywood politics in film, soundtrack and sound design, high art and low art, European art cinemas, and the ancient world as comedy. Written for students of film and television as well as those interested in studies of ancient Rome and Greece, A Companion to Ancient Greece and Rome on Screen provides comprehensive, current thinking on how the depiction of Ancient Greece and Rome on screen has developed over the past century. It reviews how films of the ancient world mirrored shifting attitudes towards Christianity, the impact of changing techniques in film production, and fascinating explorations of science fiction and technical fantasy in the ancient world on popular TV shows like Star Trek, Babylon 5, Battlestar Galactica, and Dr. Who.

Ancient Worlds

Ancient Worlds PDF Author: Michael Scott
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 0465094732
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 388

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Book Description
"As panoramic as it is learned, this is ancient history for our globalized world." -- Tom Holland, author of Dynasty and Rubicon Twenty-five-hundred years ago, civilizations around the world entered a revolutionary new era that overturned old order and laid the foundation for our world today. In the face of massive social changes across three continents, radical new forms of government emerged; mighty wars were fought over trade, religion, and ideology; and new faiths were ruthlessly employed to unify vast empires. The histories of Rome and China, Greece and India-the stories of Constantine and Confucius, Qin Shi Huangdi and Hannibal-are here revealed to be interconnected incidents in the midst of a greater drama. In Ancient Worlds, historian Michael Scott presents a gripping narrative of this unique age in human civilization, showing how diverse societies responded to similar pressures and how they influenced one another: through conquest and conversion, through trade in people, goods, and ideas. An ambitious reinvention of our grandest histories, Ancient Worlds reveals new truths about our common human heritage. "A bold and imaginative page-turner that challenges ideas about the world of antiquity." UPeter Frankopan, author of The Silk Roads

Ancient Rome at the Cinema

Ancient Rome at the Cinema PDF Author: Elena Theodorakopoulos
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781904675280
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Ancient Rome at the Cinema' is a lucid study of the worlds created in Roman historical epics. Based on analysis of the visual and narrative fabric of seven films set in Ancient Rome, 'Ancient Rome at the Cinema' demonstrates how cinematic versions of Ancient Rome have been able to captivate us, and inscribe their versions of the city and its history onto our imagination. Theodorakopoulos uses film theory and criticism to examine the ways in which historical drama creates the past through story-telling and visual effects. Particular emphasis is put on the tension between narrative and spectacle which is an inherent feature of cinema, and a long-standing preoccupation of film critics and theorists from the 1930s to the present. The book also examines the techniques and the rhetoric of realism which feature especially prominently in historical films. 'Ancient Rome at the Cinema' is a companion volume to 'Ancient Greece in Film and Popular Culture' by Gideon Nisbet (9781904675785, 2008, 2nd edition).

Nefertiti’s Face

Nefertiti’s Face PDF Author: Joyce Tyldesley
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674983750
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 249

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Book Description
Little is known about Nefertiti, the Egyptian queen whose name means “a beautiful woman has come.” She was the wife of Akhenaten, the pharaoh who ushered in the dramatic Amarna Age, and she bore him at least six children. She played a prominent role in political and religious affairs, but after Akhenaten’s death she apparently vanished and was soon forgotten. Yet Nefertiti remains one of the most famous and enigmatic women who ever lived. Her instantly recognizable face adorns a variety of modern artifacts, from expensive jewelry to cheap postcards, t-shirts, and bags, all over the world. She has appeared on page, stage, screen, and opera. In Britain, one woman has spent hundreds of thousands of pounds on plastic surgery in hope of resembling the long-dead royal. This enduring obsession is the result of just one object: the lovely and mysterious Nefertiti bust, created by the sculptor Thutmose and housed in Berlin’s Neues Museum since before World War II. In Nefertiti’s Face, Egyptologist Joyce Tyldesley tells the story of the bust, from its origins in a busy workshop of the late Bronze Age to its rediscovery and controversial removal to Europe in 1912 and its present status as one of the world’s most treasured artifacts. This wide-ranging history takes us from the temples and tombs of ancient Egypt to wartime Berlin and engages the latest in Pharaonic scholarship. Tyldesley sheds light on both Nefertiti’s life and her improbable afterlife, in which she became famous simply for being famous.