Relevance of Modern Cinema to the Study of Ancient History essays

Relevance of Modern Cinema to the Study of Ancient History essays The Relevance of Modern cinema to the study of Ancient History Cinema has been around for about 100 years now. Who would have thought that the French short called The journey to the Moon (1901), would progress into a digital masterpiece like GLADIATOR. Over the century of movies that the world has witnessed, the have been almost 70 films made on the subject of classics. 21 of these were made in the decade between 1959-1969. Almost every one of these (with the exception of 6, including Carry On Cleo!) was solely intent on showing the cultural side of classical times, rather than the popular gory side (e.g. Cleopatra). Both sides are incredibly useful to the study of ancient history. The former shows how the ancient civilisations lived; and the latter shows what they did for entertainment. The subject of classics was first seen to be a novel idea to base a film on in 1899, by the French director Georges Mlis when he made Clopatre. This idea soon caught on, with some years churning out as many as 4 classics films a year (1908, 1961, 1962). However, the idea of classics in a movie soon became cliched, after 21 versions of Hercules, 9 versions of Quo Vadis, 15 films based on Cleopatra, and 7 versions of Spartacus. So, it was unsurprising that from 1983, there was a 14-year gap between two classics films. Ironically, both films were a version of Hercules, the most recent being a Disney Version (which actually stole ideas from almost every significant Greek myth ever told!) Even then, after 14 years, directors feared making a classical movie, as it could ruin their career. Ridley Scott was the first daring filmmaker, when, after 4 years, he made perhaps the most incredible classics film ever. Years of studying classics went into the movie, and the excellent effects enhanced the experience. Now, in the new millennium, the idea is once again becoming a trend, with Gates of Fire set to be released ...