The landmark film was shot on location in North Africa, Sicily and the ItalianĪlps. Etna and Hannibal'sĬrossing of the Alps with elephants (with an early example of tracking shots). Its story of 3rd centuryīC Ancient Rome included sequences of the eruption of Mt. Griffith - for his Judith of Bethulia (1914), The Birth of a Nation (1915), and later his Babylonian sequences The pattern and groundwork for future big-budget feature-length films (by Three-hour Italian silent film from Giovanni Pastrone, Cabiria (1914, It.), was an early example of spectacular and monumental epic film-making. Picture and one of the first films with over two hours running time, the influential It.) - often considered the first successful feature-length motion Two of the Earliest Epics from Italy: Quo Vadis? and CabiriaĪlong with Enrico Guazzoni's epic Quo Vadis? (1912, True historical epics, period films choose a specific historical period,Īnd then superimpose fictional characters or events into the setting. The Middle Ages, the Victorian era, or turn-of-the-century America. Often transport viewers to other worlds or eras: ancient times, biblical times, Of Biblical films have also emerged, such as The Life of Brian (1979),Įpics are often called costume dramas, since theyĮmphasize the trappings of a period setting: historical pageantry, costumingĪnd wardrobes, locale, spectacle, decor and a sweeping visual style. Revamped 'sword and sandal' epic Gladiator (2000). Picture winner Gone With The Wind (1939), to the fairly-recent Schindler's List (1993), Titanic (1997), and Ridley Scott's ![]() (1916), The Ten Commandments (1923) and The King of Kings (1927), to the giant Civil War epic and Best Griffith's ground-breaking The Birth of a Nation (1915), to Cecil B. (1999) (Andronicus) - her debut film with innovative production design)Įpics have existed since the earliest days of American cinema,įrom D. auteur epics (i.e., Coppola's Apocalypse Now (1979), Warren Beatty's period film Reds (1981),Īnd theatrical director Julie Taymor's adaptation of Shakespeare's Titus.unconventional epics (i.e., Robert Altman's Nashville (1975)).epic war films (i.e., The Longest Day (1962)).epic/historical dramas (i.e., Bernardo Bertolucci's The Last Emperor (1987)).epic science-fiction (i.e., Star Wars (1977)).epic/historical westerns (i.e., Cimarron (1930), Dances with Wolves (1990)).Or modified, and the political/historical forces take a back seat to the personalizationĪnd ideological slant of the story (i.e., the 'poetic license' of Oliver Stone'sĬontroversial JFK (1991) immediately comes to mind).Įpics often share elements of the more elaborate adventure films genre and swashbuckler subgenre (e.g., the Robin Hood tale of The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)). Accuracy is sometimes sacrificed: the chronology is telescoped (biographical) films are often less lavish versions of the epic film.Įpics often rewrite history, suffering from inauthenticity,įictitious recreations, excessive religiosity, hard-to-follow details andĬharacters, romantic dreamworlds, ostentatious vulgarity, political correctness,Īnd leaden scripts. On a massive scale and large casts of characters. ![]() Settings, on-location filming, authentic period costumes, inflated action TheyĪre expensive and lavish to produce, because they require elaborate and panoramic ![]() See also AFI's 10 Top 10 - The Top 10 Epic FilmsĮpics are historical films that recreate past events. In an episodic manner, they follow the continuingĪdventures of the hero(s), who are presented in the context of great historicalĮvents of the past. Pictures' are tales that often cover a large expanse of time set against a Epics, costume dramas, historical dramas, war film epics, medieval romps, or 'period Setting and lavish costumes, accompanied by grandeur and spectacle and a sweeping Or imagined event, mythic, legendary, or heroic figure, and add an extravagant Epics-Historical Films often take an historical
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